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I title this one The Man and the Monster. A railfan stands his ground at Mapleton Line as the steel beast flinging snow from the right of way closes in at track speed. Truly one of the most dramatic scenes I've ever captured. Plows are fun to capture and some of the best frames are captured from a distance, magnifying the brilliance and sheer power of a pair of 1950 era diesels propelling a century old wedge plow through a snow drift.
Copyright Notice: This image ©David Young all rights reserved.



Caption: I title this one The Man and the Monster. A railfan stands his ground at Mapleton Line as the steel beast flinging snow from the right of way closes in at track speed. Truly one of the most dramatic scenes I've ever captured. Plows are fun to capture and some of the best frames are captured from a distance, magnifying the brilliance and sheer power of a pair of 1950 era diesels propelling a century old wedge plow through a snow drift.

Photographer:
David Young [316] (more) (contact)
Date: 01/26/2026 (search)
Railway: Ontario Southland (search)
Reporting Marks: CP 401005 (search)
Train Symbol: OSR Plow (search)
Subdivision/SNS: Mile 29, OSR St Thomas Sub (search)
City/Town: St Thomas (search)
Province: Ontario (search)
Share Link: http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=59490
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Photo ID: 58155

Map courtesy of Open Street Map

Full size | Suncalc



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6 Comments
  1. Great photo! I hope to one day capture a movement such as this. Do you know who the railfan is?

  2. A great action photo. Keeping the throttle pulled back.

  3. WOW! That’s a fabulous photo!
    I wonder if the bruises that railfan received from being pelted with ballast mixed in with the flying snow have healed yet?!

  4. Oh yes, definitely a great shot. St. Thomas got snow !!??? Grimsby got but a piddle.

  5. @Todd Steinman, yes I know who he is.

    @terry.oshell, and kept the flanger down till the last second.

    @Paul O’Shell, he ran for cover last second, got dusted but no worse for wear.

    @awmooney, got enough snow events with wind to warrant 3 plow runs this past year. The first one was not as entertaining as this day.

  6. Great shot – I was a mile east at Gladstone and the action was good!

    The darkness in the plume usually indicates wet snow, mixed with soil and usually very heavy – but at Gladstone the snow was light and fluffy and just brushed off everything easily. It should have been similar here, the darkness is probably just from a windrow on a dirt road so just a small amount of the dirt and rocks (still, beware, as one rock will damage your camera)

    If anyone is out chasing a plow and the snow is very heavy standing way back is highly advised as a heavy plume like that will plow you to the ground. Folks really have to understand how heavy the snow is before assessing if standing that close is worthwhile.

    I always recommend a telephoto lens as Dave has done here, plow chasing is not for the wide angle crowd standing close to the right of way.

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