Those blower cars look like they could be self propelled---- backwards !
That’s a good thought. It would still blow the track clear too! 
These things are a cool engineering project, AND useful to boot, I guess, and just really FUN to engineer. What other reason do you need? But as someone else mentioned, a standard broom and maybe a Craftsmen leaf blower performs the same function, easy peasey.
From what I’ve seen. Instead. If you use track power, build yourself a long handled Scotch Brite pad that you can easily press on the rails as you walk around your layout. It will polish the rails and push debris off the track. Some of us have also fashioned Scotch Brite pads to fit on the bottom of cars or locos that press against the rails as they circuit the track and they do a good job of shining the rails.
Works well for some us who’ve done it.
my brother built a blower powered car! but it didnt clean the track.
Hi Scott, NICE GT40 is it yours? I want a blower car because they are fun and I like my trains to actually do work like pull a weed train down back for disposal or bring firewood or veggies from the garden to the house. I do have a scotchbrite pad pole cleaner but with over 500’ of track it can be a pain as well as getting out the gas back pack blower.
What the blower car will do is remove the leaves, pine cones and half eaten acorns that are on the tracks. When the leaves really start piling up then other means will be used but for now the blower car should suffice. Now I just run my aristo plow on the first go around and that does a decent job.
I bought a 3" fan yesterday and tested it out on a flat car with a 12 volt batter from my rotary plow powering it. for duct work I cut a plastic bottle that fit over one end then the business end I attached a 1.5 inch 45 degree PVC fitting to the bottle and gave it a go. I wasn’t impressed. maybe I need a 4" fan blower? The voltage on the battery was down to 10 so that affected the output to. I will test again now that the battery is charged up to full.
It is hard to tell from the photos posted but did you guys use 3" or 4" blowers ?
Thanks Todd
This is the blower I used. Found it at a boating supply store.
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/docwatsonnc/TB-7.jpg)
Doc
Here is a video of my blower at work. It is running at about half speed.
[Youtube]http://youtu.be/-YgmwdMWx-s[Youtube]
Doc
Don your blower car works well.
Thanks for the video.
UPDATE: I didn’t like the 3" blowers power which was 120cfm so I traded it for a 4" which has 200cfm. I built a custom heavy duty depressed center flat car for it then started doing tests with the blower loosely mounted on the car and I wasn’t happy. I had reduced the 4" fan down to a 1.5" through PVC couplings and the fan was struggling due to back pressure. It actually blows better when it is unimpeded so it’s back to the drawing board.
I was hoping to make something that might actually look at home on the rails, like it could be a prototype but now I might have to go with function over form.
The leaves are piling up so I need ot get going on this.
Just build a snowthrower with a reverse function to make it look “prototypical”
Very clever idea Mark!
Tod
This is what I use to direct the air flow!
(http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/49/49cd3db5-330f-40e8-9616-f067d8b5d606_300.jpg)
Found@ Home Depot
Hmmmm
I never thought to try the rotary on leaves…
You might want to dig up Jerry Barnes? Rotary engine that he did and ask what happens if he was to reverse the fan, does it become a leaf blower in fall and a snow blower in winter?
I built a rotary and put in a switch to reverse the blades depending on which way I want the snow to be thrown out the chute. It doesn’t put out much wind in either direction.
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/capecodtodd/_forumfiles/rotaryflowers.jpg)
Tonight I thought about putting the blower unit at the front of the flat car low to the tracks but it sure is alot of mass to hang out there. I could put a single pilot axle in front of it. I then thought to mount it on its own pivoting truck that would be attached to the flat car… but now I’m back to putting in on the car.
I did want the blower car to look like a real car so I was staying away from the duct work but I might need to reconsider.
If you were to make a cover for that rotary that would cover the top half only to concentrate the air flow at the track level would that work? I’d take a piece of cardboard and tape some shapes to the existing rotary you have and see what will happen to the air flow and see if it would work.
Help! I can not locate exhaust nozzle. B&D’s wep site has these nozzles as obsolete.
Sorry Louis. My B&D blower that I cut up was at least 10 years old.
Don
Todd
Here is a short video showing the blower against leaves and pine needles.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-3ol72uL14[/youtube]
Hope you enjoy!
Sean
Great video Sean. Your blower is really quite effective.
Doc