Two more unique cars from the Colorado Railroad Museum:
FLANGER CARS were used when a simple pilot plow on a locomotive was not enough to clear the tracks, especially to remove snow or ice packed between the rails. They were run in special trains (flanger trains) consisting of two locomotives pulling a flanger and two cabooses (including one for the track gang). To pass switches and other specific points, the blades of the flanger could be raised by air with a valve operated from the locomotive. A pivoting target on top of the flanger indicated the position of the blades (up or down) to the locomotive crew. Ten wooden flangers were built by the Denver & Rio Grande between 1885 and 1888.
A SCALE TEST WEIGHT CAR is a type of railroad car used to calibrate the weighing scales used to weigh loaded railroad cars. This is used to accurately bill the railroad's customers for their cargo. Scale test cars are of a precisely known weight so that the track scale can be calibrated against them. Many scale test cars were small, old railroad cars carrying heavy metal weights as their superstructure.
