Gallery: This Huge Train Plow Is Called Darth Vader. It Murders Snow
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The 53-foot-long, 15-foot-tall, 160,000-pound Spreader Ditcher is on hand to keep NY railways clear.
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You can see why NY's MTA calls it "Darth Vader."
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The machine can clear snow drifts as high as 16 feet.
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This beast, built by South Carolina’s Harsco Rail, also is handy in warmer months.
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It's used to spread ballast (the gravel you find between the ties).
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It can also dig ditches alongside the track (hence the name “spreader-ditcher”).
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It offers heated windshields to keep the view clear.
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It's pushed along by one or more locomotives at up to 50 mph.
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It doesn't come out in the winter all that often—the snow needs to get pretty deep before it's worth firing up the spreader ditcher.
