Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado. County/parish: Larimer.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places October 04, 2006. NRIS 06000934.
1 contributing structure.Also known as:
SnoGo Snow Blower is a brand of truck-mounted rotary snow blower originally produced by the Klauer Engineering Company of Dubuque, Iowa, in 1928 and initially styled as SNOGO. Wausau Equipment Company, Inc., purchased the line from Klauer, styled by then as SnoGo, in 2000; as of 2025 it continues to produce SnoGo brand snow removal equipment for both municipal and airport use.
A "revolution in snow removal", the original SNOGO's used motors as large as 400 hp to move up to 4,200 tons of snow per hour, and offered such advanced features as an enclosed cab, four wheel drive, and roll-up windows.
A 1932 SNOGO owned by the United States National Park Service, one of 39 made by Klauer during 1928-1934, is believed to be the oldest in existence. It was used on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, until 1952.
The Park Service blower used a six-cylinder 1,188 cu in (19,470 cm3) Climax Blue Streak gasoline engine, which developed 175 horsepower (130 kW) at 1,200 RPM. It had an eight-speed transmission allowing vehicle speed to be regulated between 1⁄4 to 25 miles per hour (0.40 to 40.23 km/h) when not moving snow. It was claimed to be capable of throwing snow 100 feet (30 m) to the side.
Similar blowers, used at Crater Lake and Yosemite National Parks, no longer exist. In 1943 the blower was loaned to Rapid City Air Base for use in keeping the airfield's runways clear, then returned in the spring. The National Park Service gave it to the city of Estes Park, Colorado in 1952, which used it until 1979, when it was damaged by water entering through the exhaust. The plow was returned to the park and put on display at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. As of 2009 park planned to restore the plow to operating condition.
(read more...)National Park Service documentation: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/84131473