Mechanical sand removal

A mechanical sand remover system that removes sand from a railroad track comprising a pair of rails, the mechanical sand remover system comprising:

• a pneumatic compressor;
• a pair of mechanical sand removers that removes sand from the rails, each of the mechanical sand removers comprising:
• an actuator in pneumatic communication with the pneumatic compressor;
• a pair of web wiper pads having a lateral dimension that corresponds to a lateral dimension of a rail web of the railroad rail;
• and
• a caliper mechanism mechanically coupled to the actuator and operable thereby into a retraction state and an engagement state, the caliper mechanism including a pair of caliper arms respectively coupled to the web wiper pads at an angle relative thereto;
• and
• a pneumatic control that selectively provides pneumatic pressure to the actuator to compel the retraction state and the engagement state of the caliper mechanism.

A sand plow that removes sand from a railroad track, the sand plow comprising:

• a forward plow blade having a pair of rail voids that accommodate a pair of rails of the railroad track;
• and
• a pair of mechanical sand removers that remove sand from the rails left by the rail voids in the forward plow blade, each of the mechanical sand removers comprising:
• an actuator;
• a pair of web wiper pads having a lateral dimension that corresponds to a lateral dimension of a rail web of the corresponding one of the rails;
• and
• a caliper mechanism mechanically coupled to the actuator and operable thereby into a retraction state and an engagement state, the caliper mechanism including a pair of caliper arms respectively coupled to the web wiper pads at an angle relative thereto.