Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1872-02-01
The Pacific Railroads in Winter.

The experience of this season has.
shown conclusively that if regular time
is to be made on the northern transcon-
tinental railroads in winter, snow-sheds
of great strength must be built, and
kept constantly in repair. Since the
Goth of December the service has been
extremely irregular. Three hundred
and fifty passengers came into Chicago
ON the morning of January s, who had
been nearly three weeks on the road
from San Francisco. Most of the delay
occurred between Percy and Cheyenne.
The distance between these points is
only one hundred and fifty miles, but
almost two weeks was taken in travers-
ing it. 1t appears that the heavy snow
storm which began about December 20
was the occasion Of this remarkable de-
lay, the drifts having packed SO heavily
in the cuts and gullies along the route
as to make passage impossible. The
average depth of the snow, did not, we
are told, exceed twelve inches. 1t was,
however, extremely fine, light, and dry,
and easily blown from place to place.
The fall of snow was succeeded by ire
mendous gales which swept the plains
in every direction. Hence the ravines
| and excavations along the line of the
railroad naturally became choked up.
| The engines could make no impression
| on this frail yet potent obstacle. Even
| the snow-plows, of which there seems
! to have been an insufficient number,
were only partly successful. They often
ran off the track, and even when they
did their work and train got by, in a
| IL l.
impossible. Between Ogden and Chey-
enne it is stated that two thousand lab.
orers, many of them Chinese, have been
kept steadily at work to clear the track
yet with snow-plows, spades and all, the
detention has exceeded by fortnight
the regulation time.
Some of the experiences of the
snowed.up passengers were novel, rather
than agreeable. Happily, in no instance
did coal, or wood and water give out
of these there was always abundance
But as regards food, matters were differ.
ent. No one actually starved to death
but many must have been uncomfort
ably near it. 1t is hard to make five
days supply exc out to twenty, and this
with most of the passengers, was Just
the problem that had to be solved OF
| course, there are the "section eating
houses''-the Mugby-J JUNCTION restaur
ants of our great plains but in these
at the best of times, the fare is of doubt
full excellence, and, their regular sup
plies being cut off by the storm, what
was bad in quality became almost no
thing in quantity. One train was fur
nished by the Railroad Company with
the curious provender of "halibut and
crackers" on which many people fol
days subsisted. Black coffee and bread
were sometimes to be had, and a few
lucky souls had elk and antelope steaks
fried in pork fat. Occasionally an enter
prising wayfarer would get a "squarC
meal" by gaining the favor of tele
graph operator, or some other potent
official along the road. Some unfortu
mates who, either from motives of econ
omy, or because they could not be other
wise served, had no berths in the sleep
ing cars, had to pass all the nights foi
three weeks in day cars. The discom
fort of this, added to the deprivation o
food, may be easily imagined. Yet ther,
seems to have been little sickness anC
much hilarity. Whist parties were go
up, and the time was enlivened by son,
and story telling. The festivities reached
their climax at Percy, where two ball
were held in the back part of a grocer
store. The music was furnished by {"
guitar, mouth harmonicon and fine
tooth comb" and, on the authority of
Chicago journal, we are glad to kno,
that the pleasure was exquisite" an
that the programme" which consists
of round and fancy dances, was pre-
tracted until a late hour.
s Happily, all got through in safety
! No one was starved. or frozen, G
l scalped, and none are worse, save
!, loss of time, for the adventure. TIL
Railway Company should take care
? however, that after this season such &C
ventures do not happen again. Mer
sheds, with open sides, afford little pre-
lection against drifting, and it is cles
that these structures. in exposed place
: should be provided with walls as we
7 as roofs. 1t will be costly work, Il
4 doubt, to make. such provision; b,
: after all the line of track most likely I
! be snow-bound is comparatively shor
= and it certainly must prove more expel
y sive to the Company to have their trail
y detained, as they have been this winte
than to pay for what will insure the
Il running "on time"