The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-04-16
How Snow BlOckadeS are Broken on
the Central Pacific Railroad.

Once in a while, when the storm would
| tighten up, we could catch a glimpse OF
| the great snOw-plow, with its six engines,
around some bend, driving into the drifts
with force that it seemed would move
| the world. The snOw-plOws are a eurioSi-
| ty both in their construction and the man.
ner in which they do their work. They
are immense Structures-I say structures,
for they are as big as a two-story house
and weigh from 5000 to $1,000 pounds.
In front they are shaped like the iron PROV
of an iron-clad frigate, only the sharp ver-
tical portion of this PROV changes into a
flat surface where it approaches the ground.
Attached to this fiat or horizontal prov is
what is called an ''aprOn." This apron is
attached to the PROV by means of hinges.
1t lifts up and lets down directly on the
track at pleasure, and when down it is
held there by large steel springs. When
in motion this apron slides right on the
rails, pressing hard on them, but from the
rounded surface which it presents TO them
it glides over the Joints and other little ir
regularites with ease. The long prov is
pushed under the snow, the apron scrap
ing it clear from the rails, and lifting it up
bodily it meets the vertical section of the
plOw, which divides it and hurls it off on
either side. When running at high rate
of speed, as is often the case. these plOwS
sometimes hurl the snow into the air fifty
feet, and plunge it in huge masses into
the chasms and canyons. Some such
scene as this was presented the other night
when MIR. Fillmore, the Division Superin-
tcndent, brought the eastward-bound eX-
press train through with eleven engines.
The scene was one of the widest and
grandest that has ever been witnessed on
this road. 1t had been stOrming all
day and all night, and all the
next day, and the snow had fallen
and drifted in some places ten and fifteen
feet in depth. The train started out
from COlfaX with three engines, but at
Alta it took a fourth. A snow-Dlow,
with seven heavy 90 ton engines, went on
ahead to clear the way, but at Blue Canon
the plOw stuck in huge drift, and the
whole force of the seven engines could not
bulge it an inch ahead. After shOveling
awhile the express train and the snow
train were coupled together, making a
team OF eleven engines, a SnOw-plOw and
six ears. Such a sight was never seen.
The long chain of putting monsters backed
down for a mile or two, and then, taking a
fresh start, came at the drift at the rate OF
forty miles an hour. The only wonder is
that the plOw was not crushed into saw
dust. 1t not only stood this enormous
strain, but it kept to the truck and cut an
eleven-foot passage in the drift with the
precision of a surgeons knife. With the
power so increased the plOw cut its way
through to Emigrant Gap. At one point
near there the spectacle was magnificent.
On sharp curve on a steep embankment
the snow had been piled up to the very
height Ofthe SmOke-Stacks of the engines
for distance of 1000 yards. The curve
was so situated that it was in view of the
station at the Gap. The weather had
cleared off and the moon shOne brightly
on the snow. In the distance. slowly
forging ahead, were the eleven black and
begrimed leviathans, while III front of
them was the great plOw throwing up
snOwin huge masses like ocean pillows,
and rolling it down the mountain sides
thousands of feet into the yawning chasm
below The smoke and fire from eleven
tunnels, the tops of which could just be
seen above the drifts, the horrible noise
and din of the putting steam, and the great
glaciers being thrown high in the air and
tumbling down the mountain side, all
furnished scene which but those who
have witnessed it can ever appreciate
San francisco ChronicLe.