The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1874-04-23
sNOw-PLOws.
How Snow BIockades BROKEN the Cen
trail Pacific Hailroad.

Once in while, when The storm would tighten
up we could catch glimpse of the great SNOW
plow with its six engines, around some bend.
driving into the drifts with a fierce that it would
seem would move the world. These snow-plnws
are a curiosity, both in their construction and
the manner in which they do their work. They
are immense structures-I say structures, for
they are as big twO-story house, and weigh
from A., 900 to 5000 pounds. In front they are
shaped like the iron pillow of an irOnclad frigate,
only the sharp, vertical portion of this PROV
changes into flat surface where il approaches
the ground. Attached to this Hat 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 i'll 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 any other
little Irregularities with ease. The long pillow is
pushed under the snow, the apron scraping it
clear from the rails, and lifting il up bodily, it
meets the vertical section of the plow, which di-
vides il and hurls il off either side. When
running at a 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 deep chasms aud canons. Some such
this was presented the other night when
Mr.. Fillmore, the Division Superintendent,
brought the eastward bound express train
through with eleven engines. The was
one OF the MlllcSt anu SranueSt tlat has ever
been witnessed on this road. 1t had been storm
ing all day and night, and all the next day, and
the snow had fallen and drfted some places ten
and fifteen feet in depth. The train started out
from ColfaN with three engines hut at Alta it
took fourth. A snow-pOw with seven heavy
fifty-fve ton engines went on ahead to clear the
way, but ut Blue Canon the pillow stuck in a huge
drift, and the whole force of the seven engines
could not bulge it an inch ahead. After shovel
ing awhile the express train and the snow train
were coupled together, making team of eleven
engines, snow pillow and six cars Such sight
was never seen. The long chain of putting mon
sters backed down for a mile or two, and then,
taking fresh start, came at the drift at the rate
of forty miles an hour. The only wonder is that
the pillow was not crunched into sawdust 1t not
only stood this enormous strain, but il kept to
the track and cut an eleven-fOOt passage in the
drift with the precision of surgeons knife
With the power increased, the pillow cut its
way through to Emigrant Gap. At one point
near there the spectacle was magnificent. On
sharp curve on steep emban kment the
had been piled up TO the very height of the
smOke-stacks of the engines for distance of one
Thousand yards. The curve was so situated that
il was in full view of the station at the Cap
The weather had cleared off and the moon shOne
brightly on the snow. In the distance, slowly
forging ahead, were the eleven black and be-
grimmed leviathans, while in front of them was
the great pillow throwing up snow in huge masses
like ocean pillows, and rolling it down the noun
tain 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 tnmbling down the
mountain side, all furnished scene which those
who have not witnessed il can never apureciate
San Francisco Chronicle.