Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-02-02
BATTLES WITH SNOW
HARD FIGHTING FOR RAILROAD MEN
IN THE ROCKIES.

Every Wehleiu IuliIDhu ~ tNuiBFC'
with large force Of snow lighters
Rotary snowplOws and men who know
how TO run them can cut their was
through drifts that IN the early day
of western railroading would have
resulted IN complete blockades. Tho
rotary snowplow is one Of the mar
wells of the railroad Of today, and It Il
a liberal education I'm the art Of snow
lightlng 10 see ore OF them eating its
way through white drift that threat
ems 10 cut or communication between
the east and the west There are sew
.eral passes In the Rocky mountains
which for six months In the year or
more form a constant menace to train
crews. These passes are situated at
the top OF the Great Divide, where the
elements have full sway. Boreas pass,
"a Colorado, Ia a fair example. The
snow begins falling at Boreas late In
August or early I'm September and Il
does not cease until well into May and
sometimes June. There Will be inter
mlttent snOwstorms In the midsummer
months. but these are trinlng affairs
aud are not 20 be mentioned In the
same breath with the tremendous
.snowfalls Of January and February.
Few men make their homes at Boreas.
10 In nothing for them 10 get up In the
morning and find themselves complete
iy buried In snow. The one store Is
usually nt the end OF a tunnel cut
through an immense sDowdrft. The
population Of Boreas during these
snowy months consists, for the most
part. OF the railroad men who are en-
gagged In the strenuous work OF fight
ing constantly changing drifts. Snow
At Boroas does not fall; II RACES. II IL
blown about In swrls and eddies and
IL forever forming new drifts as treach-
erOusly as a river that is constantly
shifting the sand banks OF its mouth
These drifts are not little affairs that
will barely cover a stake and rider
fence. They are piled ten. twenty aud
thirty feet high. and they spring up In
a night.
TO the "tenderfoot' Il would seem
Impossible TO plow a way through these
drifts, at DOreas. but when huge ro-
tary snowplOw comes whlrllng up the
track with three or four engines push.
ing vigorously behind II the "tender-
foot reserves his decision. He Is
still inclined 10 favor the snowdrift.
bat he prefers 10 await developments
before committing himself With
rush and plunge the big rotary Il
hurled into the white mass OF snow.
Black smoke pours from the engines,
and the huge blades OF the snowplow
eat rclentessly Into the drift The
snow shoots out OF the orlnce at the
side OF the plOw. forming a huge white
semiclrclo constantly moving forward.
One can keep track OF the progress OF
the pl0w by following the advance. |
ment OF this rainbow OF snow. Foot by
foot the rotary eats lts way forward |
aud hnally Il and the engines are /
buried IN huge trench OF white. Only |
the stacks OF the engines can be seen. |
belching their blackness on the virgin |
garb about them. Hut the great white /
semclrcle never fails 10 go forward !
until hnally tho "tendcrfootT knows |
that the drift II being conquered. |
When the regular overland limited /
comes along a few hours later. the pas,
sengcrs do not know OF the battle that
has Just been fought. They travel
through a canyon OF snow as they pass
horeas, but they have mo- idea OF the
tremendous force required 10 cut this
white path over the ridge OF the con.
unent; so they 10 ON, all unconscious
In their rullmans, while the railroad
men at the next siding ahead oil the
rotary and glrd up their lolns for the
next battle, which they know Boreas
VIII be prepared 10 give them in fcw
hours
The experiences az ROeas pass dur.
ing a hard winter aV duplicated at
many other railroad passes Ia the
Rocky mountains, TO say nothing of
great stretches al lower attitudes which
have always been the favored haunta
Of snowdrlfts aud which have always
given railroad men great trouble. Il
u the unexpected element az these
points that brings serious aspect 20 !
tho situation, AZ the passes over the /
Graat Divide railroad men are prepared A.,
for trouble, and consequently serious /.
oleckades are few, but when word
COMES that a train has failed 90 hght
Iss way through the drifts 100 or per !
haps 300 miles from the nearest avail 3
able rotary plow there Is eonsterna a
Hon To get a rotary plow 20 the a
llockaded train takes time. aud la the
meantime the drifts are aecumulatlng ,
"a the unused mad. aud each hour "
,rlngs new menaces 10 railroad men u
lnd passenger alike. q
sometimes even the rotary plow has h
'een known to be caught Ia a snow $,
.lockade. one instance occurred in 81,
y fgoming An engineer who had no \.
ary Plow on ahead and who was max. "
X good prgress during a nerce snow. ~
Iorm was compelled 10 run back Few
'iies Tor water lnstead 0f taking the Isl
'tary with him be unconplod and ran y,
b eagine back, aud ia the meantime .,
= snow gathened ~ fast over the W
acks that he was unable 10 nrht his m'
~ back 10 the plow. Such Instances mi
. rare, however and are only owing
tue oversight OF sOme tralnman far a.,