Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1920-09-23
HOW RAILROADS FIGHT SNOW.
Keeping Tracks Clear i'm Northwest
job of Big Proportions.

kccpinE Tracks Clear in Northwest
job of Big Proportions.
Where is the heaviest snowfall in
the United States!
The weather bureau says it Is in
the Cascade mountains OF Washing
ton and Oregon ana the Sierra Nc
Nada OF California. There in the win
ter time snow accumulates on tho
level ground to a depth OF % or 80
feet and is often twice as deep as
that in canyons and gulches. In the
high Sierra Nevada snowfall of 65
feet is not uncommon. At Tamarack,
Cal, mile and Il half above sea
level. IS l-2 feet fell during the win
ter OF 1906-O7
Railroads find such SHOWS impossi
bic TO remove. On the overland
route of the Southern Pacific, cross
ing the Sierra Nevada. 1t has been
necessary to build 81 miles of snow
sheds, at cose Of $4,000 to $4,000
per mile. They are constructed of
| massive timbers and are designed to
sustain snow 16 feet deep. When
the snow gets deeper than that it
must he shovcled off by hand.
At points where the railroad runs
along steep slopes millions of tons of
snow slide over the tops of the sheds
each winter. this movement being ia
cilitatcd by an apron" 30 to 40 feet
long, built so as to slant from the
shed roof up to the hillside above the
latter.
One trouble about the sheds Is that
locomotives are liable to set them on
fire. So serious is this danger that
four trains in summer and two trains
in tint lnl
paratus. are kept always under
steam. All local engines carry
pumps and are followed by tank cars
filled with water for firc-fighting pur-
poses.
Snowslidcs in the Sierra Nevada
| and Cascade mountains vcritable ava
lanchcs of snow. often sweep away
the sheds. Worse yet, they occasion
ally bring disaster to trains. On jan
uary %, 1916. a snowslidc struck an
all-stcel passenger train near Corea.
Wash. and cut ii in two, swee eping
several coaches into ravine l20
feet below and killing a number of
persons.
In many parts of the eastern Unit
| Cd states. where. of course, the mis-
chief is far less serious. the railroads
| each autumn put up wooden fences
four to six feet high. These fences
are erected on the west or north side
of the tracks, because drifting snow
| !S carried usually by northcrly or
westerly winds. Breaking the force
OF the wind near the ground. they
precipitate the snow in a drift on the
lee side of the fence. leaving the
track beyond relatively clear.
Some railroads in the plains States
| recently have adopted the expedient
| of planting trees for windbreaks II
! has proved very successful, and dur
| ing tn" last three summers many
| miles of young trees of sturdy and
| rapid growing kinds have been set
out in this way. They are placed
| close together and a few years from
| now they will offer an effective bar
rier. Clutches and canyons traversed
| by the Union Pacific railroad i'm Colo
RADIO and Wyoming are being pro-
| tccted by like means against the
| drifting SHOWS which tend to choke
| them in winter. obstructing traffic.
Not only does a heavy snowfall
| add greatly to the cost Of a railroads
maintenance of way. but it also
! causes loss through interruption of
/ the flow Of freight and eventually ia
/ business and industry in general EX-
n"nsc is further occasioncd when coal
arrives at its destination sohdly fro
Zcn In cars. which have to be thawed
out.