The Steam Snowplow Crews Who Kept Mountain Railroads Open

When ordinary snowplows failed, railroad crews brought out steam-powered rotary snowplows — massive machines designed to cut through drifts and throw snow clear of the tracks. This documentary follows the crews who operated them during the 1952 Sierra Nevada emergency, when the City of San Francisco became stranded near Donner Summit. Keeping the line open meant coordinating steam cutters, pushing locomotives, avalanche danger, repairs, and constant snowfall on one of America’s toughest mountain railroads. This is what it was really like to fight a blizzard from inside a rotary snowplow. #railroadhistory #RotarySnowplow #RailroadWorkers #southernpacific #trainhistory #industrialhistory #ForgottenJobs