Frozen Over and Snowed Under

Intense cold, high winds, drifting snow, and avalanches challenged railroaders all winter long on Boreas Pass and in Ten Mile Canyon, known as the High Line. To endure the grueling conditions, men layered heavy wool clothing that sometimes froze on their bodies by day’s end. Ice, snow, and rocks on the track could derail trains and cause deadly accidents, and with little visibility engineers often drove straight into drifts using bucking plows, backing up and charging repeatedly until they broke through. Because crews could not communicate with the dispatcher when trouble arose, they worked under an unwritten rule to make it happen, digging through drifts, making repairs, and doing whatever was necessary to keep the line moving. In extreme snow conditions, operators relied on a rotary snowplow that had to be pushed by as many as six or seven locomotives while its front blades hurled snow up to 30 feet from the track. A crew of four ran the rotary through deafening noise, long shifts, and icing doors, while snow diggers living in box cars followed behind to shovel drifts down by hand when the machine stalled. Avalanches also dumped trees, boulders, and other debris onto the rails, sometimes requiring dynamite and track repairs. The difficulty, danger, and length of winter operations imposed heavy financial costs on the railroad companies and contributed to the High Line’s closure in 1937.

Breckenridge, Colorado · United States