Workers took hours to clear tracks

From our January 2013 issue

By William BarylukEstevan, Sask.

The winter of 1947 was one of the hardest and coldest winters that I’ve experienced. The location of this snapshot was 2-1⁄2 miles northeast of Bienfait, Sask., on the CNR line. The snowdrift was about 100 yards long and, oh, so deep!

The engine on the plow would strike the snowdrift and move it several feet where it got stuck. Another engine was on hand behind the first one to pull it out after the workers had cleared the track, and this endeavor continued until the snowdrift was clear and open to traffic. This took several hours to complete.

The depth of the snow could be measured by the depth on the engine and the plow in the snowdrift and by me and others sitting on the cross by the transmission line adjacent to the railway track.


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