The kids woke us woke up around midnight because the power was out so I had to go outside to start up the diesel generator and found at least two more feet of fresh snow on the ground. I hated that generator because it sounds like a jet liner landing in our yard all night long but I still managed to get a couple more hours sleep before the work starts again.
Ray Smith the Roadmaster was pounding on the door at 4am reminding us to be ready by 5 as that was the end of the required 8 hours rest. Ray didn't make it up the hill on his own, there was no way to drive even the best truck through all that snow. He was following Jimmy Stokes on the Road Grader which was assigned to clear the road from Highway 58 up to Fields and back twice a day if needed for the school kids to make the bus run.
There had been a few trains overnight and they reported heavy ice building up in the tunnels and also the switch heater is out at East Abernethy. Then we got word from the Dispatcher that PGE was asking for a ride up to the pole line. We were glad to help them if it meant turning off that noisy generator so we made room for their snow cat in the Flanger. The last one to arrive was the Company switch heater expert from Eugene.
So we all crowded on board the Work Train, the 5 man gang from fields, the gas guy, the electric company fellows and the regular crew making it standing room only until we dropped off the two PGE's workers and their snow cat. The rest of us had to get off at the switch with the broken heater since the ice was so thick we couldn't proceed.
In nice weather this spot is a beautiful waterfall where you could see all the way to the Highway running along the river thousands of feet below. But now you can't see a hundred feet and it is all a big frozen mess we couldn't pass. The ice hangs off the tunnel ceiling like stalactites in a cave and we had to use the long aluminum poles with ice hook on the end to knock things loose. Without the rail heater the ice was threatening to stop all traffic but the expert got it going and things started draining again.
We made a quick run to the summit and then sat there letting a few trains run each way while we ate our lunches. All the while the temperature was falling along with the snow and the trainmen were reporting rough spots of ice and deep snow. The Work Train had to turn around on the "Y" track so the Flanger can stay in front going down hill.
Then we hit the tunnel-bridge-tunnel combination at milepost 542 where the ice had built up and the Flanger left the rails. All the Engine could do is pull the thing backwards until it hit the tunnel wall or push it forward until it banged into the bridge and finally the Engine crew was granted permission to return to Chemult to meet their relief crew out of Klamath Falls.
That's when the superintendent called for another Work Train to head up the hill with the Spreader . This was a big deal as we hadn't needed it for the last few years but this was officially bad enough to call out the heaviest piece of track equipment in the snow removal arsenal. The Spreader is a giant snow plow on the front with expansive hydraulic wings that can be adjusted to fit the contour on both sides of the tracks. The Work Train consists of two or more Engines and always included the Outfit car where workers can eat and sleep.
It takes at least three operators to move the snow, one for each wing and another for the Flanger blade in front. It takes great skill using the several levers to raise and lower, extend and retract, then set the angle to move the snow with precision and still keep the car on the rails. There had to be co-ordination between the two wings so that even if there was an empty chasm on one side you still had to extend the wing to balance the load.
Pete Gonzalez was the expert at operating the Spreader with more than 30 years on the hill. Pete called all the shots and had ultimate control of everything including the two Engines pushing from behind by using a one-of-a-kind remote control. It was the one exception when the Engineers had to let go of control, but only as long as Pete was pushing snow.
They cleared the way up to where we were stuck and actually used the Spreader wings to lift the Flanger back on the rail. The Flanger was taken down the hill and parked on the spur track at Frazier next to the tool house where we stored our motor car the day before.
Then we headed back up the hill to finish the Spreader work. Once again we made a quick preliminary run to the summit to let a few trains go through in each direction while turning the spreader on the "Y" track. It was getting near dark by now and we took advantage of the food in the outfit car. There were plenty of external lights that allowed the work to continue past sundown.
Pete had warned that the last time he saw it this bad there were avalanches in the deepest cuts and we had better make two passes rather than cut too deep and leave a gap for things to fall from above. Instead of being a warning for prevention it turned out to be a prediction of what would happen and right on queue we started spreading snow in the first big cut west of Cruzette and were immediately buried in an avalanche from above.
The Engines had plenty of power to pull themselves out of the way but they couldn't budge the spreader...they soon got permission to go back to Chemult and trade train crews leaving us there alone in the snow with the spreader. Inside the Outfit car it was nice and warm, plenty of food, even free cigarrettes.
It was getting past 9pm again and we had worked hard all day so we took time to rest as best we could while waiting for the Engines to return with fresh crews. We talked at length as to whether we should get overtime or not if we slept on the work train or in the Outfit car attached to the snowbound Spreader. The last thing we heard over radio was the electricians had the power back on and made it down the hill OK.
Next up, Railroad Days: Snow Removal - Day 3
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