Union Pacific Railroad Stereograph View, "Digging Out a Train from a Snow Drift," circa 1875

For a railroad, heavy snowdrifts were more than mere inconveniences. When snow blocked the track, trains didn't run and money was lost. If a passenger train got stuck in a blizzard, the situation could turn deadly. Ideally, the track could be cleared with a large plow pushed by a locomotive. In some cases, though, hand shoveling was the only option.