'Sierra Snow Fighters'

occurred in 2011, when almost 700 inches or 58 feet of snow fell during the winter season, burying the mountain and halting train movement for six days.

“We learned a thing or two in 2011,” Upton said.

For starters, Union Pacific brought on an “avalanche team” that works to mitigate risk and exposure by deliberately triggering safe, controlled avalanches. “Instead of Mother Nature giving us the snow when she wants too, we now get the snow when we want too, in a planned and safe manner.”

Union Pacific also bought highly specialised snow cats favored by ski resorts, including the PistenBully 600w Polar - a powerhouse that can climb and get the Union Pacific crew where it needs to go on remote sections of the mountain.

The snow cats are great, but the team’s first line of snow-fighting defense is a Flanger, a piece of snow-removal equipment that utilizes “flanger blades” to clear the snow and ice between the rails. The flanger, which can resemble a caboose, is pulled by specially equipped locomotives.

The team also has nine snow cats – high-powered snow tanks - that they use to navigate through the snow and access remote areas on the mountain. The cats are used for a variety of snow-removal purposes, including pushing the snow away from the side of the track.

“With the amount of snow we have, if we don’t move the snow away from the tracks, we get “bermed in,” with no place to put the snow that accumulates off the tracks,” said Upton.

Another tool in their snow-fighting tool chest is a “spreader,” a specially designed piece of equipment outfitted with a plow in the middle and 16-foot snow blades or “wings” on each side. Spreaders are used to plow through snow and move it away from the tracks.