Railroad museum showcases Sierra snowplowing
By Robin Opsahl, Sacramento Bee
Dealing with winter in the Sierra Nevada isn’t easy, but a new exhibit at the California State Railroad Museum shows visitors how the railroads have kept trains moving year-round.
“Clearing the Way,” which is on display through March, features a 251,000-pound rotary snowplow – a trainlike machine with a large set of circular blades that cuts through snow and blows it up and away from the tracks. The snowplow on display was built in 1920 and was donated to the museum by Union Pacific in 2008.