I am not sure why anyone would think that of all things, a train, would be able to sail right through a heavy snowfall. Trains are as bad as automobiles when it comes to snow because drifting snow and heavy accumulations block the tracks. A quick glance at our history will reveal many examples. In 1896, on Long Island, a heavy snow fall blocked the passenger train from King’s Park to Wading River on Christmas Eve. It took to the next day to extricate the passengers. On another occasion during the same year, heavy snow blocked the trains from Long Island City to Southhampton. Howver, passengers were able to be removed from the trains by the use of sleighs, which safely transported them to the nearest town. In addition, who could forget the story in the Laura Ingalls Wilder book, “The Long Winter”? The blizzard of 1888 dumped so much snow in the Dakota Territory that the trains were unable to make it through with needed supplies. The moral of the story is when it is a blizzard or a time of heavy snows, stay home.
And then there was this one.
http://cprr.org/Museum/Stranded_Streamliner_1952/index.html
“The Case of the Stranded Streamliner”
The rescue of SP’s snowbound “City of San Francisco”at Yuba Pass, January 13-19, 1952.
After an snowfall/ice storm in the 1990's made it impossible to get anywhere for a week, a second moral is to have lots of food in the pantry at all times, plus a backup source of heat for the house.
There was another train blocked in the Rocky mountains just a month or two ago. It arrive a day or two late. I didn’t think about trains being blocked by downed trees before. I always thought the right of ways were to wide for that. It just goes to show people have to check weather forcasts for train trips as well as car, bus, and plane travel.