Stewart Rhine Wrote:
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> The RGS crews were good at dealing with snowslides
> as they had constant trouble with slides at Ames
> (near Milepost 41.5 above Vance Jct) and just past
> bridge 45-B at the Ophir Loop. That is where a
> slide took out the first Ophir depot in 1897.
> Sometimes they had men pole the snow to check for
> rocks and trees before sending the rotary into the
> slide. It didn't always work so the shop men must
> have been good at keeping the rotarys in service.
The sectionmen routinely "prospected" any slide with the poles before the rotary ever took a pass. There were plenty of places where basic snow accumulations and drifts could be plowed without prospecting but snow from a slide was not one of them. They almost always carried rocks and trees which would knock the rotary out of action if they weren't found and removed.
Any yes, like the guys at Chama on the C&TS and the lads at Durango on the D&S, the RGS shop guys were miracle workers!