under those conditions...

WOW,after reading that account,I have more respect than ever before for our country,ANY kinda railroading under those conditions would be considered abuse,when it gets that cold and windy, steel will shatter like glass, that is probably why so many broken drawbars and axles,I must correct mike on one thing, Alaska WAS invaded in WW2 the islands of attu and kiska were occupied by the Japanese!!!yes folks north american soil fell to the axis powers in WW2!! I can see the sense of urgency in the commanders report, you can tell he was under great pressure to get the line open at any cost,men and equipment be damned,the country was at stake,I bet railroading across cumbres pass would have started getting desperate if the japs would have started to cross the border from Arizona into New Mexico about 1946,bet some drawbars would have been pulled out!!Remember the sherman tank vs tiger tank equation,5 to 1, five out, one comes back, it was desperate times then,them worn out K27's are war heroes,not all war heroes came home,but we remember'em!!!!!uncle sam drafts men and uses them up,why should the equipment be treated better,sad truth of war