Mountain railroads in deep snow country are susceptable to avalanches. All those miles of snowshed on the original Central Pacific Sierra Crossing weren't built to subsidize the timber interests.
The problem with clearing avalanches is that, in addition to snow packed to the consistency of concrete, they frequently contain full-grown trees and boulders the size of SUVs. More than one rotary broke its fan trying to eat a tree.
Where avalanches can be a problem, preemptive action (with artillery, or blasting charges delivered by helicopter) can be taken to trigger the slide at a time when equipment has been pre-dispatched and interference with rail traffic will be minimized. IIRC, Railroading in Alaska had part of an episode featuring a 57mm recoilless rifle popping cornices above the tracks.
On my favorite Japanese rail route there are massive concrete slide deflector roof structures in line with the usual avalanche spots. The maglev, which is planned to roughly follow the same route, will pass through in a continuous tunnel.
Chuck
I bet Sir Chicken wears a helmet year 'round....Gets a little nasty next door....
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Tell the guys in Fargo N.D. they don't have too much to worry about, the mountains around there aren't all that high.
It's them summer avalanches you got to watch out for.
As usual the weather guessers ( alarmists ) are predicting avalanches from this storm. So if in the unlikely time one should hit a RR be on the lookout.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.