Watch a train bulldoze through feet of snow in California’s Donner Pass
Up to 2-5 feet of snow covered the Sierra Mountains in northern California. To ensure the safe passage of people and cargo on trains, a locomotive cleared the snow from the railroad tracks.
Train plows snow in Sierra Nevada mountains
Drone video captures a train plowing snow in Donner Pass, California during a winter storm. (Credit: Brandon Clement / LSM)
DONNER PASS, Calif. – If you thought snowplows only came on trucks, think again!
New aerial footage shows a train plowing snow off of railroad tracks in northern California’s Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Located northwest of Lake Tahoe, Donner Pass is named after the Donner party, which infamously became stranded at the site due to snowstorms making the route impassable during the winter of 1846 to 1847.
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Over the weekend, a major winter storm blanketed Donner Pass with snow, enough to prevent the safe passage of people and cargo being transported by rail.
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Image 1 of 5Heavy snow in Nevada's Washoe County on Dec. 11, 2022. (Washoe County Sheriff)
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Image 2 of 5Heavy snow in Nevada's Washoe County on Dec. 11, 2022. (Washoe County Sheriff)
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Image 3 of 5Power lines topple in South Lake Tahoe (City of South Lake Tahoe)
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Image 4 of 5Snow covers a freeway onramp sign to Interstate 80 amid heavy snow in California on Dec. 11, 2022. (CalTrans)
![Snow in Crystal Bay, Nevada]()
Image 5 of 5Snow piles up on a deck in Crystal Bay, Nevada, on Dec. 12, 2022. (Dee Dee Mayfield)
Nearby Tahoe reported a storm total of 70 inches of snowfall within 48 hours over the weekend.
Other sites across the Sierra Nevada area ranged between 2 and 4 feet of snow, enough to shut down roads and cause power outages in the area.
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The snow, however, was no match for the snowplow train. It pushed through the powder easily, with the front blade cutting into the feet-deep layer of snow as effortlessly as a spoon scooping out sugar.
A train was seen plowing snow after parts of Lake Tahoe received feet of snow over the weekend.
(Brandon Clement/LSM / FOX Weather)