The Big Snow

Disaster Is Brewing In Donner Pass... Winter in the High Sierras has always been a challenge, but this time is different. Global warming has spawned an endless series of blizzards the likes of which have never been seen before. Even the proud Union Pacific is reeling from the onslaught. But the relentless storms and equipment breakdowns are only the beginning. They face a crisis at Donner Summit: a passenger train wrecked in the most dangerous, inhospitable terrain in all of railroading. The railroad men, exhausted and short of equipment, must brave bitter cold and white-out conditions to rescue the survivors, in a raging blizzard, with the real danger of avalanches striking at any moment. More than five hundred lives hang in the balance... ***** This is the story of the unsung heroes of modern railroading - the Maintenance of Way - who keep the lines open under the worst conditions, and who uphold the time honored tradition that the trains will always get through.