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[CNJRoss]

UP website, posted 7/23:

Historic Rotary Snowplow Receives Warm Welcome in Roseville


SPMW (Southern Pacific Maintenance of Way) 7221 on display in Roseville.

One of Union Pacific's legendary rotary snowplows — SPMW 7221 — made its final move July 1 into Roseville, California. It didn't cut through any drifts but still was welcomed by crowds who came out to see it become part of a permanent display just outside UP's J.R. Davis Yard, alongside the Southern Pacific steam locomotive No. 2252.

Davis Yard is an obvious choice to display this historic equipment as it is a processing point for 95 percent of all rail traffic though Northern California — that includes freight and passengers heading through Donner Summit, where snowpack can reach 18 feet deep.

"All rotaries for the Sierras ran out of Roseville," said Bill Lynch, retired Southern Pacific superintendent, responsible for battling snow over Donner Pass. "They were sometimes called War Wagons — going to war against Mother Nature. If there was any one place on the railroad that this belongs, it's right here."

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