The incident happened just north of Colton in the eastern half of South Dakota. December 2022.
The plow, backed by three engines, rammed into the start of a nearly mile long drift. It didn’t get very far. Suddenly, the plow was off the rail and at a 45 degree angle on its side. Fortunately no one was hurt.
Heavy equipment showed up the next day and began digging everything out. The plow was dug out and lifted back on the tracks using a side boom dozer. The entire mile long drift was dug out with a combination of excavators, bulldozer, and tractor mounted snowblower. This took three days plus. The drifts were not only deep (over 10 ft.) but the 50 mph winds had packed them like concrete.
The plow sat for several days, looking a little battered. A pair of bright orange BNSF engines showed up and pulled it back to the shop.
