Winter
Keeping the Northern Transcon open during the winter is a significant challenge, whether from snow in the Midwest and mountains or rain on the west coast. Heavy rains have the potential to cause mudslides along Puget Sound between Seattle and Everett and in the Nisqually, Washington area between Tacoma and Olympia. For example, in early January, 2006 there were four slides between Seattle and Everett. This was followed in late January, 2006 and again in early February, 2006 by mudslides both between Seattle and Everett and around Nisqually. Following the clearing of a slide no passenger train can run for 48 hours to ensure that the slide area has stabilized.
Read more about this topic: Northern Transcon
Famous quotes containing the word winter:
“Go, birds of spring: let winter have his fee;
Let a bleak paleness chalk the door,
So all within be livelier than before.”
—George Herbert (1593–1633)
“So near to paradise all pairing ends:
Here loveless birds now flock as winter friends,
Content with bud-inspecting. They presume
To say which buds are leaf and which are bloom.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“all ignorance toboggans into know
and trudges up to ignorance again:
but winter’s not forever, even snow
melts; and if spring should spoil the game, what then?
all history’s a winter sport or three:”
—E.E. (Edward Estlin)