By 6:00 P.M. on February 16, 1909, more than 18 inches of snow had fallen in Vermont...and that was just in the past 24 hours.

Vermont was in the midst of a heavy snowstorm. Compounding the problem was the apparent changeover to sleet and freezing rain, resulting in four inches of ice.

The biggest problem? Rail travel. Major rail lines had completely given up trying to transport freight, devoting all resources to moving passenger trains on time. It was a lost cause, and that meant lost income. The passenger train due to arrive in Montpelier at 9 A.M. didn’t arrive until four in the afternoon.

Image courtesy The Railroads of Vermont, Volume Two by Robert C. Jones.