Party-Time on the Snow Train

By Thornton Waite

Photos courtesy of Holly Crawley

Based on the images shown here, I’d say the Rotary Club members who went along for the famous Spring Campaign of the Union Pacific Railroad partied hard.

True, the photos on these pages were taken during the Prohibition era, when alcoholic beverages were not allowed, but somehow I doubt this was the case on the special train that took three to four days to clear the line from Ashton to West Yellowstone in March of every year. The pictures show how the club members enjoyed the trip—by climbing atop the rotary plow and other railroad equipment, or onto snowbanks to take photos of the train and scenery. A railroad employee often stood on top of the plow to inspect the line ahead, but the crowd seen in these photos certainly was not the norm.