Scott Schiechl Wrote:
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> I believe my friend's concern was that when a
> Talgo is being pushed by the locomotive, the
> leading end mught not have enough weight to plow
> through a moderate snowbank.

The Talgos generally used in the Cascade Corridor (Eugene to Vancouver BC) generally have NPCUs at the end opposite the locomotive. The NPCUs are retired locomotives that have had the prime mover and associated gear removed, and re-ballasted with concrete, as I understand it. It would seem to me that that ought to deal with moderate snow banks just fine.

And just of the record, the Eugene to Vancouver corridor does not have any significant mountain grades to conquer. The tracks run parallel to the mountains, not over them.