National Guard personnel who've been rescuing motorists stranded in the weekend blizzard found out the snow drifts were heavy enough to stop a train.
Even two trains.
The call came in Monday morning to Freeborn County's emergency management director from Union Pacific railroad officials, who needed help rescuing nine people who were stuck on rails that were blanketed by thick snow drifts about six miles south of Ellendale.
RT @MnDPS_HSEM: Seven people from two different trains were stuck on the tracks in Freeborn County. The crew members were rescued earlier today by the @mnnationalguard using its small unit support vehicle (SUSV). This is what they found when they arrived. pic.twitter.com/g0JuwzBBR3
— MN Public Safety (@MnDPS_DPS) February 26, 2019Two trains ground to a half; a northbound train, and a second locomotive sent by the railroad in their own rescue attempt.
"They were trying to take care of their own rescue missions with some of the resouces that they have, and it didn't work," said Sergeant Zachary Krenz at the Freeborn County armory in Albert Lea.
The railroad crews had been stranded about 12 miles north of Albert Lea for 24 to 36 hours, and National Guard members went to work.
"They took our track vehicle rescue rig, down the interstate and through the fields," said Krenz."They're going to go pick each individual up, one at a time, at each of those trains, and they'll be bringing them back."
According to Union Pacific officials, the workers in the first train were picked up at 10:00 Monday morning, and the second 20 minute later.
No one was hurt, according to the railroad.
The train personnel were brought to the Freeborn County national guard armory, where more than forty stranded motorists spent the night.
There is another report from southern Minnesota that a National Guard tank got stuck in the snow assisting stranded motorists in Wabasha.
