BRITAIN’S WINTER

Grey River Argus, 8 February 1940, Page 8

BRITAIN’S WINTER

Details of Blizzard WORST FOR 100 YEARS. LONDON, February 6. Details to January 27 show how the century’s worst blizzard blocked 1500 miles of railway, brought down hundreds of miles of wires, snowed up scores of trains, and paralysed Britain from Land’s End to John O’Groats, with snowdrifts sometimes 15 feet deep. A total of 314 snowploughs, charging frozen snowbanks, with four engines behind them, were frequently derailed. The worst block, near Beattock, involved six passengers and two freight trains, and a newspaper train, 200 soldiers and 120 railwaymen dug for four hours from the north to meet 50 soldiers and 120 railwaymen labouring from the south. A dozen landslides in various districts created further delays. COAL SHORTAGE. (Received February 7, 9 p.m.) RUGBY, February 7. The Minister of Mines, replying to a House of Commons question regarding the recent lack of coal supplies in various areas said that in such exceptionally severe weather conditions as had been experienced in the last few weeks, nothing would prevent an occurrence of temporary difficulties in the distributing of coal.

“These difficulties were not due to any shortage of coal, but to the impossibility of moving it even in some cases where it was already at depots in towns ' where the supplies were needed,” he said.