The great snowstorm of 1940 resulted in frantic scenes to try and clear the railway tracks, and sadly, the death of a railway worker.
On Sunday 28 January, two snow ploughs, in attempting to clear the tracks, became stuck as blizzards continued into early Monday. Frantic efforts overnight resulted in a third plough getting lost in the storms on the track, as it was discovered that the Fairlie tunnel was badly blocked.
The snow drifts at Fairlie were 25 feet high, and the weight of the snow caused the waiting room to be crushed on the platform of the Glasgow side. Indeed, Fairlie Station was completely buried. See video clip below


Additional snow ploughs of heavier build were sent to Largs from Kilmarnock but the five powerful locomotives, with dual fitted ploughs, came to rest in the high drifts as the solid banks of snow and could make no headway.
Railwaymen fought for 24 hours against the drifts to clear the lines but the efforts were futile as high winds caused more drifting and undid all their heroic work.
Two railway inspectors aboard the snow ploughs made their way by foot to a gamekeeper’s cottage in Fairlie, battling neck deep drifts, only to discover the phone did not work as they attempted to alert Largs station of the chaos. It then took them three hours through the storm to get to the signal box.
Three hundred soldiers were called in to clear the lines but even they were confronted with too hardy a challenge as news came through that well-known Fairlie man Alfred Burden lost his life after valiantly fighting the drifts.
The ‘News’ reported: “The final misfortune occurred when three engines with a snow plough tried to force a passage into the tunnel mouth. The driver of the leading engine was Mr Burden. While they gained their objective, Burden’s engine left the rails and a bad smash ensued.”