I can remember working the Campbell Hall local (NY), and going into Middletown on the old New York, Ontario and Western main (from Four Story Junction on the Erie Graham Line).
We had a carload of lumber to place adjacent to the old O&W yard office where Wisner Avenue crosses. We went to shove the car in, across the road, and the ice was frozen so solid that the car wheel flanges came right up off the rails. And this was a LOADED car -- must have weighed at least 70 tons or more!
I wasn't running the engine very fast, we were able to pull the car back onto the rails. Finally got the load placed after our trainmaster came up with a pick axe and chopped the flangeways out !