A crew of railroad workers digs a Union Pacific locomotive free from a massive snow drift on the Laramie Plains in this striking stereoview by Charles R. Savage of Salt Lake City, Utah, from his "Views of the Great West, from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean" series. The image dates to the late 1860s, consistent with the Union Pacific's construction and early operating period across Wyoming Territory. Savage was among the most prolific documentary photographers of the transcontinental railroad era and was present at the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory Summit in May 1869.

A worker in a heavy dark overcoat and fur-eared cap stands prominently in the foreground, wearing mittens and facing the camera directly, while several colleagues in similarly layered cold-weather clothing hold shovels behind him. The locomotive's diamond-stack smokestack rises above walls of packed snow that tower well above the engine's running gear, with steam visible venting into the overcast sky. Additional figures stand atop the snow bank at the far rear of the scene.

The mount is orange-red with rounded corners, and the reverse carries a pink paper label with an ornate printed border bearing the full series title, photographer credit, and the subject title "Digging out a Train from a Snow Drift on Laramie Plains." A pencil inscription reading "E. M. B." appears at the top center of the reverse, with a partial numeral at the upper right.