Snow on the Headlight by C.Y. Warman is about the Burlington railroad strike of 1888, which was a failed union strike. The strike pitted the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, and the Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association against the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad's extensive trackage in the Midwestern United States. Excerpt: "Good managers are made from messenger boys, brakemen, wipers, and telegraphers; just as brave admirals are produced in due time by planting a cadet in a naval school. From two branches of the service come the best-equipped men in the railroad world—from the motive-power department and from the train service."