The following is an extract from page 33 of W.R. Mitchell's book "Life on the Settle-Carlisle Railway", published by Dalesman in 1984). It is quoted here by kind permission of Dr Mitchell.
Dent, high and prone to being overblown by snow, was a place selected for snow fences - several lines of railway sleepers, set on the side of the cutting and on part of the moor, where hopefully the snow would be intercepted before it could block the line. "In some shops, there were three lines o' sleepers. In a bad blizzard it wasn't long before space in between filled up, and then the snow came right over 'em and down on to the tracks." The snow fences were also set on fire by sparks from steam locomotives. "They set grass on fire, too. T' sleepers went like a furnace yance they got 'od."