Danny42C - re yrs of 17th:
To this day the rail spike remains the favoured US method of securing rail to tie (sleeper), though on the heaviest trafficked routes I believe the Pandrol clip is now preferred. Rail chairs as per past UK practice (also France) were never used.
Fur hats were worn by RAF as well as RCAF officers (causing much envy on our part!), although I don't recall any in white - they were black or brown, with the badge at front.
North American snow is usually quite different from ours, being soft and powdery, and was indeed normally rolled flat (if it did not blow away first, which on the open prairie it usually did).
Brakes: here I must beg to differ, always preferring toe brakes; a major advantage was that they left your hands free for other tasks, but the unreliability and general feebleness of the Brit system did nothing to endear itself to yours truly. It could also result in blistered fingers during prolonged use if the operating lever was stiff in action or of poor ergonomic shape (i.e. as per the York).
Part 2 of my SFTS story will follow soon.