What Others Are Saying About John's Alaska Railroad Page
(Stroke me, stroke me!)

I just wanted to say thank you for the outstanding resource you are providing to the railfan community with the AlaskaRails.Org website. Having fanned a few times over the past years in Alaska, your site is an invaluable resource. It's perfectly laid out, easy to navigate, and crammed full of useful information. Thank you for your hard work and effort! Chris Kilroy, Editor, RailPictures.Net

John, I have appreciated your web site, and am amazed at all the effort you have put into it Through you, I have gained a lot of information that I had not known about my Great Grand father, O.F. Jordan...Thank you, once again. You’ve done amazing work on you site!! J.T.

I want to say thanks to you for maintaining this site and also to all those who have contributed to it. It's awesome and I'm sure the ARR agrees. You have something here called "great content" - and well worth any traveler's time. F.P., Chicago, IL

I've lived in Fairbanks for over 40 years but only in the last year have become a real ARR railfan, and an N-scale collector of ARR. In all this your website has been the absolute encyclopedia for me, and I much enjoy reading different sections of it at different times, etc. I see ARR prototypes every day of the year, of course, but your great photos of prototypes, especially for me the non-ARR prototypes that show up from Whittier to here, have provided excellent avenues for me to pursue in my collection. So, thank you for the grand website you have created and that you maintain and update! Don't know what I might have done without it--but it would have taken me an endlessly longer amount of time to learn the little bit I've absorbed so far. D.G., Fairbanks, AK

Thanks so much for all your effort on your web site. It is THE BEST railroad site on the web - for ANY railroad. A. W., Tracy, CA

Just a quick email to thank you for your fantastic website!! I'm just about to begin an N scale winter layout based on the McKinley Explorer set, here in New Zealand. Your website has all the information that I need to get it as accurate as possible! You are a hero!! D. G., New Zealand

Just wanted to tell you what a nice ARR website you have created. I wish we had one that nice. J.C., D&SNGRR, Dispatcher

It is an amazing website! S. S. W., Taiwan

When I first started checking out this web site I was blown away! YOU ARE THE MAN John. R. S., Independence KY

Let me tip my hat to you in a gratefull thanks for the modeling ability that was afforded to me simply by your website. The wealth of information was incredible in enabling me to amass the collection that I did in such a short time. S.H.,

You have a fantastic website - and I really appreciate your enthusiasm! ...Your photos were exactly what I was looking for. RLM, Holland America, Seattle, WA

Great site, I got lots of ideas for my own layout I am building.....I certainly got the inspiration on your site. P.P, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

WOW !!! What an incredible website you've created..... Again, great website. Many thanks for creating it and sharing it. S.P., Colorado Railcar Manufacturing

If I had to rate it 1-10 I'd give it an 11! Great Job!!!! John M. Combs, Dayton, OH [Note from webmaster: What a great son he is!]

Nice Job! [name withheld upon request], ARR Vice President, Anchorage, AK

I am very impressed by your ARR website! J.C.S., Luxembourg-City, Europe

Thank you for creating one of the best Railfan site I have ever seen! J.S., Michigan

When I started my website many years ago, I envisioned it to be a way to find more HO scale models. As it turns out, I have found something much more important...friendship. J.C. Dayton, OH

Great web page you`ve got going here! One of the best, if not THE best I`ve seen. Actually, a contributing reason for why I`m now modeling Alaska Railroad! S.S., Norway

I was searching for information on modelling HO Alaskian model railroads. And I found this site. I am impressed. What an awesome railroad with beautiful scenery. I'll be keeping my eyes on this. S.C., Taumarunui, New Zealand

I made my first trip to Alaska in the summer of 2001. As soon as I laid eyes on the ARR, I knew my purpose in life: to model the passenger service from Seward to Fairbanks. I began my research online and stumbled across your website. After lifting my jaw off the ground, I hit "CTRL+D" and began browsing. The mountain of knowledge you have have archived here is amazing. Thank you for all the time and effort you have put into your site. It is going to prove to be a powerful tool as I begin the research stage of my project. D.P., Maine

Wonderful website on a great railroad... Thanks!!! C.O., Bordeaux, France

Nice site! Thanks! W.R., ARR Trainmaster, Anchorage, AK

Each one of your trips seems to do the impossible--top the one before it. You have even topped yourself in the photo department. Your latest journal made me feel as though I was there again. P.B., Southbury, CT

Keep up the great work with this site! B.B., ARR engineer, Fairbanks, AK

Met you last September while taking pictures at the Portage Glazier station.You were getting ready to move a group of three cars (flat with payloader, caboose and snow plow unit). You did show us a few of your pictures at that time, also where I got your website location. Great site! Keep it up. Was a pleasure meeting you, hope to cross paths again sometime in the future. Take care. J.B., Oxford, Connecticut [Note from webmaster: Cross paths again? We haven't even crossed paths the first time! He thinks I was an ARR employee he met. What a compliment!]

I am the new McKinley Explorer Rail Division Manager for Holland America Line. I wanted to let you know that I just love your site and appreciate very much the time you have invested in it. I regularly email the link to your site to prospective employees, friends/family whomever. M.A., Anchorage AK

Great Job...will send some more photo's to you. ARR District #1 Roadmaster, B.G., Anchorage, AK

I live in Alaska (although most of it has been in the bush) and I learned more about the ARR from your site, and journal then I have in the rest of my years in Alaska combined. I have loved trains since I was old enough to know what they were, and found your site and obvious enthusiasm for the subject very invigorating. Keep up the good work! C. H., Delta Junction, AK

I am [an Alaska Railroad employee] and have spent more time than I can count looking at your web site...I just wanted to say that this is a very cool site and I am always looking forward to seeing the new pictures and the new stories and adventures. S.A., Fairbanks, AK

I ask [my son who works for the Alaska Railroad] if he was familiar with your site and he say he goes there all the time to see the latest photo's. He says he gets more information from your site than he gets from the railroad. A.G., NH

First class, best on the internet. J.G., Colorado Springs, CO

Best Site about ARR I've seen so far. I check back here at least six times a week for new stuff and you never disappoint me! I've learned a lot from this site. Keep up the great work! A.S., Anchorage, AK

[In response to the question, "What sites have you found of interest to the railroad?"]  A site by John Combs, who might be the Alaska Railroad's biggest fan.  He does a really good job of chronicling the Alaska Railroad and providing resources to railfans.  Willow Peyton, Alaska Railroad webmaster

I am Japanese and live in japan. Last year I could search your homepage. I am surprised to wonderful your homepage. Meisougetupo from Japan.

John, This is one of the best web sites I have ever seen. You can tell the love you have for the ARR and the people associated with it. Keep up the good work. J.E., Austin, TX

Really nice sight. I work at the ARR heavy equipment shop in Ancorage as HE Mechanic, and really enjoyed your work. T.M., Wasilla, AK

I am a contractor that has tested the Alaska RR for compliance concerning CFR part 213. I am the Director for the Federal Railroad's geometry car (www.atipsafety.com). I too, love the ARR and stumbled upon your site. M.D., Springfield, VA

Nice page!!!! I am the ARR reservations systems administrator and thought i'd take a peek at what you have done. Great work! C.H., Anchorage, AK

I've included a link to your website since it is a source of inspiration for many of us. R.E.

John Combs has put together an excellent website on Alaska Railroad history.  Kato Precision Railroad Models web site

I check your site regularly.  My browser is set up so your "What's New" page is the page it opens at!  J.B.,  Canberra, Australia

I really appreciate the hard work you do on this site.  Keep it up.  Few other railroads have such a good repository of information for the fan or as a reference for industry professionals.  J.K., Littleton, CO

I used some of the information from your website in an outline for my Alaska History class.  Your website really helped me alot because it cut down on my time spent researching the Alaska Railroad(s) by a couple of hours. A.F., Alaska

I've been asked many questions about the Alaska Railroad.  I thought I knew something about it since I ride the train to my home.  I don't know nothin'.  Compared to this guy, even the Alaska Railroad doesn't know nothin' about the Alaska Railroad.  I think maybe this guy is a bona-fide railroad nut.   Anything you want to know about technical railroad operations - from snow removal to moose legends - it's here. J.K., Anchorage, AK

I had a chance to go through more pages today, and (whew!) there're a lot of photos of the MACs there!  Normally, we don't like to use digital photos, but you have enough posted that are close ups that I think we can produce the decals from what's there.  I was particularly pleased to see close ups of the engine numbers and the names, as they just don't show up well in the typical roster shots (particularly in a digital format, where the detail just isn't there). As I said in last night's e-mail...  you have produced a very nice and complete website.  I wish more sites had the amount of detail photos that yours has.  Craig Walker, New Product Development, Microscale Industries

I am a railfan and model railroader from Berlin, Germany, and I want to thank you very much for your great and huge ARR web site.  It is an amazing and impressive portal to the world of Alaska RR, and it took me more than two weeks to work through all the information and see all the pictures.  I try to model ARR in HO and there were two major problems to overcome: information and availability of models. When I found your address in the internet, my problems were solved within a minute. A. H., Berlin, Germany

Greetings from Russian railfans. I enjoyed to get into the snowy world of "Russian America" railways. Your site is interesting and has a lot of excellent photos and interesting info. A.D., Moscow, Russia

Wow!  Every time I view this awesome web site I get goose bumps!  Alaska Size!  Thanks for all your efforts in making this site one of my favorites! S.A., Reno, NV

John, terrific web page! Enjoyed the layout tour. PS: When do you sleep?  B.P., Clayton, Ohio

Your site is great for information for a person that knows nothing about the Alaska Railroad!  D., Melbourne, Australia

John has done an awesome job putting together a GREAT page on the Alaska Railroad!  Jeff Childs, Anchorage, AK

Was just checking out some railroad sites and came across yours. Its one of the nicest that I have looked at. C.K., Waterloo, IA

Congratulations John, great your ARR page!  S.W., Switzerland

He knows more about the Alaska Railroad than most Alaskans!  relayed via D.F., ARR Conductor, Anchorage, AK

Through your work putting together information about the Alaska RR, I was able to make a few contacts and at least get some stuff assembled to assess the (daunting) task of modeling it. Without you as the catalyst, I'd still be in the deep dark places. You are indeed a person of value, not only to me but also to those many others who you might not even know about, but who need some source of information about this.  D.H., Flat Rock, NC

[Note from webmaster: "Aw, shucks folks..."]