ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska Railroad is proposing inadequate measures to prevent black dust from spreading from its Seward coal loading facility across the picturesque.

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Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. is expanding its exports of coal to Chile this year, and offsetting what the company hopes is a temporary lull in shipments to its customers in South Korea, a market Usibelli has served since 1985.

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Under the plan, Fort Wainwright would receive nearly $115 million for construction projects, including about $9 million for a railhead operations facility and $60 million to upgrade the Army base's electrical grid. Fort Wainwright would also receive $20 million for new barracks and more than $25 million for two operations facilities.

The railroad project, at a total cost of $27 million, would support future deployments of the Stryker Brigade by doubling the number of railcars that could be loaded at any one time at Fort Wainwright, said Aaron Saunders, spokesman for Stevens.

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Gov. Sarah Palin signed legislation Aug. 25 authorizing the Alaska Railroad Corp. to issue $2.4 billion in tax-free revenues bonds to finance a coal gasification project under development by Agrium Corp.

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FAIRBANKS -- "Into the Wild," a movie directed by Sean Penn about a 24-year-old man who starved to death in the Alaska wilderness, drew a packed house at its Monday night premiere in Fairbanks....

The movie begins with images from the Fairbanks area, including blue and yellow Alaska Railroad cars, a familiar neon sign above the Big I Bar and Lounge proclaiming "Cocktails," the Masonic Temple on First Avenue, Down Under Guns, the Alaskan Prospectors & Geologists Supply on College Road and Gold Hill Liquor in Ester.

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Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. is expanding one of its mines several miles northeast of Healy to access untouched reserves of coal.

Usibelli is asking the state for permission to dig west from its existing Two Bull Ridge Mine in the Hoseanna Creek valley. The company wants to tap new reserves and build additional haul roads.

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Labor Day traditionally marks the end of the summer tourism season in Alaska. The final numbers won't be in until October, but so far the bottom line looks good -- even better than last year.     

The Alaska Railroad said it moved about a half million passengers this season, up about 8 percent from last year. It also expanded its routes; Alaska Railroad Corporation Chairman John Binkley said the new trip to Spencer Glacier has been very popular.

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Starting next Thursday, a new whistle-stop train will give passengers backcountry access to the eastern half of the Kenai Peninsula.

[See story] - Webmaster's note: Five very nice photos with this article
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Whistle stop railroad service is now up and running in Chugach National Forest, part of a multi-million dollar effort to make Alaska's great outdoors more accessible to everyone.

"This whistle stop isn't just for visitors," said John Binkley, chairman of the Alaska Railroad Corp. "This is an opportunity for Alaskans to get out and enjoy our scenery."

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The Alaska Railroad Corp. this year has hauled half the gravel from the Matanuska Valley as it normally would, and railroad officials said the year's rock hauls are expected to be down by 25 percent.

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Why drive to the Alaska State Fair when you can hop aboard the Alaska Railroad?
Not only that, you can pay one flat fee for both.

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Last week we took you on a train ride on the Alaska Railroad. One of the stops we checked out was the whistle stop at Spencer Glacier. The icebergs spotting the lake looked so impressive from the shore, we just had to see them up close and personal.

Chugach Adventure Guides took CBS 11 News out onto the lake where these giants of the water are literally at our fingertips.

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It's one of the longest trips that you can take here in Alaska. It's also one of the most scenic.

It's almost impossible to find a child who doesn't get a thrill from a train trip.

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PALMER - A man driving an earth mover with a canceled and revoked license tore out the tracks of the Alaska Railroad near downtown Palmer last week.

"The damage was when the equipment went over the crossing," said Stephenie Wheeler, an Alaska Railroad spokeswoman. "It hooked the rail, bent the rail and then broke it."

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Two ARR locos showed up on Harbor Island yesterday. They are:

#3002 EMD #74759-3
#3005 EMD #74759-6

Both are GP40-2s and were shipped from Horican, WI via the Wisconsin Southern.
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WASILLA -- Nestled in the trees between the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry and the Wasilla Municipal Airport runs a little slice of railroad heaven.

On a 11.2-mile aluminum track, on rails spaced 7.5 inches apart, tiny trains toot their horns as they clickety-clack past little buildings labeled "Talkeetna," "Curry," "Portage" and "Seward." The cars are small replicas of circus flatbeds, coal tipples and black wooden boxcars. The engines vary, from one painted like the storybook figure Thomas the tank engine to a downsized, meticulously fashioned, shiny black-and-brass steam engine that tows its own 11-gallon water tank.

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ARR baggage car #103 was on Harbor Island (Seattle, WA) yesterday morning (August 1), but is gone today.
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The following is a list of some of the projects the railroad has on the table:

• six whistle stops between Portage and Moose Pass; first stop is at Spencer and will include passenger shelters, toilets and interpretive displays (completion in 2007); project will include the purchase of two self-propelled DMUs
• expanding the Seward Loading Facility to accommodate an increase in demand for Alaskan coal (completion by 2008)
• expanding the Seward freight dock for intermodal operations (completion by 2008)
• upgrade Whittier infrastructure in regards to security, passenger traffic, freight operations
• realignment 70 curves between Anchorage and Wasilla including the Knik River Bridge (completion in 2007)
• construction of a new rail line to connect to Port MacKenzie (completion by 2012)
• connect the siding at Colorado with the siding at Broad Pass (begin in 2010?)
• construction of a Denali wye (balloon) track between MP 343 and 344
• Fairbanks-North Pole realignment (studies are ongoing, Fort Wainwright segment construction will begin in 2007 or 2008)
• construction of six Section Maintain Facilities (SMF); these will be located at Portage, Wasilla, Talkeetna, Hurricane, Cantwell and Nenana (Cantwell SMF completed in 2006)
• construction of a new passenger car shop (funding currently unidentified)
• replacement of most timber bridges (ongoing effort)
• Collision Avoidance System (ongoing effort)
• replace old (50+ years) static scale with new Weigh-in-Motion scale (completion in 2007)
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Early construction on a proposal to reposition train tracks on Army land in Fairbanks will wait until next year, railroad officials said last week.

The three-year project, which the Alaska Railroad Corp. had hoped to start this summer, is now tentatively slated to begin next spring. When finished, the project will eliminate train traffic from Fort Wainwright Army post’s populated core.

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TALKEETNA - Residents of this small river community have more questions than answers - 18 formal ones to date - about what would happen if the Alaska Railroad Corp. moves ahead with plans to build a new at-grade crossing and new roads downtown.

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