The Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) announces that from now until June 2013, 80 extremely slow truck convoys will be transporting giant steel girders up the Richardson Highway.

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FAIRBANKS —- Lower production of coal and refined fuel in the Interior could translate into a difficult 2013 for the Alaska Railroad.

The railroad is anticipating significant reductions to next year’s capital budget because of resulting reductions to its freight operations. The railroad transports jet fuel from the Flint Hills Refinery in North Pole, as well as coal from Usibelli Coal Mine in Healy.

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FAIRBANKS —- Fairbanks residents routinely idle their vehicles in the deep cold to keep them warm. The Alaska Railroad has been doing it, too, keeping its locomotives running outside even when not in immediate use.

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ANCHORAGE, ALASKA —- Work on a railroad extension in Southcentral Alaska will move forward after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed its earlier order to halt work.

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First Nations and Alaskan Tribes have expressed their support for a new "purpose built" railroad that would link Alaska, Yukon, northern British Columbia and northern Alberta to the rest of North America.

Proposed by G Seven Generations Ltd. (G7G), the railroad would provide access to Pacific tidewater, enabling the import and export of commodities, including oil sands products.

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Flint Hills Resources has put details of a proposed North Slope liquefied natural gas project on paper in an application with the State Pipeline Coordinator's Office.

The company would finance the facility with "on-hand and available cash previously generated by cash flow from affiliate operations," the application states.

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska —- The Alaska Railroad is soliciting artwork for its annual commemorative prints and posters.

The last solicitation in 2010 produced submissions that the railroad used for the 2012 and 2013 prints and the railroad says multiple winners may be picked again.

The artwork must have a railroad theme and special consideration will be given to pieces that feature the Hurricane Turn Flag Stop Service or the railroad's presence in Nenana.

Flag stops provide service to remote areas. President Warren Harding in 1923 drove the golden spike at Nenana to celebrate the railroad's completion.

The winning artist receives $3,000, 10 artist proofs and 20 posters and must be available for signings in Anchorage and Fairbanks.

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WASILLA - Locally owned Central Environmental Inc. has made a $46,500 in-kind donation in the form of asbestos abatement services to the Engine No. 557 Restoration Co., an Alaska nonprofit corporation established to restore to operating condition one of the Alaska Railroad’s former steam locomotives.

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JUNEAU -- A federal appeals court panel has halted work on a railroad extension project in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough pending a full hearing on the case.

Monday's decision is a win for conservationists, who argued that they -- and the natural environment -- would suffer irreparable harm without an emergency stay on construction of the Port MacKenzie rail extension.

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