Passengers fill the train at the Alaska Railroad Depot early Saturday. The Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage hosted the Ski Train on Saturday, March 22, 2014.

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SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (March 13, 2014) -- Seven diverse Princess Cruises ships will sail throughout Alaska’s waters in 2015, on a program offering passengers the opportunity to explore the best of the state by both land and sea.

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The city of Whittier and the Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) are in the initial stages of negotiating a swap of land and assets that could have wide-ranging impacts for both the city and the railroad.

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An effort by the Sullivan administration to acquire a key 9-acre Midtown property for the city has taken a step forward.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Don Young directing the federal government to sell the parcel to the city passed the U.S. House transportation committee last week.

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US Rail Corp. GP49s numbers 2806 and 2809 were recently moved from Hamden, Ohio to Jackson, Ohio. No. 2806 is serving as a parts queen. Watch the YouTube videos here and here.
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The National Archives and Records Administration plans to close its facility in Anchorage this year, and aims to move the millions of pages of documents housed there to Seattle.

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JUNEAU - Gov. Sean Parnell has decided that the state won't consider a new owner of the Flint Hills refinery in North Pole liable for the groundwater contamination stemming from years of chemical spills at the site. A company official, meanwhile, indicated a number of parties are reportedly looking to buy the soon-to-close plant.

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FAIRBANKS (AP) - A North Pole legislator wants money to see whether a railroad extension to far northern Alaska is feasible, but his colleagues dismissed the idea as welfare for university projects.

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JUNEAU - A North Pole lawmaker's proposal to research the feasibility of extending the Alaska railroad toward the North Slope could reinvigorate the economy and make huge returns for the state, but his colleagues balked at the prospect of another study.

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ANCHORAGE - A week after a North Pole refinery announced it will be closing its doors, the impact of the closure is being felt elsewhere in Alaska, especially at the Alaska Railroad.

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The Alaska Railroad is evaluating whether to launch weekday passenger rail service between Anchorage and the Valley, where nearly a third of the working population drives to jobs in Alaska's largest city.

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FAIRBANKS -- Even before the Flint Hills Refinery announced it would be shutting down, the Alaska Railroad warned of financial problems just down the track.

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Flint Hills Resources will cease refining operations at its North Pole refinery near Fairbanks this spring, the company announced Feb. 4 in a press release.

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JUNEAU -- The Mat-Su port administrator rejected claims by Koch Industry officials, Gov. Sean Parnell and a North Pole legislator that the big tank farm going up at the port next summer has something to do with the looming shut down of the Flint Hills Refinery near Fairbanks.

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FAIRBANKS - The pending Flint Hills refinery closure could generate higher energy costs in the borough as well as large reductions in tax revenue for both the borough and city of North Pole, though projections this early are uncertain.

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JUNEAU, ALASKA - Could a $15 billion railroad project reduce the cost of living in Alaska overnight? Matt Vickers, a lead member in the startup group G7G Railway Corp., thinks it can.

Vickers' Vancouver-based group is proposing a 1,600-mile railroad from Fort McMurray, Alberta, into Alaska. About 240 miles of the rail would be laid in the state. The railroad would primarily transport bitumen from Alberta's tar sands to Delta Junction, where the project's creators hope to tap into TAPS, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

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FAIRBANKS—The Flint Hills Refinery in North Pole will cease both gasoline and crude oil production, the company announced Tuesday.

The process will take place over the next several months, according to a company news release, culminating in the closure of gasoline production on May 1 and the closure of crude oil, jet fuel and other refined products by June 1.

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The Flint Hills oil refinery in North Pole will close over the next several months, and the company is blaming continuing issues with soil and groundwater contamination that it inherited from the prior owner.

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FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Railroad is asking the Legislature to add $26 million to the governor’s budget to keep a $153 million technological upgrade on track.

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ANCHORAGE - The Alaska Railroad is launching special midweek Aurora Winter Train departures along with offering discounted fares

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JUNEAU - The Alaska Railroad Corporation’s reported to the Legislature on Tuesday that its Tanana River crossing bridge project is on budget and on schedule.

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FAIRBANKS - By the end of last week, the only thing missing from the new model railroad display at Morning Star Ranch was the melancholy whistle of a distant locomotive.

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The ARRC has submitted a solicitation for locomotive no. 3013 Tier 0+ Emission Kit Rebuild.

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At 5:57 p.m. on New Years Eve the winning tickets in the MATI / 557 Raffle were drawn.   Sherry Jackson, Executive Director, administered the raffle under the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry's Permit #707.

Grand Prize winning ticket was #7, purchased by J.E. Morris of Anchorage.  J.E.  will be inviting 15 guests to join in a memorable day trip aboard the luxurious Denali business car to Seward and back.  The Denali provides a private retreat attached to the end of the Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic in the summer of 2014.

Soloy Helicopter of Wasilla with winning ticket no 77,  will receive the second prize of six round trip tickets to Fairbanks on the Alaska Railroad, and two rooms at the Chena Hot Springs Resort.   Jerry Cunnington, 557 volunteer and an employee of Soloy, sold the ticket.

Third prize, the Alaska Railroad 2014 Print by artist Ray Gamradt, was secured by ticket #87, held by Gloria McAlister of Valdez.

Selling all 150. $100.00 tickets in less than 60 days was done in large part by our major corporate sponsors who purchased books of 10 tickets.   We say thanks to Greatland Welding and Machine, Unique Machine and staff at Lynden Logistics.    Sherry's organizational skills on behalf of MATI made the accounting go smoothly.    The Alaska Railroad Corporation and Chena Hot Springs Resort, have our gratitude for donating the fantastic prizes.

Proceeds accruing to the Engine 557 Restoration Company will be doubled by a generous Rasmuon Foundation Matching Grant, administered by the Alaska Community Foundation.   Thank you to everyone who participated to close out 2013 with a bang!

Patrick Durand, President
Engine 557 Restoration Company
Wasilla,  Alaska
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We hurtled across the tundra in the dark. The old train chugged, rattled, occasionally whined. As the sun came up around 10 a.m., the world faded from black to cobalt to white and every shade between. All was snow; it was just a matter of how much, where, what shape. Black spruce trees draped in white rose up from the ground like crystals of hoarfrost.

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Photos: Ski Train, an Alaska tradition - click here
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