Photograph courtesy of Jonathan Fischer

 

This picture, taken in Anchorage, was in the first roll of slides I shot with my new Nikon FE in the spring of 1982. Equally intriguing are the locomotive and the flatcar it is riding on. The flat car has an American Association of Railroads mechanical designation of MWF. A MWF is used for transporting rails, ties, or ballast and for storage of wrecking trucks, or gathering scraps along the right of way. These cars are at times equipped with low sides, about 10 to 12 inches high. Flat car 680M was built in 8-18. It may well be an original car of the railroad. best