Usibelli Tipple This is what passes for mid day high sun deep in the Alaskan interior a week before the winter solstice. It's 1 PM on a cold gray bleak day, and sunrise was at 10:41 AM and sunset will come at 3:02 PM here in coal country. A trio of Alaska Railroad SD70MACs is in the capable hands of the Healy extra board crew that has just run around and is about to couple to the south end of the export coal train they had been loading. This view looks south from above the man made loading tunnel, and I'm standing in front of the stockpile shed that is fed by conveyor from across the Nenana River where the coal is dumped by truck after coming down from the strip mining sites in the hills to the east. Usibelli is Alaska's only currently operating coal mine. Coal has been mined in the vicinity of Healy since 1918 and the present company was incorporated in 1948 more than a decade before statehood and the family owned business is still run by the founder's grandson, Joe Usibelli Jr. Train 182S will eventually depart for a 360 mile run to tidewater in Seward before cycling back with the 70 hoppers about 4 days later for another load. Healy, Alaska Tuesday |
