Chris Nuthall's photograph is truly remarkable! Has anyone ever seen more than five dome cars on the Alaska Railroad?

"Following the Seward Highway along the Turnagain Arm, GP9 1802 and domes heads towards Portage, from Anchorage, to pick up a string of flat cars to form the Whittier Shuttle in August 1985. The photographer had the wonderful experience of riding 1802 from Portage to Whittier and back on this day. History is repeating itself today as the shuttle is back in action after the road to Whittier, built some time after this photograph, was recently blocked by a rock fall." August 15, 1985

Michael Patrick says of his photos, "I will likely never get to Alaska to see the Alaska Railroad, however a piece of the Alaska Railroad has just arrived several miles from me." Alaska Railroad Alco RSD-1 # 1034 was moved from its home in Strasburg, Pennsylvania to the Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis, Virginia. These photos (1, 2) were taken on January 20 on the Ft Eustis interchange track in Newport News VA.

The RSD-1 was built in 1941 (Alco # 69427) as Atlanta & St.Andrews Bay #902, became US Army Transportation Corps # 8011 during WW2; became Alaska Railroad # 1034 in 1951, was returned to the Army as #8011 in 1956. Later it became FRA #8011, then DOT/FRA # 013. It's owned by the Smithsonian Institution and has been on loan to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg since the early 1980's. It was repainted into it's Alaska Railroad colors, but never lettered.

This interesting photo was submitted by Sherman Stebbns. The photo was taken between 1940-1945. Does anyone have more information on it? Or perhaps a humorous caption? Check back later in the week for possible additional information.

From Sherman Stebbins -"The picture came from a group of photos that I bought that belonged to a section gang that was operating out of Willow during the time frame you have listed. These guys went hunting...ALOT !!! As you can see by the picture that is probably what this guy was doing. In the foreground on the machine you can see snowshoes, an extra jacket and his gun strapped down to the top. I am curious if this was a factory built motorbike hi-rail or if this was something these guys dreamed up and built in their spare time to run the rails for hunting and fishing. Too bad we can't see what kind of engine and drive train it had."

From Pat Durand - "You can tell Stebbins that he is looking at the motor. The three wheeled Velocipede was powered by the handle bars and pedals on the crank rod connected to the crank pin on the rear wheel. Sort of a rowing machine adapted to power the hand car. With the extra seat behind the rider there is probably another set of foot pegs on the crank rod. In some cases there was a seat on each end so two people could ride and pedal and work the hand bar. With two sets of handles you could call this a two speed velocipede with High and Low gear. We have a double ender of very similar design at the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry. They were normally painted yellow or red for visibility.

Captions:
1. Hey, Buddy, got a light??
2. This beats snowshoeing!
3. Three wheels on my wagon, and I'm still rolling along

Well, I thought about quitting photography of the Alaska Railroad today. After seeing Dave Blazejewski's latest eye popping photos I figure, "Hey, what's the use?" Visitors to Alaska have about a 20% chance of seeing "the mountain" and here's Dave getting a photo of a freight train with it in the background. As if that isn't enough, he has to rub it in with this stunning fireworks photo. I guess I should just be grateful that he lets me post them here without charge. ;-)

20320! - That's the height of North America's highest peak - Mt. McKinley - which dominates the horizon and on a clear day can be seen from hundreds of miles away and is in sight for a good portion of the journey along ARR's mainline from Anchorage to Fairbanks. Here we see the nightly freight from Fairbanks to Anchorage charging south at 40 MPH with a moderate sized train of 4344 ft and 6731 trailing tons heavy with jet fuel from Flint Hills Resources in North Pole destined for the Anchorage International Airport. Willow, March 06, 2011

Every year the city of Anchorage hosts a two week long celebration called Fur Rendezvous...or Rondy as it's known. This is a winter carnival and the city's biggest celebration of the year. The first weekend always features fireworks down near the mouth of Ship Creek that draw a large crowd. The location of the launch necessitates shutting down rail operations at the south end of the ARR's main classification yard and moving all haz-mat cars out of the "fall out" area. Since nothing was moving at the south end it was a perfect time for an impromptu photo shoot with a string of SD70MACs just in from a freight run. This was my first attempt ever shooting fireworks, what do you think? Anchorage, February 26, 2011. Note: the photographer is a railroad employee with permission to be on the property and was wearing all required PPE while taking this photograph.

Okay, go ahead and rub it in. Last week I said I was thinking about quitting photography of the Alaska Railroad after seeing Dave Blazejewski's photos. Then along comes Ted Smith-Peterson's fabulous shots. Just rubbing salt into an open wound, I guess.

On the plus side, I am sitting at home, warm, dry and well rested!

Hurricane Gulch: The train gods blessed me on this day. I was duly informed southbound freight trains were near impossible to photograph on the massive Hurricane Gulch span owing to nocturnal scheduling of freight movements. It happened to be my luck the southbound Fairbanks/Anchorage train was delayed by 14 hours thanks to a dispatcher who didn't show up for their midnight shift, effectively shutting down the railroad and allowing me the opportunity to catch this night owl in broad daylight. Some lighthearted snowshoeing was required for this photo as there is no public road access regardless of season.

June 8th, 1943 is the likely date of the photo when it is compared to pages 660 and 661 of THE ALASKA RAILROAD by Birnadine Prince. The troop ship was the first landing at Whittier with troops to board trains. The locomotive with the slope back tender is Panama Mogul Number 266.

The troop ships are in war trim with gun tubs at the top corners of the bridge deck and extra life rafts mounted on the mast rigging. Notice the dark neutral color of the buildings on the dock, no bright sheet metal. The Army uniform of the day was quite casual.

Flat car loadings are all finished lumber. The old box car is of note, as the door in the end allowed loading of long timbers and lumber as well.

Whittierites all rejoice in the rare clear sunny days like June 8th, 1943.

In the far end of the yard a string of support cars was out of reach except with the long lens. When older cars like gons and flats are assigned to MOW or E service they are usually renumbered as evidenced by some of these photos. These 4O ft gons arrived on the Alaska Railroad in 1948. (1, 2, 3, 4)

The mill gon is dedicated to hauling bundles of ties as evidenced by the Center of Tie marks along the top rail. Flat 97874 carries the pile driver attachment for LC107 and a portion of the following flat provides idler space for the overhang of the mast.

All these are interesting loads for the model builder.

John, here are the photos (1, 2) to your heart's delight. They had in the same file with them a letter saying "here are some photos" dated 1917, from AEC. However, since the M-107 is marked Alaska Railroad, these photos must be after mid of 1923 when the Secretary of Interior named it the ARR. Who are the people? Was it the congressional investigating commission? I do not know cars, but maybe some one else can date it that way.

The Fairbanks depot looks new, no grass growing around it. No scratches in the paint. Note, three rail track, I think. From foliage on trees the two pictures appear to be in the same general period, but at different times. One can just see the "0" on the front of the M-107 in the people photo. Note that in both photos the eight window is open, and the 3/4 view a person is hanging out of the M-107. It's not muddy in either photo, so that with the trees and leaves, my guess is June, or late August. However, I lean towards early June given the nature of the leaves on the Balsam Popular trees. I think the stripped down model T, is the same on the right side of both photos, but the second has the stakes in the flat bed. - Daniel Osborne

Strangest thing on rails: One thing we did on our trip was the raft trip from the Spencer Whistle stop. We jumped on at Portage. The DMU # 751 was doing the run this day with the #111 baggage car, (sporting a "75th Anniversary" logo). It came into Portage, baggage car forward (both times).

I was very curious about how they were running this odd arrangement with the baggage car forward! After getting off at Portage, I took a peek in #111. Seeing nothing unusual, I spoke to the conductor. He was not a happy man! Apparently he had to sit on a "broken bar stool", radio in hand peering through the door at the front end of this curious train, passing instruction to the engineer in #751! June 2011

Oh my gosh! Dave Blazejewski has finally obtained the pinnacle of Alaska Railroad photographs. He has lived out a dream I've had for over ten years - to photograph from a distant ridge a passenger train crossing Hurricane Gulch. I am just green with envy. At the end of his commentary he asks if it was worth it. Absolutely! Thanks Dave!

Big Land - Big Mountains - Big Bridge - Little Train - The quintessential Alaskan train ride The Hurricane Turn crawls out on to the Hurricane Gulch bridge affording the passengers a stunning view of the Chulitna River and the Alaska Range to the west and the namesake creek in the chasm far below. The little train runs Thursday-Sunday from Talkeetna through the wilderness to this point where it turns around. It is the last true flag stop train in American and affords a conveyance into the wilderness for cabin owners, homesteaders, hunters, fishermen, campers, outlaws and anyone else with a hankering just to get away from it all. This bridge spans 918 ft and rises 296 ft above the floor below. It is the signature location on the entire ARR mainline and was the most expensive and difficult engineering project on the entirety of the line. The American Bridge Company started construction in early 1921, erected steel in June and finished in August. To construct the bridge, they strung an aerial tram across the gulch and construction proceeded from both sides. The first passenger train crossed Hurricane Gulch Bridge on August 15, 1921 culminating the $1,200,000 project. While easily the most spectacular point on the mainline between Anchorage and Fairbanks it is rarely photographed except from the train itself. This is because it is virtually inaccessible. I've lived in Alaska more than four years and have longed to figure out how to make this happen....Saturday's in summer are the best days to try, because if successful I knew I would have four different passenger trains cross it in the span of about 2 1/2 hrs. To access this shot, however, took a great deal of planning and not the least little bit of nerve. After driving three hours from my home in Anchorage I had to make my best guess as to how to access this vantage point. It took two hours of climbing, crawling and slogging and endless whacks with a machete to bushwhack through to the ridge affording this broadside view. I had a shotgun and bear spray just in case but fortunately they weren't needed...at least not for bears. After finding this vantage I needed to cut down a fair amount of trees and brush to open it up suitably. At one point I was holding on to a branch and leaning over a 200 ft drop to hack a tree clear, however there was one stubborn 4 inch diameter tree I could not reach safely. Then I remembered the shotgun and wondered if just like in the movies when they shoot locks on doors if maybe there wasn't a solution here. Well, it took every round I had, but on the eighth shot the tree top tumbled to bottom of the gorge and the results are here before you. So in the end it was 6 hrs of driving, 4 hrs of hiking, 8 shotgun shells, soaking wet pants and feet, and a cut and swollen hand....was it worth it? Well you decide....(7/23/11)

Bear Valley is known for its weather extremes. On a bad day there could be 100 mile an hour winds and temperatures that would give old man winter a severe case of frostbite. However, Friday, June 17, 2011 is warm, bright and features a friendly little passenger train. On the front is GP40 #3009 which looks as if its paint needs a wee bit of touching up. Bringing up the rear is the DMU, Chugach Explorer, which is beginning its third year of operation. Doesn't this scene make you want to hop aboard and ride it into Whittier?

Here is an incredible coincidence. When I work on the computer I typically play music on its MP3 player. As I was creating this Picture of the Week the song "The Great Alaska Railorad" by Hobo Jim began playing. Pretty exciting, eh?

Last night's severe thunderstorms killed my Internet connectivity. I don't know how long until it will be up and running so I uploaded this week's edition from the Wi-Fi hot spot at my local McDonald's. Ted Spencer sent me three nice photos so I deiced to just post them all for you. Enjoy!

1. Along Turnagain Arm. June 2010
2. Hy-rail at Whittier tunnel. April 2011
3. DMU coming out of the tunnel at Whittier. September 2010

How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days. ~John Burroughs

If one of Mr. Blazejewski photos doesn't wind up as your screen saver or desktop photo then it may be time for me to check you for a pulse. Dave was out doing a photo shoot for the railroad and captured a colorful DMU #751 in some very remote yet stunningly beautiful backdrops. (1, 2, 3, 4) September 2011

Here are two photos taken by Robert Krol in Whittier on July 18, 2011.

Yes, I confess to using this photo due to the fact it has GP40 #3015 (my favorite locomotive) smack dab in the middle of it. Additionally, it is a classic "Princess tour shot" as it shows the Denali Express Princess Cruise Train (DEX) with the MS Zaandam.

The Zaandam is a cruise ship which is owned and operated by Holland America Line. It was christened by the Olsen twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley, in May 2000 and features a musical theme. Items on board are a Baroque-style Dutch pipe organ, guitars signed by the Rolling Stones, Carlos Santana and Queen and a saxophone signed by former US President Bill Clinton. The Zaandam sails out of Alaska during the summer and spends its winters sailing around Australia/New Zealand and South Pacific.

The Genco Picardy is a 2005-built Supramax vessel owned by Genco Shipping and Trading Limited. Coal from Usibelli Coal Mine was brought to the Seward Coal Terminal via the Alaska Railroad. It is then loaded into the Genco Picardy via a conveyor belt at the rate of 12,000 to 15,000 metric tons per day.

Try me then buy me - With the introduction of the 7101 and 7102 in 2008, EMD rolled out a line of low and medium 710-based repower options, complete with microprocessor controls and automatic start/stop option. The offering is basically EMD’s answer to the genset craze (from NRE, Railpower, etc). EMD claims fuel savings of up to 25%, reductions in lube oil of up to 50% and reduction in emissions up to 70%. Dale Greth's October 3, 2008 photo shows the unit EMD sent to the Alaska Railroad for free testing. The railroad used it for approximately 90 days in yard service in Anchorage and also to and from Whittier. At that time it was determined that engine replacements in all GP 38 and GP 40 locomotives would cost the railroad approximately $1 million each.

When it was all said and done, three-quarters (78%) of ARRC’s locomotives (43 out of 55) were equipped with idle reduction system. The first SD70MACs had Auto Engine Start Stop (AESS) installed as part of a fuel reduction effort. The railroad had EcoTrans installed on 7 GP 38s and 3 GP 40s and Hot Start installed on one GP 38. Go green!

While growing up I could have cared less about history. For example, did you know it costs more to buy a new car today in the United States than it cost Christopher Columbus to equip and undertake three voyages to and from the New World? Me neither, but then again, who cares? In later years as an adult, I paid a little more attention to history, but not much more. April 2012 will mark 15 years that I have been maintaining this website. When I started this site I could have cared less about Alaska Railroad history. I was just looking for more HO scale ARR models. Today I am the frequent repository source for Alaska Railroad information including that which is historical in nature. Lambert's 714th Railway Operating Battalion photo album, Combs' 1964 earthquake featurette, and the anonymous All in a Day's work photo collection are just a few of the historical gems you'll find on the site. My suggestion is to dig deeper. You'll never know what you just might find.

Many times I get historical questions from people all over the world. I can only answer a few of them. Most of the time I enlist my ARR history wizards to assist. In July 2011 I got this question from Ken Cringan, "In June I drove into McCarthy to visit the Kennecott mill and to my surprise found a steel boxcar sitting on original track beside the former McCarthy depot. I say in my photo caption that it is 'of Probable Pullman / US Army ancestry'. The car has unusual ends. Are you able to tell me its history and when it was taken to its present location?" Honestly, I hadn't a clue. So I consulted Patrick Durand, one of the top Alaska Railroad historians on the planet.

Pat replied, "Mr. Ken Cringan, your photo from McCarthy features one of the 400 odd former Pullman troop sleepers and kitchens from WWII that were rebuilt in about 1947-48 by Chicago Car and Foundry for the Alaska Railroad. They became both box cars and reefer/heater cars. Only a very few remain in MOW service now. Your example is a troop sleeper as indicated by the plated over window locations. Reefers had smaller higher windows. If they had not painted over the original car number we could have got the original as built number in my cross reference file. The car was trucked to McCarthy and set on the trucks which are not the original Allied full cushion trucks. This link will take you to a brief article with some history and prototype photos of some of the various paint schemes and modifications these went under on the Alaska Railroad. If you have other questions please let me know. The ends are sheeted down the middle where there was originally a set of collision posts with diaphram and doors."

Pretty interesting stuff, eh? You'll find those boxcars scattered all over Alaska as people bought them surplus for storage sheds, homes and livestock shelters. The largest concentration of reused ARR boxcars I have ever seen is in Seward. There is thirty or more being used as storage sheds. So do you find all this interesting? You must have as you read all the way to the end of this!

Webmaster's note: My email mailbox is so deluged with messages that I can't even begin to read them all. If you have not heard, Alaska Railroad steam locomotive #557 is coming back to Alaska. Stayed tuned and I'll put more information online as soon as I can sort through all the stuff I've received.

Locomotive 557 was the last steam locomotive in regular service on the Alaska Railroad and was finally retired and moved south in 1965. It was purchased by Monte Holm and displayed at his museum in Moses Lake, Washington. The locomotive was purchased from Monte's estate and generously donated to The Alaska Railroad Corporation with the provision that it be returned to operation in Alaska. Formal announcement of the 557 Homecoming will be made upon her arrival back in Alaska at the Port of Whittier.

To complete the assembly of appropriate heritage equipment, the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry, in Wasilla has donated United States Transportation Corp tender ARR #0039M to accompany s-160 557 in restoration. This combination of equipment will return 557 to her appearance when she headed up the Alaska State Fair Special trains in 1957.- Pat Durand

• The strip down begins
• Walking her toward freedom
• Drop the tender
• Consist ready
• Used to waiting
• Contemplating Monday

My family and I met Monte Holm on July 17, 2001 at his business in Moses Lake, Washington. Before getting the tour of the locomotive, we walked through his multi-million dollar museum of collections. The man greeted us warmly and immediately offered us a handful of Werther candies. One of his workers actually gave us the tour. Then we wandered back and talked to Monte a bit and purchased one of his autobiographies. He gave the kids and my wife Terry each a Susan B. Anthony coin telling us not to spend it but to hold on to it for luck. Pictured here is Monte with his license plate, "IOWNARR." - John Combs

F7 1506 and 1508 were purchased from the Alaska Railroad in 1986. Both were leased to Western Railroad Builders for operation on an industrial railroad near Soda Springs, Idaho in spring 1988. The 1506 was wrecked by WRB and scrapped at that location. The 1508 was sold to Tom Carver, who was one of the three owners of MDT. Tom moved the 1508 to Utica, New York where it remains today on the Adirondack Scenic Railroad

Photo below: Dry Valley Railroad using Alaska Railroad numbers 1506 and 1508. The engines are moving downgrade to Maybe Mine to move a second cut of cars on 10/3/88.