John's ARR trip 2018

After a quick breakfast we headed north toward Wasilla for the annual Engine 557 Restoration Company's annual board meeting. Luck was with us as we spotted and photographed both a gravel and "Princess" train. We arrived at the Wasilla depot just in time to capture Holland America's train with several of their repainted McKinley Explorer railcars. Although we were unable to obtain a good vantage point for a photo and wound up shooting into the sun I think the photos still came out pretty good.

If there ever was a charitable organization that mastered efficient use of funding and resources it would be the Engine 557 Restoration Company. They've been blessed with over 30 volunteers contributing tens of thousands of man-hours, in-kind donors donating tremendous amounts of services and materials, railfans and friends from around giving money plus rifle and Denali railcar raffles, growlers, artwork sales, tubes and flues sponsorships and hat and pin sales. Another substantial source is grants, matching and otherwise from a wide variety of organizations. It is as if someone came into the desert with a divining rod and struck a gusher. The organization took its first breath in August of 2012 and has been busier than an ant farm at a honey festival ever since.

Baldwin Locomotive Works was the world's largest producer of steam locomotives and during World War II produced a slew of locomotives for the United States Army as well as other countries. In December 1944 #557 found its way to the Alaska Railroad where it would serve for almost twenty years. In 1963 millionaire hobo extraordinaire Monte Holm saved it from going to scrap and would actually run the engine through town pulling local residents. When Monte died in 2006, personal friends Vic and Jim Jansen purchased the engine and donated it to the Alaska Railroad with the proviso it be restored and operating within eight years.

With the clock ticking, Patrick Durand and a band of dedicated volunteers have undertaken the gargantuan task of breathing life into #557. Walking into the restoration facility feels a lot like history coming back to life. You can almost hear the soothing symphony of hissing steam, ringing bell, lonely whistle and chugging smokestack. It is here that the locomotive's components are cleaned or repaired or replaced as necessary with financial assistance coming from benefactors, grants, donations in-kind, railfans, school children and local clubs.

Of course what would The Engine 557 Restoration Company be without a group of dedicated board members whose goal is to, "restore, operate, conserve, and display former Alaska Railroad steam locomotive number 557". This board is always kind enough to hold their annual meeting whenever I am in town. After sitting down at the table I am immediately greeted by grant writer Maria Keiffer who asks about my grandsons. Ohhh! Favorite topic! I am sure I told everyone within ear shot more than they wanted to know and confessed that at the birth of my first grandson it is as if someone unlocked a hidden piece of genetic code deep inside of me. I love being a grandpa.

All board members were in attendance and the meeting last a tad bit over three hours. Main issues discussed were passenger cars, where to run the locomotive and Positive Train Control (PTC) issues. I won't drag the reader through the meeting details, but we accomplished a lot and emerged with renewed momentum. Terry spent her time shopping in Wasilla as well as visiting the puppies and dogs at the Iditarod Museum.

After earning his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Shane Durand embarked on a career winding through concrete coring, recycling operations, environmental abatement and finally as CEI's Manager of the Ship Creek Industrial Complex. Running a curious parallel to his father's efforts, he is currently charged with breathing new life into the long-defunct Chugach power plant in Anchorage's Ship Creek. After pulling up in his handsome truck, Shane gave us an extensive tour of the power plant whose upper level will be converted into office space while the basement level will process scrap material. The tenants next door are Alaska Industrial Paint some of whose products include the newly repainted McKinley Explorer railcars (see photo at top) and Alaska Railroad locomotives.

Shane's company also oversaw the asbestos abatement and gutting of the old command cars which potentially will be refurbished to become #557's passenger cars. Under his careful supervision Terry and I climbed aboard and grab a few photos.

Birth order experts claim while the first born child "zigs" the second born will ultimately"zag". Said researchers would be happy to note this seemed to be the case with the Durand brothers. Casey pulled up in a pickup truck which required sunglasses to view it. The photo at left is unaltered. His truck is really that drop dead fluorescent orange color! I am sure it also garners attention for his Ice Monkey Garage business which specializes in, "Sport, Commercial and Industrial Custom Fabrication and Body Work" as well as, "a place to share what's happening around the shop and a little Monkey business from the travels and the lifestyle."

Casey can also be an unintentional magnet for quirky things. The car parked next to him had a dead bird plastered on the front of it. The owner had obviously made no attempt to remove it. Of course we both had to grab a quick photo of the oddity.

Since he only had one open seat he asked Terry if she minded staying with "our" car while he took me on a brief driving tour of the Anchorage yard. The tour did not actually enter the yard, but stayed on the peripheries. This was good enough for a man who just happened to be carrying a camera with a long lens.


SD70MAC #4323 is a 4,300 HP locomotive equipped with head end power (HEP). It was purchased in 2004 as part of the second order of SD70MACs for the Alaska Railroad.	GP40-H #3013 was built in 1978 and has a small auxiliary plant for limited HEP (800kW) and supplying KFF (keep from freezing) power to certain intermodal cars.	Caboose #1084 was donated to the US Forest Service for use as a cabin at Spencer. It is still here in the Anchorage Yard ten years later.

Icicle breaker used to clear icicles in the tunnels between Tunnel and Seward.	A scrap load of trucks.	Number 95900 is a former Army Transportation Corp hospital/baggage car now used in wrecker service.

Foaming activities always makes me hungry and I had a hankering for a good hamburger. Casey recommended Tommy's Burger Stop which featured "gourmet hamburgers, onion rings & seasoned fries in a brightly-colored house with a casual vibe". The gauge of a good restaurant is the density of patrons and Tommy's was absolutely packed. Terry was on top of her game and grabbed a nearby table just as its customers were standing up to leave. Casey had a fondness for the hamburger Po'-Boy which featured three beef patties stacked onto a baguette with seasoned fries so I decided to take the plunge. I only managed to wolf down half of this enormous sandwich and took the rest with me for a future snack.

The only remaining train chasing possibilities was the northbound Glacier Discovery. Although the location wasn't particularly romantic, the area south of Elderberry Park provided a good close up shot. As we waited for the train Casey impressed us with his encyclopedic knowledge of flower and fauna growing nearby. One thing which can be said about any of the Durands is they have an enormous amount of Alaskan knowledge which they accurately recall at will whether it be trains, history, geography or nature. Eventually, the train arrived and I was able to get some decent footage from my iPhone although my shirt sleeve became entangled with the chain link fence towards the end. GP40 #3011 headed up the train and the Chugach Explorer made an appearance as well. GP40 #3010 brought up the rear and I was mildly saddened by once again being denied the opportunity to commune with #3015.