Don't Look Close... This is one of those shots that hurts for a couple of reasons. First and foremost these big unit export coal trains are gone and most likely never to return to the rails of the 49th State. Second, if you zoom in you'll see what a terrible photo this is. Despite good settings on my old Canon Rebel the auto focus and the lesser quality lens picked up the wrong thing and the locomotive just isn't in focus. It's not so bad as to delete, particularly given the subject, but it certainly is bad enough to make we wince a bit in pain. But since there just are no 'do overs' with a scene like this I figured it was perfect fodder for a middle of the night upload. Train 181S with 70 loaded hoppers trailing three SD70MACs has just crossed the long Knik River bridge and is swinging around a bluff to head south toward their final terminal in this view from the Old Glenn Hwy overpass at ARR milepost 145.6. Providing a dramatic backdrop 15 miles distant on the far side of the wide Matanuska Valley past Palmer is the 6093 foot summit of Matanuska Peak in the Chugach Mountains. South of Palmer, Alaska |
