Beneath The Shadow Of Pioneer Peak Back when the export coal business was booming you could get the opportunity to shoot some nice daylight freight action on the Alaska Railroad mainline. Here on a sparkling early spring day we see the standard complement of three SD70MACs with 75 aluminum hoppers trailing destined for the Usibelli Coal Mine in Healy. This view looks down off the Parks Highway overpass right at its start where it diverges from the Glenn Highway into Palmer and points east. They are rolling through the junction at NSS Matanuska (MP 151.4 on the ARR mainline). Dominating the background is the 6,398 foot Pioneer Peak that provides a stunning backdrop to the wide and fertile Matanuska-Susitna Valley. It is hard to believe but just over four years after I took this photo the final coal train would roll to tidewater and the export business would be finished... Matanuska, Alaska |
