WASILLA, ALASKA: WHERE THAT LONESOME WHISTLE BLOWS

The view through the front end of Alaska Railroad Engine No. 557, the last steam engine to serve the Alaska Railroad. It will soon be the next as well. The s-160 class Consolidation 2-8-0 locomotive was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works for the US Army in 1943 as part of the war effort, came north in December, 1944 to become part of the Alaska Railroad. 557 had the ability to operate in flood waters as high as two feet above the tracks, too deep for diesel locomotives, and did emergency work in Nenana floodwaters as recently as 1962.

It was sold for scrap in 1964 and soon shipped to Washington state. Fortunately, 557 survived and returned to Alaska in 2012. It wound up at the Engine 557 Restoration Company, right here in Wasilla across the street from the Mud Buster’s Dog Wash, which somehow manages to repeatedly appear on my thread. It is on track to once again roll on the tracks of the Alaska Railroad this year and to take part in the July 15, 2013 Alaska Road Centennial celebration in Nenana.

The curious can find all of this information and a lot more on John Combs alaskarails.org web page. John sits to the right alongside ARR Historian Patrick Durand, who oversees restoration efforts and volunteer Terry Douglas.

This, btw, was the first time I ever did a Sancho the drone indoor shoot. I was super cautious, as there were many obstacles, including wires. Sancho’s collision avoidance system does a good job at putting on the breaks before he can collide with big obstacles but not wires. Sancho will fly right into a wire.

I will return to do more documentation here soon. Thank you, John, Pat and Terry.