Ever wonder why you don't see many photos of the Alaska Railroad in the winter time? Well, for one, the tourists are gone which means less cameras by the tracks to catch any action. Another reason is the weather. If it's not snowing it's probably gonna be cloudy; sunny days are at a premium up here. Another reason is there's very little daylight to play with. The sun comes up mid-to-late morning and is setting before 4 PM. In other words, it's dark when you go to work, and it's dark when you leave. The biggest factor though is simply the lack of trains. This winter, the Alaska Railroad runs one passenger train a week, and it happens to run under the cover of darkness into and out of Anchorage and Fairbanks. They also generate one to two freight trains per week which run during the weekdays, so unless you have off of work, you're not seeing them. In order to get a shot, you need a multitude of factors to come together perfectly like they did here the day after Christmas as ARR 3008 leads a freight train to Whittier and a waiting barge. Well, almost perfectly...even though it's just after noon, the sun is still below the Kenai Mountains there in the background! 12/26/13

Number 3015 taking the lead on the ski train to Grandview. Stewart says of his photo, "The Nordic Ski Club sponsored this every year and tickets were very sought after. I went two years as my brother-in-law was on the ski-patrol for them. " 3/15/90

Webmaster's note: I didn't know the ski train ever went to Grandview so I asked retired Alaska Railroad Vice President of Corporate Affairs James Blasingame for historic input.

"Originally it traveled to the Curry Resort back in the 1950's. Eventually it was decided to change to the Grandview area because of the shorter distance and abundance of snow. The Nordic Ski Club actually preferred the Grandview area.

"However in early 2002-2003 time period it was switched back to the Curry area. The reason for going back to Curry had to do with changing warmer weather patterns on the south end of the line (Grandview). As you may recall there was a disastrous freight derailment in the early 2000 when we dumped a bunch of building materials in the Grandview area due to a massive snow avalanche and we then decided that we needed to rethink taking a train load of passengers in the Grandview area during the spring time area because of the potential liability in the event that we suffer a similar derailment due to snow avalanches.....

"Our decision was based on potential derailments due to snow avalanches and warming trends during the early spring weather etc... Alaska has been experiencing very heavy snowfall early in the winter months followed by warming temperatures which makes for larger snow slides coming down the mountain side in the Grandview area. A week ago the weather in Alaska rose into the 50's with a disastrous snow slide on the Richardson highway which had cut off the Community of Valdez by the road system. That was a week ago and the town is still isolated because of this avalanche which is massive in size. It's all because of the recent warming trends we have been experiencing all over the State. " - James Blasingame

Sometimes you just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Suddenly your smile turns to a frown as you realize you don't have your camera with you. Drats! On February 16th at 5:30 AM as Robert Krol prepared to head to Anchorage for his Princess Safety Class he picked up the camera bag and then decided he didn't need it. During his drive he rounded a corner and saw a full moon sitting just above the water on Cook Inlet.  Soon he passed a siding holding a Maintenance of Way train and realized he could have gotten a shot of the moon rising over its caboose. Drats!

As Robert approached Beluga Point on February 27 he spied a freight train headed up by GP40 #3008. He did indeed have his camera with him, but couldn't take photos as he was driving. However, he did have RaeEllen Kurendoerfer with him and she hung out the window with his camera to grab a few shots (1, 2). The locomotive engineer saw her noble effort and rewarded her with blast from horn. Right place, right time....and this time with a camera!

The Hurricane Turn is a passenger train which operates a round trip schedule between Talkeetna and Hurricane Gulch. This unique train serves not only tourists, but also rail belt residents and outdoor enthusiasts. Passengers can hop off anywhere and later wave a white cloth for pick up. It's common to see residents loading up the baggage car with supplies and housewares to transport to their remote cabins. On my "Turn" trips I've seen groceries, water pipes, stoves, kitchen cabinets, a deep freezer, canoes, unloaded firearms and dogs. If you've taken this trip, what unusual things have you seen loaded on board?

Railroad Mike says of his photo, "This was taken on Saturday March 23, 2013, after the northbound Curry Ski train passed by. Shown is Conductor Harry Ross, (at left) and Lead Ticket Agent Jack MacDonald (in orange).

ARR 4015 leads coal empties north at Matanuska Junction bound for the mine at Healy.

I had received word that this train was called for 1600L, but it wasn't until almost 2 hours later that it rounded the bend and came into view just as the window of sunlight was about to close.

Matanuska Junction is where the Palmer Branch, seen in the upper left, splits off of the mainline and heads toward its namesake town. The Palmer Branch sees very little, if any, activity during the winter, but is quite busy in the summer as it hosts gravel trains during the busy construction season. In addition, passenger trains will run the Palmer Branch to serve the Alaska State Fair held in late summer.

The mountains in the background are the western edge of the Chugach Mountains. Back in there and out of view is the Knik River which leads to the famous Knik Glacier. I've never been back there on the ground, but have flown over the glacier numerous times.

Glad I was able to catch this train as my coverage north of Anchorage has been somewhat of a rarity. I hope to change that this year. 3/3/14

Terry Douglas says of his photos, "I thought I'd send a picture of the Ship Creek bridge in Anchorage. It doesn't get much coverage, I notice. Granted, it is not spectacular, and is set in a muddy industrial setting. However it does often host a range of ARR Locos and Freight/Passenger cars.

"I dropped [my wife] Cynthia at work this morning, and took my camera down to the banks of Ship Creek to see what was happening. It is a beautiful day here today (5/2/14), and even the humble Ship Creek bridge looked nice (to me at least). I got my shoes pretty muddy, but I was rewarded with  a set of 4 Locos (4003, 4327, 3010 and 2007), and some Oil cars on the bridge. Adds some color to the industrial city scape!"

Well my wife and I just got back from a wonderful three week Route 66 trip from Chicago to Los Angeles. We got to experience so much Americana with each stop being unique according to the geographical area. I guess that is one of the great things about our country. Everywhere you go is an adventure.

I've been Facebook friends with Alaskan Nancy Stewart for a while now. Not only is she an accomplished photographer, but she lets all of her Facebook friends experience the adventure of Alaska. Blooming flowers, breaching whales, babbling brooks, ice blue glaciers, swimming pool drinking moose, snow buried forests, sun snoozing bear.....I could go on and on. Her June 20th photo of an Alaska Railroad freight winding its way up Turnagain Arm really caught my eye and I knew I had to share this adventure with all of you. Enjoy!

Once the trio of DPUs passed over the Upper Trail Lake bridge in Moose Pass, I gathered up my stuff and headed back for the car, hoping that traffic would still be light as I made my way for Primrose and the Snow River.  I assumed the rest of the chase would be leap-frog railfanning as I'd be scrambling to get in front and into position before the train arrived, which also meant that there would be no more video as time was no longer a luxury.  I wasn't too worried about Primrose as far as time went, I knew I could out-pace the train there, but it was more about the sun angle.  I had looked at sun angle software the evening prior, but I was assuming a 0545L departure out of Anchorage.  I did know any time later in the morning would be beneficial angle-wise.

When I got to the Snow River bridge, the sun was angled slightly behind the train, but it would make for a nice broader-side shot.  Now the question became would I have enough uncluttered space to catch the power on my side of the river.  The shrubs and evergreens are growing taller and encroaching on the scene, but at least for this day, they weren't quite tall enough to ruin the shot.

Description: Export coal loads cross the partially-frozen Snow River on their southbound journey to Seward. Once across the river, this train will hit grades over 2%; one of the reasons these coal trains are bulked up with 6 SD70MACs running 3x3. 3/8/14

"Here's s sparkly ARR 3012 (1, 2) all ready to news'ify on your website!  The nose herald and number boards are the same type and style as the 3007 and 3008.  The cab numbers appear to be a slightly different font and perhaps larger/thicker than other GP40 examples. Things to note:

-  Silver horns!  Not sure if they all start out silver and fade over time or what.
-  Gray paint around the headlights.  On 3007/3008, those areas are painted yellow.
-  Blue plow!  That's not unusual, but the cleanness is!"

Frank says of his unusual photo, "I was looking around for the old octagonal water tank that is supposedly on the Register of Historical Places and is in Willow somewhere according to the ADN. While looking for that I ran across this old US Army boxcar that someone attached to their house as an add-on. If anybody knows where the octagonal water tank is located I would be grateful for the information."

Here is a bonus photo - ARR 3009 sits atop the Hurricane Bridge on a somewhat gloomy day. The top of the rail sits 296' above the ground and is a marvel of engineering.

Chris Paulhamus says of his photo, "Final shot I have of 3012 in her debut out of the paint shop.  If nothing else, this shot shows the subtle contrast between the MAC and Baby MAC schemes.  BTW, this very well could be the last ARR photo I'll ever take...kinda depressing to admit.  We'll see though!" August 28, 2014

[Webmaster's note: As a betting man my money is on Chris's eventual return.]

In 1961 Lays introduced its best-known potato chip slogan "betcha can't eat just one." And so it goes with Alaska Railroad Conductor James Ogden's recently submitted photos. I couldn't post just one.

James says of his photos, "I spent most of the summer 2014 working the extra board, in Anchorage, but in August, I got force assigned to the Fairbanks. I was up there for a week before getting forced back to Anchorage. Whenever we get forced out of town like that, we get 24 hours to get to our new assignment. I am not normally one to spend time trackside to get a photo of a train, but Riley Creek was one spot I did want to photograph. On my return to Anchorage, I decided to capitalize on the 24 hour allowance, and planned to stop at Denali Park. It was a Saturday, so the passenger trains would be plentiful. I left Fairbanks early, anticipating delays from construction, which were surprisingly light. I ended up with plenty of time to hike down to Riley Creek once I arrived at the park. All photos were taken on 23 August, 2014."

Photo 1 - The northbound Denali Star crosses Riley Creek bridge.
Photo 2 - This is my favorite photo from the trip. My camera was new, so I was experimenting when I got this one. I like it because it shows the people on the train enjoying the view. I do not see many passenger train photos that feature the passengers.
Photos 3 and 4 - The northbound Healy Express was the next train to come along, and the sun continued to cooperate!
Photo 5 - ARR #4322 leads the northbound Denali Express (DEX) out across the Riley Creek bridge.
Photo 6 - This is also the northbound DEX, but this photo surprised me. To me it looks like the subject is a model. Something about the background of the mountains in this photo makes it appear as if it was painted on a wall, with the train and the bridge being the only "real" things in the photo. I assure you that the mountains and creek are as "real" as the train though!
Photo 7 - One more photo of the northbound DEX, crossing the bridge.

I was contacted in July by Margaret Wray who was seeking information and/or photos regarding her grandfather, JP Johnson. This really pricked up my ears as Col. Johnson served as the Alaska Railroad's General Manager from January 1, 1946 until October 27, 1953 and headed up its $70,000,000 rehabilitation project. Margaret and I swapped numerous emails and I was delighted to discover her father Stephen S. Krawczyk had worked for the railroad as well. Additionally, her father had taken numerous color slides of the railroad and Alaska life. I must admit my jaw hit the floor when I viewed the CD of slides Margaret sent. I hope to get the entire collection of slides online sometime before year's end.

The Krawczyk's went to Fairbanks at the end of 1947 where Margaret's father worked on maintaining locomotives. The typical housing in Fairbanks back then was Quonset huts. Those that worked for the railroad lived on Government Hill, across from the engine house. Stephen's photo shows "The Aurora" bringing a passenger train into town.

I had someone contact me recently looking for the wiring diagrams to use in refurbishing several ex-Alaska Railroad's GP49s. I've been scouring the globe in hopes of snagging them, but to date have been unsuccessful. I was talking to ARR locomotive engineer Bob Yost last night and he reminded me the GP49s were built in two different classes (2801-2804 in 1983 and 2805-2809 in 1985) and therefore will have slightly different wiring diagrams. He also passed on some locomotive lore regarding GP49 #2809. Apparently the locomotive hit the loading chute at Usibelli Coal Mine which put a sizeable hole in the top front of the cab. It was temporarily repaired with visqueen and duct tape thus earning it the nickname "band aid locomotive."

So sticking with my theme for the week here is a photo of four brand spanking new GP49s at Interbay Yard in Seattle, Washington on September 1, 1983. You can almost see the eager anticipation on the faces of these four fine ladies as they prepare for their journey to Alaska.

Jonathan Fischer says of his photos, "Here's a shot you won't see every day. Mark Hemphill called me late in the evening to inform me that the northbound freight was really late. As a result we drove all night to get to the spot at Garner just after dawn. I've also included a shot of string of Tank Train tankers that were part of the train. This was June 1985."

[Webmaster's note: The Tank Train photo gave me goose bumps!]