More photos from Alaska; Get yourself on the Holiday Mailing List!

November 29, 2013 Emily Moser 2 Comments

Thanks to some server issues this week I was unable to post anything until about now… but I’ll make it quick. Here’s another collection of photos from Alaska (yep, I still have more Alaska photos). Here you’ll find some photos from the Denali Park area, as well as some in and around Fairbanks. The NRHS tour got to ride some trains around Fairbanks that usually aren’t open to regular passengers, which was certainly fun.

As a secondary note, it is about that time… I Ride the Harlem Line’s holiday tradition is to send out rail-related holiday cards (drawn by me) to anyone that sends me their snail mail address. If you’d like to receive this year’s card, send me your address at [email protected] Even if you got the card last year, send me your address again to confirm that you haven’t moved.

Behind the scenes of the Alaska Railroad…

October 29, 2013 Emily Moser 5 Comments

Over the past few weeks we’ve gotten a chance to check out the best that the Alaska Railroad has to offer – from its most attractive scenery to some of its rarer routes, we’ve covered a lot of ground. Part of the awesomeness of the NRHS convention was that we got to see some “behind the scenes” stuff that most rail passengers never get to see. The Alaska Railroad was undoubtedly a generous host, opening not just their rail system to us, but their operations center and even their locomotive shops.

I won’t include a whole lot of commentary with this post, and I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. If you ever wanted to get a “behind the scenes” view of the Alaska Railroad, we’ll take a quick tour of their operations center, check out the view from a few of their locomotives, visit the car facilities and of course, the locomotive shops. And yes, I ran all around with my trusty fish-eye lens… because I could!

From this perch one can monitor the activities of the Alaska Railroad…

Shall we take some equipment out for a spin?

Inside DMU #751 – “Chugach Explorer”

The Alaska Railroad’s finest railcar, the Denali, is luxury on the rails. Built in 1929 and refurbished by the Alaska Railroad, the car features only the fanciest materials – bronze, crystal, mahogany, and marble. The railcar contains a sitting area, a “boardroom”, a kitchen, as well as a bedroom and bathroom (which is probably nicer than the one in your own home).

Railcars used by various cruise companies are also stored and maintained here.

Some of the various equipment stored outside…

The car facilities and locomotive shops… that’s what you really wanted to see, isn’t it?

Rare mileage on the Alaska Railroad – The Palmer & Airport Branches

October 25, 2013 Emily Moser 1 Comment

Most of the places we’ve checked out thus far on the Alaska Railroad are part of regular routes that countless passengers have traveled over. Today, however, we’re going to take a look at two of the railroad’s branches – the Palmer branch and the Anchorage Airport branch. Both routes are occasionally used for passenger service, but are not in regular scheduled service. The Alaska Railroad operates a fair train every year for the Alaska State Fair, which travels over the Palmer branch and to South Palmer station. Besides the fair and other special events, it is mostly freight that sees this branch. Beyond the branch’s useable track lies the town of Palmer, for which the branch was named. Palmer’s depot still stands, and is used as a community center. Sitting outside is a restored coal locomotive.

Photos around Anchorage and on the Palmer Branch

The Anchorage Airport branch likely sees more passengers than the Palmer Branch, but it is still not a regularly scheduled route on the railroad. Cruise ship lines with chartered trains are usually the only patrons of the branch, leaving the depot there fairly quiet. If you have money to burn, the depot is available to rent, however.

Photos on the Airport Branch. With its high-level platforms, this is the most “Metro-North looking” part of the entire Alaska Railroad.

Thanks to my camera, you can ride both branches from your own home. Starting off at the Anchorage International Airport, we pass the Anchorage depot before heading onto the Palmer Branch, finishing just beyond the South Palmer / fairgrounds station.

For the folks subscribed to the site via email, you must visit the site to view video features.

Our second video for the day shows another hidden part of the Alaska Railroad, one that passengers never see. Reversing out of Anchorage’s depot, we head into Anchorage yard just after sunrise.