Foamin' in Alaska

[TrainNut]

Howdy all. I had the rare opportunity to visit our northernmost state this week for a short notice business trip. Since I had quite a bit of spare time to goof around and go sightseeing, I managed to chase a few trains!

Cut to the chase...
As with any dedicated foamer, my first stop was the railyard in downtown Anchorage...
A true workin' engine, #2004, sitting outside the shop...


That same night, since it doesn't get dark up there right now till about 10pm, I ended up driving south down the Seward Hwy a bit and came across a small rail museum right off the Turnagain Arm. Unfortunately, they were closed but still had some goodies outside!
An ol' rotary used to clear the line in the old days...


Just around the corner from the rotary was a little speeder. The sign in front of it said the guys used to use this regularly in -10F and 50mph winds. Brrrrrrr...


Looking left, or south, it started to rain just a bit and with the sun low on the horizon, a brilliant, complete, double rainbow appeared...


Of course, the only way to take a beautiful picture like that and make it better is to put a scantily clad, sexy woman in the shot. Since I did not have one of those on hand, I had to settle for the evening commuter from Whittier that just happened along at that exact moment!...


And, a look back towards the north after the train has passed...


The next day, I again headed south from Anchorage to Whittier. Along the way, I came across some neat stuffs. At the junction, just north of Portage Lake, a shot down the tracks. This line actually heads off to Seward...


Continuing on to Whittier, I came to the entrance of the Anton Anderson Memorial tunnel. It's 2.2 miles long and one lane. It alternates direction every half hour for traffic and shares the tunnel with the trains. Obviously, the trains get priority.




As I entered Whittier, I passed by this caboose...
I know nothing about it and saw no signs so if anyone knows anything, please, chime in!


The day after that, I again headed south, but this time headed towards Seward instead. Along the way, I happened to spot a very immaculate looking engine, #4324 working it's way towards Seward as well. The chase was on!




Once in Seward, I got some still shots...




Even the trucks on the generator unit were sparkling clean!


I thought the stars of the dipper were a nice touch...


On the way back to Anchorage, I caught up to another commuter train pushin' its way along... again from Whittier. This train was nearly empty except for a handful of people in the lead observation car.






My final day was spent in the mountains east of ex governor Sara Palins hometown of Vasilla. I came across the old gold mine of Independence and also discovered some trains of a different sort!
An electric locomotive...


And another...


...and the tracks they used to travel on...