everyone who wanted to
see
these
places could be accommodated. A bus was operated along Turnagain Arm south of Anchorage through Alaska’s incredible scenery for those wanting a non-rail tour. It was back to the rails on Thursday, September 19, as the NRHS chartered train covered the ARR main line from Anchorage to Seward. No. 4324 was still on the point for this trip, which fea- tured miles of coastal running before turning into the rugged mountains. A photo runby was held amongst sea planes at Moose Pass prior to arrival in Seward, then photo opportunities were presented at both the station and the cruise ship dock at the end of the line. The route includes a spectacular horse shoe curve deep in the mountains where the tracks almost come back to- gether, albeit with quite a difference in elevation (think Tanglefoot Curve on the old Rio Grande narrow gauge).
On Friday the convention stayed close to town, covering branches around Anchorage. The trip started by using the freight bypass around the yard (seldom used by passenger trains) and then
traversed the branch at
Palmer to the state fairgrounds. Head- ing back towards Anchorage, the line to the Ted Stevens Anchorage Airport was covered. Both of these lines are
used only by special passenger trains, the former only during the state fair and the latter by cruise ship charters. To round out the day, the train contin- ued south on the main line to Potter where a restored section house and yet another rotary snow plow are on per- manent display. The final major rail trip of the con- vention was on Saturday, September
RIGHT: Highlighting the Wednesday opera- tions tour was a visit to the almost-always-off- limits Alaska Railroad dispatching center in Anchorage. BELOW: The afternoon tour vis- ited the railroad’s main shop complex where GP40-2 No. 3009 awaited some work.
44 NOVEMBER 2013 •
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