ABOVE: After the run to North Pole on Sep- tember 15, the NRHS and Alaska Railroad teamed up to run a pair of trips for the general public out of Fairbanks. ARR GP40-2 No. 3003 leads the first trip past the University of Alaska on its return to Fairbanks. RIGHT: SD70MAC No. 4324 leads the NRHS charter north during a runby at Spencer, south of the junction with the Whittier branch at Portage.


the museum’s trackage; the Chena rail bus (combination highway and rail) used its rubber tires to circle the muse- um grounds as well.


T


here were skeptics who ques- tioned the wisdom of an Alaska convention, but when all was said and done it proved to be one of the best NRHS ever held. The original ground work for the convention was done by rare mileage guru Barton Jennings for a tour that was to be held by the South- ern Appalachia Railroad Museum for a small crowd back in 2008. When the economy tanked, the trip was canceled. When no NRHS chapter stepped for- ward to run the 2013 convention, the plans were dusted off and scaled up to accommodate a larger crowd as an event run by the NRHS national organ- ization. Bart became the train opera-


46 NOVEMBER 2013 • RAILFAN.COM


tions manager and NRHS President Gregory Molloy was the de facto con- vention chairman. Bart assembled a car hosting team that he had worked with on many of his other rail mileage trips in the lower 48, and the Alaska Railroad people were universally im- pressed with the professionalism of the volunteer NRHS staff.


The trains operated with a variety of


equipment ranging from modern coach- es built in Korea with huge windows, to conventional short domes, to Gold Star class double-deck cars with open obser- vation platforms on the second level. Full dining service was provided, and the meals and accommodations were universally excellent.


As for the Alaska Railroad, the con- vention could not have happened with-


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