Alaska Railroad
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Alaska Railroad's 120S Whittier Turn rolls up to Girdwood for a meet with the Northbound Glacier Discovery. Powering the train is three of the railroad's SD70MACs pulling a healthy cut of TOFC & Manifest for the barge in Whittier. Shoutout to the crew for parking it in the perfect spot.
Three Alaska railroad GP's prepare to load out the rest of the ARMS barge on a typical Whittier day. Cold, wet, and foggy pretty much sums up this all season port with the original military era housing standing in the background. One of the neat things about the Whittier switch stands is that they all are some how lit at the same time in this shot and no its not photoshopped. After loading is complete these three Gp's will depart under the cover of darkness for Anchorage.
Here's another from this chase I didn't even remember making but in all fairness there were a lot of these runs down along the 'Arm' over the years.
Three GP40-2s in matching modern paint lead train 120S with another load of containers headed toward Whittier and a date with yet another Alaska Marine Lines barge up from Seattle.
This causeway adjacent the Seward Highway is popular photo spot at about MP 67 on the Alaska Railroad mainline. In just about four miles they'll reach CP F120 and the switch at the north leg of the wye for the CTC controlled Whittier Branch for the dozen mile run to the port town on Prince William Sound. Of that 12 miles more than 25% of that trip will be underground as they pass through nearly 3.5 miles of tunnels beneath the peaks and glaciers of the coastal mountains.
North of Portage, Alaska
Thursday March 3, 2016
On a bleak late summer afternoon two GP40-2s 3003 and 3012 (both bought new for the railroad in 1975 and 1978 respectively) lead Alaska Railroad train 120S consisting of solid empty flats headed from Anchorage back to Whittier for COFC loading off weekly Alaska Marine Lines barge from Seattle. 3003 wears it's as delivered black and gold scheme, one of three presently remaining like this of 11 delivered this way (the first two orders). 3012 was part of the four unit third order from EMD and was actually delivered in the 'Alaska Bold' scheme with a US DOT nose herald. It was the last GP40-2 in that scheme when repainted into the current modern image in 2014.
They are passing the short 1855 ft siding by the Girdwood passenger station at about MP 74.7 on the ARRC mainline as deep gray clouds hang low on the flank of the Chugach Mountains rising abruptly from the cold waters of Turnagain Arm.
Girdwood
Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska
Wednesday September 13, 2017
When I passed through Whittier in 2012 , I came upon a cluster of abandoned motels. Amazingly, a couple of the buildings were still standing, while for others, only the signs remained. This one offered "remote cable TV." Whittier, North Carolina. 10.8.2012.
The snow hasn't yet begun to inundate Whittier on this barren autumn day. This simple shot finds a big 120N freight for Anchorage built and pulled up toward the tunnel a mile and a half north of the yard waiting for a crew to come off rest. Three bought new GP40-2s including the trailing unit still in black and gold will do the honors later.
Whittier, Alaska
Saturday October 8, 2016
Here's another I don't remember shooting but there were a lot of these chases down along the 'Arm' over the years.
Three GP40-2s in matching modern paint lead train 120S with another load of containers headed toward Whittier and a date with yet another Alaska Marine Lines barge up from Seattle.
This is around MP 68.3 on the Alaska Railroad mainline and in just about four miles they'll reach CP F120 and the switch at the north leg of the wye for the CTC controlled Whittier Branch for the dozen mile run to the port town on Prince William Sound. Of that 12 miles more than 25% of that trip will be underground as they pass through nearly 3.5 miles of tunnels beneath the peaks and glaciers of the coastal mountains.
North of Portage, Alaska
Thursday March 3, 2016
Freight heads south from Anchorage towards Whittier to meet an incoming barge. Now just imagine if those pesky shadows weren't there to stain the shot....
Shoving slowly over the glacial-fed Placer Creek, a four pack of GPs come to a stop as the conductor pulls the extra barge from Seattle with carloads of merchandise and bulk commodities bound for customers in the state of Alaska. Virtually all of the small port town of Whittier can be seen in this cliffside view overlooking the bay. A 120S crew has just come off of release at 1230, and is now building the 120N cut for the next crew later in the evening. Apparently seeing sun in Whittier is a very rare occasion, so we were happy to be here on the last day of our trip with a colorful EMD set to shoot.
The Southbound barge train has arrived in Whittier where it will yard and place cars to be offloaded for future destinations
The port town of Whittier serves as the Alaska Railroad's main connection to the rest of the North American railroad network. Here, a barge from Seattle Washington arrives at least once a week, heavily laden with containers and mixed freight traffic from the lower 48, destined for places throughout the state. Being situated on the western edge of Prince William Sound, the town is well known for its horrible weather and lack of sunshine, however this day proved to be a rare exception.
All three color schemes of the Alaska Railroad are represented as this Anchorage based crew makes their last moves after unloading the barge which can be seen in the background next to the somewhat tall concrete Buckner Building. The building was constructed in 1953 to house the 1,000 US soldiers stationed here when the town served as a U.S. military base. Whittier was the perfect place for such a purpose, being a deepwater port capable of hosting large maritime vessels and being basically immune to airstrikes due to the constant low cloud cover and surrounding mountains. Today, the military operates out of other locations elsewhere in the state, but Whittier remains an important hub for both tourism and freight business via ocean vessel and the Alaska Railroad. This crew will soon be relieved by another that is tasked with loading the barge and then bringing the inbound traffic to Anchorage.
Some rail and sail action. Cruise ship Coral Princess is docked in Whittier as the ARR Glacier Explorer shoves into the passenger depot, cab car leading. Two extra passenger trains, one with ARR coaches and one with cruise line coaches, would show up to exchange passengers with the ship on this evening.
Two of the last three GP40-2s to wear their 1975 as delivered black and yellow paint trundle back north through the yard after yarding the first third of their 6015 ft train 120S that they brought down from Anchorage. The empty yard squeezed hard between the icy glacier waters of Prince William Sound and the Kenai Peninsula Coast Ranges will soon be full of container laden railcars shuttling traffic to and from the Alaska Marine Lines barge which has just arrived after a weeklong journey from Seattle.
Whittier is the ARR's main port for shipment of containers which arrive via barge stacked in racks above the main deck which contains 8 tracks for interchange of railcars to the BNSF & UP in Seattle. The concrete structure rising beyond is the long abandoned Buckner Building, once the largest building in Alaska.
If you'd like to read a bit more about the history of Whittier and this fascinating structure check out these links:
www.alaskarails.org/historical2/whittier-history/index.html
www.army.mil/article/193996/discovering_wartime_whittier
www.onlyinyourstate.com/alaska/abandoned-buckner-building...
www.adn.com/features/article/shadow-abandoned-buckner-bui...
www.npr.org/2015/01/18/378162264/welcome-to-whittier-alas...
Whittier, Alaska
Wednesday March 9, 2011
The Alaska Railroad's Glacier Discovery train has just transited the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel and has popped into a rare blue dome sunny day in Whittier where the weather is often shittier. 6/22/2024
An Alaska Railroad crew is working Whittier yard with a pair of SD70MACs getting ready to double up a big 120N freight of mixed manifest and intermodal traffic off the AML barge up from Seattle that they will take north to Anchorage a little later.
Whittier is the ARRC's main port for interchange of both containers and railcars which arrive via the weekly AML barge from Seattle. The containers are stacked on racks two or three high above the main barge deck which contains 8 tracks for interchange of railcars to and from the BNSF & UP. The concrete structure rising beyond is the long abandoned Buckner Building, once the largest building in Alaska. And the single track at left and the tent structure beside it is the ARR's passenger 'station' which mostly serves passengers walking directly across the street to and from waiting cruise ships.
If you'd like to read a bit more about the history of Whittier and this fascinating structure check out these links:
www.alaskarails.org/historical2/whittier-history/index.html
www.army.mil/article/193996/discovering_wartime_whittier
www.onlyinyourstate.com/alaska/abandoned-buckner-building...
www.adn.com/features/article/shadow-abandoned-buckner-bui...
www.npr.org/2015/01/18/378162264/welcome-to-whittier-alas...
Whittier, Alaska
Wednesday June 21, 2017
Whittier Tunnel, for being a public place with a highway through it, is guarded like they've got the Ark of the Covenant in there. Even after paying the tunnel fee, parking at the public restrooms, and shooting on public property a good 50' off the right of way, after we were given the confirmation that we were okay to do so by a very confused toll keeper, they were pissed. This of course resulted in our licenses being taken down. After a couple run-ins with these people, we played it safe and shot from way back for the score that counted, the barge train out of Anchorage headed for unloading less than a mile down the line.
ARR 120S, having come down from Anchorage earlier in the afternoon, switches out the Lynden rail barge in Whittier. 3012's large snow plow is a reminder of the harsh winters the railroad faces, hard to imagine during the nice days around the summer solstice we spent here. The concrete monolith seen behind the train is the Buckner Building, once a housing unit from Whittier's days as a military outpost, now standing abandoned and derelict.
This view is from the end of the gravel road out of Whittier, Alaska. Go to Whittier, drive down the road. Take the picture.
Between their arrival and their 19:50 departure back towards Anchorage, the turn job switches in Whittier as they backload the rail barge.
Whittier Narrows Nature Center South El Monte, CA
老公在朋友Lou的帶領下出發去找加州的稀鳥Northern cardinal, 因為聽說要走蠻遠的, 為了不使正在治療的腳傷惡化, 我只能留在center的訪客中心閒逛!!!
看到這隻正在花裡覓食的小鳥, 才照了一張牠就忽爾遠去了!!! 051816
An Alaska Railroad crew is pulling and spotting the Surbuban Propane spur in Whittier yard with a pair of SD70MACs before doubling up a big 120N freight of mixed manifest and intermodal traffic off the AML barge up from Seattle that they will take north to Anchorage a little later.
Of note is the unique grey and red HWCX car in the foreground. These specialized cars were owned by Halliburtun Services and were fixtures on the interline barge service for decades transporting drilling mud components to the Fairbanks areas for blending and forwarding by truck up the haul road to the North Slope oil fields.
The AAR code for this type of car is LM, which is defined as “A car equipped with one or more permanently enclosed tanks or containers, provided with one or more openings for loading and equipped for pneumatic or gravity unloading. Car is suitable for handling certain dry powder or granular commodities, and also low viscosity, non-dangerous liquid commodities.” Some of the earlier 75 ton cars have already reached their 50 year revenue service limit while others age out in 2024 so if you want to shoot these unique freight cars you need to hunt them down soon!
Whittier, Alaska
Wednesday June 21, 2017
The Glacier Discovery has taken its passengers up the hill to Spencer & Grandview and dropped them for further exploration of the Alaskan Wilderness. They are now returning to Whittier where they will pick up the day trippers and return them to Anchorage.
Here's a nearly dozen year old look back from a past life as I stand on the deck of the Alaska Marine Lines (AML) Barge Fairbanks Provider which is tied up at Whittier. This view looks off the stern at the barge slip as the Alaska Railroad crew gingerly pull cars off the starboard side of the barge using a pair of geeps.
Once a week an AML (A Lynden Company) barge arrives at the port of Whittier from Seattle. There are three barges in rotation and each was built by Gunderson in 2001 and is 420 ft long by 120 ft wide. They feature 8 tracks with capacity of 45-50 railcars and then overhead racks for stacking containers up to three high. This is truly a fascinating operation to observe and a marvel of logistics innovation. In the background rises the Begich Towers, a 15 story high rise in which nearly all of the town's full time residents reside!
Whittier, Alaska
Wednesday March 9, 2011
As the sun begins to rise, Alaska Railroad train 120S heads to the Port of Whittier with COFC barn traffic.
Providing lovely views of the marina, Chugach Mountains, and Prince William Sound if you happen to visit Whittier when on a nice day.
Whittier's average high in July is 63F (17C), and it gets 215 inches (546cm) of rain and 256 inches (650cm) of snow each year. The US military built a base here in World War II because the weather was so bad that Japanese recon would never see it from the air.
MBTA GP40MC # 1120 is seen pushing Keolis # 18 is past Whittier's Cove in Manchester-By-The-Sea, MA.
Having just exited the 2.5-mile long Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, Alaska Railroad's Glacier Discovery train arrives in rainy and windy Whittier, Alaska on May 11, 2024. It is advertised as the longest highway tunnel in North America, although it was initially built during World War II as a railroad only tunnel. It was modified into a highway/rail tunnel in 2000.
Further south at 20 Mile Slough it was an altogether different scene with some low lying fog that was starting to burn off. Just as the train rounded the corner a little beacon of light provided just enough illumination to make things interesting. This trains destination was Seward with empty flats to be exchanged for loaded flats of frac sand and then return to Anchorage.