Former US Army Alco RS-1s that were shrouded for use on ARR passenger trains in the 1950s. Unit 1074, shown with "B" unit 1075 outside the Anchorage shops, was retired in 1966.

Most of the year the Alaska Railroad freight that runs north to Fairbanks each evening does so under the cover of darkness. As the days grow longer in the Last Frontier shots of the freight as the... (more)

Racing Thru History - Two state of the art 4300 HP SD70MACs race south down the ARR's mainline with a trainload of empty flatcars. The baretable train is destined for Seward, the ARR's sou... (more)

A pair of MACs leads a 3-car Aurora Winter Train north through Fort Richardson.

The class unit of Alaska Railroad's SD70MACs steps it out as it heads northbound through Wasilla after meeting the southbound Aurora Winter Train just south of town.

The Aurora Winter Train makes its Sunday run south just north of Willow. During the winter months until mid-May, this train will depart Anchorage every Saturday morning for Fairbanks and make the... (more)

Export coal snakes south along the Turnagain Arm late in the day just as the sun is hitting the horizon.

Power for export coal backs down the "P Main" to couple to its load after running through the yard. Anchorage received a near-record setting snowfall this year which lead to massive snow piles ar... (more)

A southbound freight is dwarfed by the scenery as it works its way along the Turnagain Arm bound for Whittier. Scenes like this abound in Alaska and it doesn't take long to appreciate how much ma... (more)

A Whittier-bound freight hugs the north shore of the Turnagain Arm and the Seward Highway as it works its way south on a beautiful Spring evening.

ARR 4009 brings up the rear on a 70-car coal train as it heads south near Girdwood. The 7 SD70MACs will be put to the test as the train assaults the 3% grade a little farther down the line.

STEAMWORKS! - Well, that's what an enthusiastic young friend of mine (and obvious Thomas addict) would call this, but no it's actually the backshop of the Alaska Railroad. Here heavy repai... (more)

A quartet of MACs on the head end along with 3 more on the rear leads an export coal train out of the yard in downtown Anchorage for a trip down the Turnagain Arm bound for Seward.

And so my 3-year adventure in Alaska begins! After finishing up at Birchwood, a work trains runs south for Anchorage at a restricted speed to call it a day.

Roster shots on a sunny day in Whittier, Alaska are hard to pass up! A pair of Alaska RR GP40-2s await a crew to take them and a freight train north to Anchorage.