A group of us visited last weekend, as part of the annual Blues Train -- worth some ink itself. An Alaska Railroad train hauled hundreds of music lovers through the picturesque Chugach Mountains, beer flowing all the while and the boys of Rebel Blues Band putting on a typically amazing show in the bar car. Once in Seward, shuttles took us to The Pit, where the band played on and we, appropriately, partied on and on and on.

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• Public costs: Flood-related expenses for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough now total about $1.1 million. State officials estimate damage at $15.5 million. That includes repairs to the Alaska Railroad and to Chugach Electric Association power lines.

[See story]

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Usibelli Coal Mine of Healy has shipped 73,000 metric tons of coal to Chile, an order that followed two years of test shipments.

Steve Denton, vice president of business development, said three Chilean customers ordered at least one test shipment of Usibelli coal since 2004. An order shipped last month is considered a regular order.

[See story]

For two years, coal shipments to South America from the Usibelli Coal Mine in Healy have been test shipments. That changed at the end of August.

Usibelli Coal shipped 73,000 metric tons of coal to Chile on Aug. 18 as the mines’ first non-test shipment to that country, the company said in a recent news release.

[See story]

ANCHORAGE -- The owner of Al's Alaskan Inn has lost a round in his effort to attach a double-decker Alaska Railroad car to the bar.

Owner Allan Choy wants to hoist the train car to the second story of his building and use it as an arctic entry, he says. The train would add to the attractiveness of the bar, he believes.

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An Alaska Railroad Corp. plan to spray herbicide mixtures to suppress vegetation along more than 500 miles of track corridor has been opposed by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly.

[See story]

The state-owned Alaska Railroad Corp. recently issued $76.4 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds to speed up its program of replacing track on its main Anchorage-Fairbanks corridor.

[See story]

Officials from the city of Fairbanks and the Alaska Railroad Corp. will hold a work session tonight to discuss the railroad’s long-term plan to realign almost 20 miles of track.

The work session comes as the Fairbanks City Council considers a resolution that, if approved, would ask the railroad to adequately study whether a new set of tracks could be built around the southern edge of Fairbanks.

The railroad has already proposed studying the “southern bypass” project as a freight-dedicated line. That proposal, however, has led some elected officials to question whether the southern route should become the corporation’s primary option since it would allow train traffic to almost completely bypass the city’s core.

Project managers and executives from the railroad will participate in the work session, which will begin at 5 p.m. at City Hall, said railroad spokesman Tim Thompson.

“We want look at all the options,” he said.
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FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The U.S. Senate has voted to let the Army reimburse families of the 172nd Stryker Brigade for some expenses triggered by the recent extension of their deployment in Iraq.

Other Alaska-related items in the bill include: Authority for the Air Force to use up to $50 million to upgrade and add to ranges in Alaska; about $10 million for the Alaska Land Mobile Radio system for emergency responders; $10 million for utility corridor work at Eielson Air Force Base; $15 million for realigning the Alaska Railroad track near forts Wainwright and Eielson; and $20 million for information systems security for U.S. forces in Alaska.

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The Parks Highway south of Denali National Park and Preserve will be closed early this week to repair part of the Alaska Railroad track.

The Alaska Department of Transportation expects to close the highway at 235 Mile beginning at 10 p.m. Tuesday. The road will reopen at 7 a.m. Wednesday.

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Healy-based Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. recently shipped 73,000 metric tons of coal from Seward to supply a power plant in Mejillones, Chile, said Joe Usibelli, president. The power plant has an option for a second shipment of the same size during the last quarter of this year.

[See story]

The following transportation-related federal grants have been made, according to the Alaska congressional delegation:

• $16 million to let the Alaska Railroad buy four locomotives and about 50 rail cars to enhance the transportation of the Army's Alaska Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

• $2 million to study relocating Alaska Railroad track at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks.

[See story]

Charlie's Alaska Trains has moved to Ship Creek Center, on the street level at 333 W. Fourth Ave. downtown. In addition to being an authorized Lionel Train store, it sells Alaska Railroad memorabilia, hand-painted trains, ceramics, jewelry and vintage collectible glassware.

Call Charlie at 278-7246 for more information.

Taking the Alaska Railroad to the Alaska State Fair comes with pluses and minuses. The big plus -- as anyone who got stuck in a fair-bound conga line this weekend or wandered through the acres-of-cars fairground parking lots trying to recall where they left the car may guess -- involves avoiding the traffic.

[See story]

The Alaska Railroad remains open after having its traffic disrupted by the flooding, though workers are keeping a close eye on railbeds and tracks between Talkeetna and Nenana.

The line was closed for almost 48 hours over the weekend while crews repaired track damaged by floodwaters and erosion.

"The line is open and we’re doing cleanup,” railroad spokesman Tim Thompson said. But railroad workers aren’t resting easy just yet.

"The problem is more rain," Thompson said. "The ground is very saturated. We have crews all along the track between Talkeetna and the Hurricane section, the most damaged areas."

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Anchorage, Alaska - The Alaska Railroad says it is now up and running again. The main line is now open between Talkeetna and Denali National Park.

[See story]

Local officials are asking the Alaska Railroad Corp. to adequately study whether a new set of tracks could be built around the southern edge of Fairbanks. The proposed project would allow trains to almost completely bypass the city’s core area.

The railroad corporation’s larger plan to realign almost 20 miles of track in the Fairbanks area is a hot topic among elected officials.

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HOUSTON -- With major transportation links between Anchorage and Fairbanks severed but high water starting to recede, crews labored Sunday to fix sections of highway and railroad blown out by flooding in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

The Parks Highway, closed north of Trapper Creek since early Saturday when a 50-foot stretch of road washed out at Troublesome Creek, is expected to reopen by noon Tuesday, a state highway official said.

The Alaska Railroad, which experienced washouts and landslides on tracks between Talkeetna and Denali National Park, planned to resume normal passenger and freight trains overnight Sunday, a spokesman said.

[See story]

High water that flooded roads along the main transportation corridor between Anchorage and Fairbanks dropped steadily Sunday as weary emergency officials kept a close watch on forecasts for more rain.

"We have reports all over the valley of the rivers and streams subsiding," said Clint Vardeman, deputy director of emergency services for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

[See story]

Flooding and mud slides brought on by heavy rain closed the main highway and rail line Saturday between Anchorage and Fairbanks.

Rising flood water undermined abutments at two bridges on the Parks Highway, and closed the highway from Mile 127, just north of Trapper Creek, to Mile 147, at Byers Lake inside Denali State Park.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Artrain is about to make its longest journey ever - to Alaska. The art museum on rails, which consists of three passenger cars converted to house exhibits, a studio/gift shop car, and a caboose to house the crew, is set to depart from its home base here on Aug. 19, Debra Polich, President and CEO of Artrain USA, told Trains News Wire. After the cars arrive in Seattle, they will be moved by barge to Alaska.

Pat Flynn, Assistant Vice President of Marketing for the Alaska Railroad in Anchorage, told Trains News Wire that the Artrain will make the one-week water journey on an Alaska Railbelt Marine barge up the inside passage from Seattle to Whittier, Alaska, arriving Sept. 13. It will then move to Alaska Railroad's Bill Sheffield Depot at the Anchorage Airport for a reception on Sept. 18. Artrain does not own a locomotive; it relies on its host railroads for motive power.

The train will open its exhibits to the public, for three to seven days each, at several Alaska Railroad communities, including Anchorage, Fairbanks, Nenana, Palmer, and Seward. Flynn said the train will arrive back in Whittier on October 23 and will sail for Seattle on October 25. While in Alaska, the train will display Native Views: Influences of Modern Culture, a contemporary Native American art exhibition. "Sharing Artrain USA with Alaska has been a dream of ours for a long time," Polich stated in a news release.

The transportation sponsors for the Alaska trip are Alaska Railroad and Alaska Railbelt Marine, which are providing free transportation throughout the trip. The Artrain was profiled in the July 2006 issue of TRAINS Magazine; for more information, visit www.artrainusa.org or call 800-278-1971.

The train comes barreling down the tracks, seemingly going so fast the image of the blue and yellow locomotive is blurred.

Just as it seems the engine will slam into the cameras, it fades to black. Enter John Binkley, Republican candidate for governor, walking alongside railroad tracks. "I will not let Alaskans be railroaded by special interests," he says.

[See story]

The Parks Highway corridor would likely need to be widened if the Alaska Railroad Corp. chose to build track down the highway’s median to give freight trains a path that would bypass the city of Fairbanks, the state’s transportation commissioner said.

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The Royal Gorge Route Railroad has purchased ex-HALX 553. It is set to move as a special on Monday [8/14] out of Pueblo, Colorado.

They also purchased ex-ARR F7B #1503. It is currently on the barge headed for Seattle. RGR wasn't the only initial bidder. It seems the Verde Canyon Railroad was also quite interested too.
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Train service between Anchorage and Fairbanks resumed Thursday after Alaska Railroad officials finished temporary repairs on a damaged train bridge just south of Denali National Park.

Service was disrupted Tuesday when an excavator loaded on a lowboy tractor-trailer that was traveling on a road under the 18-foot-high bridge struck steel support beams, crumpling some and curling strips back from the span.

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DATE: August 10, 2006 CONTACT: Tim Thompson, 907-265-2695
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 907-748-2079

Repairs to Damaged Railroad Bridge Complete

ARRC crews restore service between Anchorage and Fairbanks

ANCHORAGE, Alaska-The Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) completed temporary repairs early Thursday morning to a damaged railroad bridge. Freight and passenger rail service between Anchorage and Fairbanks has resumed.

Service between Anchorage and Fairbanks was disrupted August 8 when an excavator loaded on a lowboy tractor-trailer struck the bridge. The bridge at ARRC milepost 346.7/ Parks Highway milepost 236.7 is located about a quarter of a mile south of the Denali Park entrance.
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Alaska Railroad officials have finished temporary repairs on a damaged train bridge just south of Denali National Park, restoring all train service between Anchorage and Fairbanks.

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Passenger and freight rail service between Anchorage and Fairbanks resumed Thursday after temporary repairs were completed on a damaged railroad bridge.

[See story]

Train service between Anchorage and Fairbanks was still down Wednesday as crews worked to repair a bridge that was damaged on Tuesday when a tractor-trailer with a large excavator on the back hit the bridge. Passengers will not be able to travel the popular train route until Friday.

Since the accident on Tuesday morning, the Alaska Railroad Corporation has been busing its passengers making the journey between Fairbanks, Anchorage and Denali National Park on the Denali Star passenger train.

[See story]

Train traffic between Anchorage and Fairbanks was disrupted and in some cases brought to a standstill Tuesday after a highway accident just south of Denali Park damaged an Alaska Railroad bridge.

A tractor-trailer hauling an excavator passed under the bridge at 8:20 a.m. about a quarter-mile south of the Denali National Park entrance. Railroad officials said the bridge rises nearly 18 feet above the highway, but that wasn't tall enough for the excavator.

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All train traffic between Anchorage and Fairbanks will be stopped for at least the next two days because a truck pulling a lowboy tractor trailer loaded with a large excavator hit a railroad bridge just south of the Denali National Park entrance along the Parks Highway on Tuesday morning.

[See story]

He was driving down the Parks Highway when the top of his tractor-trailer smashed into a bridge just outside Denali National Park and Preserve. Now the Alaska Railroad is feeling the pain of that collision.

[See story and photos]

All train traffic between Anchorage and Fairbanks was halted Tuesday after a highway accident just south of Denali Park that damaged an Alaska Railroad bridge.

At about 8:20 a.m., a tractor-trailer hauling an excavator passed under the bridge, about a quarter mile south of the Denali National Park entrance. The excavator struck and damaged the bridge, "compromising the integrity" of the structure, Alaska Railroad officials said. The driver of the truck is reportedly not injured.

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Alaska Railroad Corporation News Release
DATE: August 8, 2006 CONTACT: Tim Thompson, 907-265-2695
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 907-748-2079

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - At approximately 8:20 AM, an excavator loaded on a lowboy tractor trailer struck a grade separated bridge at Alaska Railroad (ARRC) milepost 346.7 about a quarter of a mile south of the Denali Park entrance. Initial reports say that the driver of the truck is uninjured and five beams have been damaged compromising the integrity of the railroad bridge.

At this time, the highway remains open to vehicle traffic but all train traffic between Anchorage and Fairbanks has been stopped until damage to the bridge is assessed and the necessary repairs are made. Passengers on both the north and southbound Denali Star will be transported by bus to avoid the damaged bridge.

ARRC bridge and maintenance crews are on scene assessing the damage to the bridge and track. It is unknown when the track will be open.

The Northbound passenger train leaving Anchorage this morning bound for Fairbanks will travel as far as Talkeetna on its regular schedule. Those passengers traveling beyond Talkeetna will travel by bus to Denali Park. Passengers needing to continue to Fairbanks will meet the southbound train and continue north to Fairbanks by rail on schedule.

The Southbound passenger train leaving Fairbanks this morning and bound for Anchorage will travel as far as Denali Park. Those passengers traveling beyond Denali Park will travel by bus to Talkeetna. Passengers needing to continue to Anchorage will meet the northbound train and continue south by train on schedule.
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DATE: August 3, 2006 CONTACT: Tim Thompson, 907-265-2695
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ANCHORAGE, Alaska-The Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) will issue tax-exempt bonds in August to finance rail transportation projects.

During the last legislative session, the Alaska Legislature voted unanimously to allow ARRC to issue up to $165 million in tax-exempt bonds backed by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) formula funds that the Corporation receives annually. ARRC is moving forward with its first issuance of approximately $76 million in tax-exempt bonds in 2006 with the remaining debt to be issued in future years.

"This is a historic moment for the Alaska Railroad and Alaskans," said Governor Bill Sheffield, Chairman ARRC Board of Directors. "For the first time, the Alaska Railroad Corporation will issue bonds allowing us to accelerate our ambitious capital improvement program."

Of the $165 million authorized by the State Legislature, the plan currently is to issue debt in 2006 (these Bonds), 2009 and 2012. The Alaska Railroad Board of Directors is required to approve each bond issuance and associated projects.

"Issuing tax-exempt bonds is a great way for the Railroad to achieve two important goals, improving safety and increasing capacity," said Pat Gamble, ARRC President and CEO.

The completed program will result in continuous welded rail to reduce "joint batter" which can lead to broken rail that causes derailments. Concrete ties and new 141-pound welded rail will be placed on all curves over six degrees to increase stability. A continuous wood tie replacement program will also be implemented through this and future bond issues.

While refurbishment of the mainline track between Anchorage and Fairbanks is the main project identified for this program, a portion of the bond proceeds will also be used for technology upgrades and acquisition of passenger equipment.
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Shutting down production at the Prudhoe Bay oil field will cut off roughly a third of the oil flowing to the Flint Hills refinery in North Pole.

The refinery buys all its oil from the state’s royalty share of oil pumped from North Slope fields, and state officials say they have no way to replace what will be lost when the Prudhoe Bay field shuts down temporarily.

[See story]

Talkeetna is a railroad town. People live alongside it, flag down trains and ride to work from cabins miles up and down the tracks, and use the rail corridor as a trail for four-wheelers and snowmachines. Talkeetna is also ground zero in the 20-year-plus fight to keep the state-owned Alaska Railroad from using chemical weed-killers.

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As money to realign Fairbanks-area railroad track chugs through the federal spending process, local leaders are debating whether to embrace or oppose the project.

Elected officials from the Fairbanks North Star Borough and its two cities held a work session Thursday to discuss whether, and how, they should address the proposed realignment plan. With a possible start-up date of 2007, some said the time has come to find a collective voice.

[See story]

Clyde and Mary Lovel of Sherman appreciate the Alaska Railroad and its employees. On June 1, their grandson died, and they had no way of knowing until they arrived home.

[See story]

A smoldering fire that began Friday inside a coal storage unit at Usibelli Coal Mine in Healy caused minimal damage to the facility and did not interrupt production, according to mine officials.

General manager Keith Walters said smoke was noticed in the coal pile at about 7 a.m. near a tipple, or conveyor, that stacks coal being readied to ship out on rail cars. Walters said the fire consisted mostly of smoke and hot coals with few flames. It was extinguished by noon, and no injuries were reported.

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North Pole and Fairbanks residents expressed only mild concern about proposal to use herbicides along the state’s rail system during a public hearing Thursday in Fairbanks.

About 20 people attended the hearing and only a handful gave public comments, many of which came in the form of questions. Most of those who spoke lived near the tracks and were generally accepting of the Alaska Railroad Corp. proposal but concerned about how they would be notified of the spraying.

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Anchorage, Alaska - Anchorage residents got a chance to sound off on a proposed plan to spray chemical herbicides on the Alaska Railroad tracks. The meeting in downtown Anchorage today was the first of seven scheduled public meetings on the topic.
 
The railroad says it has spent millions of dollars over the past decade trying to eradicate weeds from its tracks using steam, fire and even infrared light. People spoke out against the latest escalation in the weed war: a proposal to use chemicals for the first time in decades.

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Residents of Nenana, Fairbanks and Healy will get a chance this week and next to comment on a proposal to use herbicides along the state's rail system.

Hearings will take place today at the Nenana Civic Center, Thursday at the Fairbanks City Council Chambers, and July 20 at the Tri-Valley Community Center in Healy.

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The Alaska Railroad snakes across hundreds of miles of track in some of harshest weather conditions anywhere. To keep the locomotives from careening off the rails in slippery or steep conditions, computer sensors shoot sand onto the tracks to create traction.

Until last month, the state-owned railroad annually imported about 300 tons of Wisconsin sand at a cost of $89,000, said railroad executive Ernie Piper. But in June the railroad started using crushed glass from an Anchorage recycling plant. It's about 10 percent cheaper and better for the environment. Instead of digging more sand from the earth, glass that might otherwise end up in landfills is used, railroad officers and a local recycling activist said Friday.

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WHITEHORSE, Yukon Territory — The Department of Economic Development still doesn't have many details on a proposed Alaska-Canada rail link, despite a year-long feasibility study of the project, said deputy minister Eugene Lysy.

All that has been released to the public so far is a six-page index outlining approximately 225 documents related to the study. The index of the $5.5 million joint Alaska-Yukon study was provided to the media by project manager Kells Boland on Tuesday.

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A handful of outgoing Alaska high school students like Rachael Teagarden of Chugiak will welcome thousands of visitors this summer for a guided tour along the state's Railbelt.

Teagarden is one of 32 high school students from the Anchorage and Fairbanks areas selected by the Alaska Railroad Corp. to serve as tour guides to upward of 150,000 tourists this year.

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