Conductor Smith Here is Conductor Kenny Smith looking out over his train, the Denali Star, loading guests at the Talkeetna Summer depot. On a peak summer day this train, the Alaska Railroad’s Anchorage to Fairbanks flagship, could run with 14 or 15 cars more than half of which belonged to cruise line operators Princess, Holland America and Royal Celebrity Tours at that time. At the time of this photo I had only been on the railroad for 5 months or so and if memory serves this was taken from ARR 2000, the Aurora car, a glass topped open platform observation that was available for charter. On this day the railroad’s senior leadership was conducting meetings on board and I was assuredly in the hot seat as the new Director of the Anchorage Terminal. Ken here was another old head and a second (or was it third?) generation Alaska Railroader. We had a good relationship, and I always enjoyed working with him though he had a way of making an impression. I will never forget how much of a chameleon he could be. The first time we met I think it was in the crew lunch room down at the Anchorage Yard office. He straight out verbally attacked me with a grilling on rules, polices, train schedules, my qualifications (or lack thereof) and whatever else. Of course at the time he had an audience of fellow union brothers. I knew the type. I’d been on the management side of railroading long enough and was used to the old school union men having to quickly attempt to assert dominance over management. But whenever it was just he and I alone on a train or in the office he was as nice as could be. Jovial, pleasant and helpful….he just couldn’t let his brothers see him being nice to management or let them know he liked me. But I knew he did! This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while. Though, sadly I admit that I never took enough of these types of photographs, but those few that I do have deserve to be edited and shared in an album of their own. So, look for more soon in what will be a little series of Alaskan Railroaders. I had the absolute pleasure to work with the finest and most dedicated group of railroaders in all the land for six wonderful years from 2007 to 2013. It was the greatest honor of my life to lead these men and women as we worked as a team to grow service and become more efficient all while doing it safely in some of the harshest conditions to be found anywhere. And as the smiles in these photos will attest, we strove to have FUN while doing it. As in all jobs, there were bad days and frustrating times and personal conflicts that arise in any organization. But more than anywhere I have ever worked in more than two decades now, there was truly an esprit de corps on the Alaska Railroad and the pride these fine folks felt about their chose career was palpable day in and day out. I hope these images help show you a tiny glimpse into that wonderful world that was once my family and my home. So raise a glass to the finest railroaders I’ve ever known! Talkeetna, Alaska
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