In Another Land, In Another Life... Let's go back a decade ago to seemingly another lifetime when I was Superintendent of the Alaska Railroad and using my free time to get trackside with my best friend Frank Keller. Back then your railroad ID was enough to get you access to Fort Richardson and the more than 60,000 acres of unadulterated Alaskan wilderness just minutes from downtown Anchorage. With the railroad cutting right through the heart of it, many joyful hours were spent out there. They were the best of times.... Running just a couple of minutes off the advertised, the twin SD70MACs on the point of train 230S the flagship daily Denali Star passenger train emit a puff of smoke as they clip up the gentle .3% grade at the posted track speed of 60 MPH. Just under 10 miles outside of their destination at Anchorage the passengers aboard are enjoying some more stunning Alaskan scenery on this glorious Friday evening nearing the end of an almost 12 hr journey from Fairbanks. This is about MP 123.6 deep on confines of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in an area that is little photographed which is truly a shame. In the foreground is a tangle of Tufted Vetch, which is beautiful to look at and photograph but is a non-native invasive species. In the distance rise the high peaks of the Chugach Mountains. Anchorage, Alaska |
