North FOX Here is another oldie from a past life back when the Alaska Railroad (ARR) ran 22 freights a week between Anchorage and Fairbanks instead of 10. Train 135N, the North FOX (Fairbanks Overnight Express) scurries across the glacier fed Knik River on the 'temporary' WWII surplus three span pony truss bridge that has been in service more than six decades! This is MP 146.4 on the ARR mainline and they are just about 1 hour into their 356 mile and 12 hour journey through the wilderness. The ARR runs the FOX four nights per week as a TOFC train in complement to its daily OX service which carries primarily tank cars and mixed freight. This point is at the west end of the verdant Matanuska Valley where it meets the sea. The river valley is bounded on the left by the Talkeetna Mountains and on the right by the Chugach and at its head is fed by the mighty Matanuska Glacier. On the head end can be seen a silver 50 foot former US Air Force boxcar. Four of these classic cars are used to shuttle baggage nightly to and from Fairbanks for Princess Tours and Holland America Lines whose guests ride in the private coaches that are on the rear of the daily Denali Star Passenger trains. Matanuska, Alaska |
