120N Freight

Just another from the archives looking back a half dozen years already. I'm kind of proud of this one as it was a two page full center spread in the 2016 Railroads Illustrated Annual to open up their venerable Day In North America feature.

As for the train it's just another 120N freight loaded down with containers from the AML barge connection in Whittier headed to Anchorage. The twin SD70MACs are curling of the 12 mile long Whittier Branch and entering the mainline at MP MP 64.2 for a 50 mile run to Alaska's largest city.

Tucked in the little siding (with the long side ramp where the old Whittier Shuttle used to load vehicles before the tunnel opened for vehicular traffic) for the weekend is a company work train of side dump gondolas and one of the railroad's last three cabooses on the roster. ARR 1092 is one of three similar 'vans' acquired from the CN in 2000 (two are left) and it was built in their Point St. Charles shop in Montreal in the 1970s.

Portage, Alaska
Saturday April 16, 2016