The Alaska Railroad

Driving around big-city suburbs, Chicago in my case, usually involves avoiding railroad crossings as much as possible. Passenger trains are not too bad, all identical silver cars but short and quick. Freights, on the other hand, are long, often slow, and rarely picturesque. No more caboose, no one to wave to. Not what we might remember -- or imagine -- from our early Lionel days.

But every Railfan has a treat in store: The Alaska Railroad. Facing a 9-to-10 hour train ride from Denali south to Whittier to board Coral Princess, I had a wonderful day of railroad education and enjoyment. Much of the route south, we used a single rail line, something I had only seen in movies as distant to my actual life as Doctor Zhivago. How does a train pass heading in the opposite direction. Sure, I knew the term "sidetracked," but I certainly get it better now. Lacking automatic switch devices, our train would stop, a conductor would walk to the switch and make the adjustment. We were sidetracked a couple of times, and I had time to see how things work and to talk to the friendly professional railroaders, both men and women, who operate the lines.

An open-air platform within the width of the rear car gave photographers, poets and train enthusiasts a closeup look at traditional operation of railroads, and the fun of the day was matched with the feeling of learning something wonderful about the growth of the United States.

When we detrained, much of the Alaska adventure was yet to come. Next post up soon.