Today's Train Of Thought- Hitting Below the Railbelt, March 30, 2014

Aside from the colloquialism "the wrong side of the tracks", railroads usually don't quite factor into geographic descriptions of a certain area despite many examples of railroads conquering towering mountains, raging rivers and remote wilderness. The Alaska Railroad, which has had to deal with all three plus notoriously brutal winters in it's 100 year history, is proving to be the exception.

While entire European countries can fit into the vast and uninhabited tracts of Alaskan wilderness, the two larger cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks- along with the communities in between are referred to as part of Alaska's Railbelt. The moniker 'railbelt' basically means that the community is accessible by the Alaska Railroad and two of the state's main highways, although even in the more densely populated part of Alaska, this doesn't mean there's a lot of people nearby. Case in point, around Denali National Park, there's nearly 60 miles of track through wilderness that is inaccessible by highway, making the Alaska Railroad one of the last rail lines in North America to operate 'flag stop' passenger service where passengers can flag down a passing train to get on board.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Chad Paulhamus caught Alaska Railroad GP40-2 #3004 heading southbound through Chugiak, AK with a combined work train and mixed freight on March 10, 2012. The 1975-built GP40-2 was purchased new by the Alaska Railroad in the mid-1970s and sent to Illinois in 2008 to be overhauled by National Railway Equipment and given a new paint job. The #3004 is one of fifteen GP40-2s bought new by Alaska and can be seen assigned to anything from yard switcher to the ARR's top of the line Denali Star summertime passenger train.

Today's Train of Thought- Having a Ballast, September 15th, 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Final Frontier where the days are longer and the conditions are much harsher than the rest of the country.

Summer doesn't last very long up in Alaska, and the state's largest railroad needs to make the most of the warm weather to get things done. It's during this time of year that the railroad often hires seasonal workers such as ticket clerks, conductors, mechanics, on-board guides, engineers, carmen and track workers. Not surprisingly, this is also the busiest time of year on the ARR. In addition to freight to and from the Lower 48, the ARR also hauls a number of passenger trains carrying cruise ship passengers disembarking in Anchorage to Seward, Denali National Park or Fairbanks.

The warm weather months are also ideal for carrying out heavy maintenance on the ARR right of way since the ballast, gravel and rip rap needed for such projects can be excavated fairly easily. Here, railpictures.net contributor Frank Keller caught Alaska Railroad GP40-2 #3102 snaking its way past Turnigan Arm between Fairbanks and Portage, AK with a ballast train in tow in June 2009. The ballast trains are reportedly one of the few trains on the ARR that still regularly draws a caboose. Riding a few cars ahead of the caboose [look for the little dots with safety vests on- NANESB!] are some crew members who will likely get off a few miles up the line when the train stops to dump some of the ballast.

Today's Train of Thought- The North Pole Express, Dec 25, 2012

Today's train of thought takes us closer to Santa's workshop than ever before as we visit what is currently the northern terminus of the Alaska Railroad in- appropriately enough- North Pole, AK.

The Christmas-themed town is situated outside of Fairbanks and is home to Eielson Air Force Base and Flint Hills Natural Resources' oil refinery, both of which generate traffic for the Alaska Railroad. However, with the ongoing Northern Rail extension the end of the line is going to be expanded some 80 miles to the east at Delta Jct, AK over the next few years,

Here, in January 2005, railpicturesarchive.net contributor Jeff Barry caught AKRR SD70MAC #4016 leading a cut of tankers for the Flint Hills refinery in the fading winter's daylight.

Steamy Iron Horse Roundup For July 2011

Iowa Interstate's Chinese manufactured 'QJ' 2-10-2 #6988 is seen passing the former Rock Island Iowa City, IA depot on the return leg of its round trip excursion between Cedar Rapids, IA and Rock Island, IL on June 19th, 2012. Erik Rasmussen photo

IOWA- For the second year in a row, the Hawkeye state and regional Iowa Interstate played host to a large gathering of rail enthusiasts and historians with their 2012 convention in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Like last year's Trainfest in Rock Island, IL, this year's NRHS convention featured steam and diesel powered rare mileage excursions on former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific and Milwaukee Road lines that only see freight traffic these days.

In addition to a day out at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion at Mt Pleasant, IA where attendees got to see restored trolleys, interurbans and steam as well as vintage steam powered tractors and farm machinery, the convention featured a steam powered excursion between Cedar Rapids and Rock Island, IL with IAIS Chinese QJ #6988 doing the honors.

Cedar Rapids and Iowa City MP15DC #122 seen powering an excursinon on the original interurban line between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City at Cou Lake, IA on June 22nd. FJ Grizel photo.

Attendees also got to ride behind rare mileage excursions over Dan Sabin's Iowa Interstate and former interurban Cedar Rapids and Iowa City- also known as the CRANDIC and owned by Alliant Energy [NYSE- LNT]. In addition to Iowa Interstate's Chinese made QJ, excursions were also powered by F40PH's from Iowa Northern's Hawkeye Express passenger trains that shuttle football fans to and from University of Iowa home football games and some of CRANDIC's yellow and grey EMD endcab switchers.

Interestingly, a few days before the NRHS excursions, the Iowa Interstate operated a series of trips between West Liberty, IA and Durant, IA to benefit those towns' respective fire departments.

The 2013 NRHS convention is scheduled to take place in September 2013 in Anchorage, AK.

Alaska Railroad's former Army 2-8-0 steam locomotive seen returning home from the lower 48 in January at Anchorage, AK. Michael Dinneen- Alaska Business Journal

ALASKA- Speaking of Alaska, the restoration of the Alaska railroad's last steam locomotive got a huge assist thanks to a $350,000 grant.

The Rasmuson Foundation announced the grant to the newly-formed non profit Engine 557 Restoration Company in early July. This is the first substantial donation that went towards the full restoration of Alaska Railroad #557. The unit last saw service in the early 1960s running shuttle trains to the Alaska state Fair before being sold to a scrap dealer in Washington State. However, instead of cutting up the former Army steamer, the scrap dealer took a shine to the Baldwin and displayed it in front of his business. As it turned out, the cool and relatively dry climate of east-central Washington State was almost ideal for preserving a steam locomotive.

Restoration is currently estimated to cost between $600,000 and $700,000. Major costs include initial tooling, asbestos removal and abatement, replacing galvanized steel cladding, new insulation, boiler and tubing replacement and repair, gear inspection and repair, painting and positive train control electronics.

In order to establish a funding mechanism, project supporters recently turned to The Alaska Community Foundation (ACF), which oversees and has helped establish nearly 300 funds and endowments that support philanthropic endeavors that benefit Alaskans. ACF agreed to establish and administer a new fund to accept donations, while the Restoration Company will coordinate the project, including fund-raising, hiring subcontractors, recruiting volunteers and overseeing the restoration work.

While the narrow gauge White Pass & Yukon continues to operate a pair of steam locomotives out of Skagway, Alaska #557 would be the first operating standard gauge steam engine in the Last Frontier on nearly 50 years. While one time roster-mate #556 remains on static display in an Anchorage park, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum has a sister locomotive to Alaska #557 & #556- former US Army #610, which was one of the last American steam locomotives made for an American customer.

Soo Line 2-8-2 #1003 seen crossing the Rock River in Edgerton, WI in August 2000 on the Wisconsin Southern. Barry Moore photo.

WISCONSIN- Reports of Soo Line 1003's demise are apparently premature, as the 1913-built Baldwin underwent a series of test-firings in May. The locomotive last operated pulling a Santa Train in November 2010 before her mandatory 15 year FRA boiler inspection.

After being taken out of service, the venerable ALCo steamer was kept on the grounds of the Wisconsin Auto Museum in Hartford, WI. Returning #1003 back to service carried an estimated pricetag of around $400,000, although some of these costs were reportedly picked up by Wisconsin Southern President and CEO Bill Gardner. When in operation, the Soo Line #1003 had operated almost exclusively on the Wisconsin and Southern.

Catch Of the Day- Soccer Ball and Volleyball Washed Ashore on Alaskan Beach May Be First Salvageable Debris From 2011 Tsunami

Japanese Beach Volleyball star Miwa Asao- probably NOT the rightful owner of the volleyball that washed ashore in Alaska this month, but worth a look nonetheless.

Remember that derelict Japanese fishing vessel that was washed out to sea during the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that the US Coast Guard sank off the Alaskan coast earlier this month? Many experts predicted it would be the first of many items to show up off the western coast of the USA and Canada after a substantial debris field made up of boats, buoys, vehicles and battered structures began forming in the Pacific Ocean after the catastrophic disaster that struck north-eastern Japan.

Turns out they were right, although not all of the items showing up in the waters off of Alaska and British Columbia are the size of the Ryou Un Maru.

An Alaska man beachcoming on Middleton Island in the Gulf of Alaska southeast of the Kenai Peninsula found a soccer ball with Japanese script on it back in March.

Dave and Yumi Baxter displaying their Catch of the Day

David Baxter, a radar technician, told the AP by e-mail that when he first saw the ball, he immediately thought it might've come from the tsunami zone.

Baxter's wife, who is Japanese, was able to translate some of the messages written on the ball and with the help of a Japanese reporter was able to identify the soccer ball's owner as 16 year old Misaki Murakami.

Murakami, from the town of Rikuzentakata, is surprised and thankful the soccer ball has been found more than 3,000 miles away.

“It was a big surprise. I’ve never imagined that my ball has reached Alaska,” Murakami told public broadcaster NHK. “I’ve lost everything in the tsunami. So I’m delighted,” he said. “I really want to say thank you for finding the ball.”
He was particularly glad because all furniture and sentimental items in his home had been washed away in the March 11, 2011, tsunami.

The ball, which also had messages of encouragement written on it, was given to him in 2005, when Murakami was in third grade, as a goodbye gift when he transferred to another school.

Two weeks later, Baxter said had discovered a volleyball washed ashore on the same island. NHK reproted that the owner been tenatively identified as a 19 year old girl from Iwate perfecture.

The Baxters say they plan on travelling to Japan in May to return the balls to their rightful owners, although they said they were reluctant to visit Murakami directly, claiming they didn't want to raise too much of a commotion.

Although both the Ryou Un Maru and a number of basketball-sized buoys thought to be from Japanese oyster farms have turned up on shore or off the Alaskan coast, the NOAA belives this is the first instance of debris from the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami showing up in American waters and being returned to the rightful owners in Japan.

FBI, Coast Guard, Alaska State Police Hunt for Suspect After 2 Killed in Kodiak Coast Guard Station

Authorities in Alaska are searching for a suspect after two people were shot to death inside a supposedly secure Coast Guard communications center on the southwestern Alaskan island of Kodiak on Thursday.

The two victims were found inside their work station. Monitoring long range communications between aircraft and maritime traffic, the communications center where the bodies of the two men were found at is about three miles away from the main Coast Guard installation on the island, which houses about 4000 personnel.

The deceased have been identified as Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class James Hopkins and Richard Belisle- a civilian employee. Belisle was also a retired Coast Guard petty officer before working as a civilian employee.

Investigators believe the men were shot sometime between 7 and 8 am on Thursday. Security levels were raised at the larger Coast Guard base and some of the local schools were put into lockdown as police searched the area.

According to an FBI spokesman, evidence at the crime scene indicated that the deaths were not part of a murder-suicide. Local police, Alaska state troopers, Federal agents and Coast Guard Investigative Service agents were still combing the island for a suspect on the weekend.

FBI spokesman Eric Gonzalez said Saturday that residents of the island, about 250 miles south of Anchorage, do not appear to be at risk.

"Right now, there's no credible evidence that the community as a whole is in danger. However we continue to counsel them to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to police," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez would not say why the FBI believes island residents are not in danger.

Gonzalez declined to answer specific questions about the ongoing investigation. Releasing details could harm investigators' chances of catching the killer, he said.

"The integrity of the investigation dictates that we can't say much about what we're doing," Gonzalez said.

A team of FBI agents is working with the Coast Guard's Investigative Services, the Kodiak Alaska State Troopers and Kodiak police to bring the person responsible for the deaths to justice, Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said the team is "conducting logical investigative steps."

"Certainly, interviews are part of that," he said. "We've been interviewing a number of people."

Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Charly Hengen said residents should be aware of their surroundings, have a heightened sense of security, and if they see anything suspicious, report it to law enforcement.

"There could be (a suspect) still out there. We don't know," Hengen said. "That's why we're encouraging residents to be extra vigilant when they're out ... whether someone's going to the grocery store, going on a hike, whatever they need to do during the course of a day."

Hengen would not comment on whether Coast Guard personnel were being interviewed by the investigators, nor would she comment on the possibility any Coast Guard members might be considered suspects.

Authorities have also declined make public a possible motive for the two murders. Since Kodiak Island is only accessible by sea and air, its thought that the gunman is most likely still on the island.

Life on Kodiak Island with the Coast Guard has been the subject of a reality show on The Weather Channel called (appropriately enough) Coast Guard: Alaska that had recently been renewed for another season. The show highlights the remote and dangerous nature of some of the search and rescue missions flown from the island.

US Coast Guard Shells Japanese Vessel Off Alaskan Coast

Reuters photo

Just thought I'd recycle some headlines from 1942, however misleading.
A derelict Japanese fishing vessel that was washed out to sea during last year's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan has drifted into waters off the coast of Alaska in the last year or so.

Officials from the United States Coast Guard made the decision to sink the abandoned vessel with heavy weaponry after determining the 164 foot Ryou Un Maru was a navigational hazard.

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter unleashed cannon fire on the abandoned 164-foot Ryou-Un Maru on Thursday, ending a journey that began when last year's tsunami dislodged it and set it adrift across the Pacific Ocean.

It sank into waters more than 1,000 feet deep in the Gulf of Alaska, more than 150 miles from land.

The crew pummeled the ghost ship with high explosive ammunition and, soon after, the Ryou-Un Maru burst into flames, began to take on water and list, officials said.

A huge column of smoke could be seen over the gulf.

The Coast Guard warned mariners to stay away, and aviation authorities did the same for pilots. A Coast Guard C-130 plane crew monitored the operation.

In about four hours, the ship vanished into the water, said Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow in Juneau.

Officials decided to sink the ship, rather than risk the chance of it running aground or endangering other vessels in the busy shipping lanes between North America and Asia.

The ship had no lights or communications system and its tank was able to carry more than 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Officials, however, didn't know how much fuel, if any, was aboard.

"It's less risky than it would be running into shore or running into (maritime) traffic," Webb said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency studied the problem and decided it is safer to sink the ship and let the fuel evaporate in the open water.

The vessel was in Hokkaido, destined for the scrappers torch when it was swept out to sea in the devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck on March 11, 2011.

Graphic courtesy

Vancouver Sun

The derelict fishing vessel was first spotted off the northwestern coast of Vancouver Island on March 20th. The ship continued drifting north before it was spotted off of Forrester Island in southern Alaska at the end of March. A Canadian fishing vessel had claimed salvage rights to the Ryou Un Maru but the US Coast Guard announced they would go ahead with plans to sink it if the Canadians were unable to secure the ghost ship. When the Canadian crew was unable to secure the vessel, the Coast Guard waited for them to clear the area. Once clear, the crew of the cutter USCG Anacapa opened up on the derelict with 25mm high explosive rounds.
Japan's Oceanic and Meteorological Agency estimates that nearly 5 million tons of debris were swept out into the Pacific Ocean after the tsunami. While most of that was concrete, Japanese researchers estimate that 30% of the debris is still afloat in the form of homes and boats that were docked at the time of the tsunami. Scientists in Japan and experts from the University of Hawaii's International Pacific Research Center are designing a complex computer model to try and predict where the ocean's currents will pull the remaining debris. The Ryou Un Maru is believed to be part of the advance guard of the massive debris field, which some estimate to be as large as 3100 by 1200 miles.
Residents in southeastern Alaskan towns such as Ketchican and Sitka have reported finding basketball-sized buoys washed ashore- the buoys are thought to be from Japanese oyster farms. The first known landfall of the debris in Alaska was back in January of this year near Yakutat.

Iron Horse Roundup For December 2011/Jan 2012

Aftermath of 3-way CSX collision and derailment in Valparaiso, IN on Jan 6th Photo- Jimmy Herrick/Valparaiso Post-Tribune

Two CSX crewmen were treated for injuries and approximately 200 people were evacuated after a collision and derailment involving three trains in northwestern Indiana earlier this month.

The trains crashed about 11 miles northeast of Valparaiso, on the CSX line, according to David James, assistant highway supervisor with the Porter County Highway Department.

James said one train rear-ended another one, causing it to jack-knife, and a third passing train the "got caught in that jack-knife." All the trains derailed

James said there had been a fire concern since one of the trains was carrying ethanol, an alcohol, but the tanks turned out to be empty. Diesel fuel from the engine was burning, but as of 4:50 p.m. local time, "things are starting to quiet down somewhat," James said.

About 100 to 200 residents evacuated from the area north and east of the crash, James said.

The two hospitalized crewmen were released within days of the collision. Immediately after the wreck, the NTSB was conducting interviews, combing through the wreckage and checking the line's signalling- but the agency warned that it could take months before reaching a finding on the cause of the collision.

Workers seen installing a frame with grapefruit-sized concrete balls dangling from a chain in West Java, Indonesia. The balls are high enough for the train to pass through untouched but would knock down anybody riding on the rooftops. This is the latest measure to prevent 'train surfing' in Indonesia. Achmad Ibrahim / AP Photo

Authorities in Indonesia are cracking down on 'train surfers' and people riding the rooftops of trains by installing frames that hang over the tracks with weighted, grapefruit-sized concrete balls dangling down low enough to knock stowaways off the roofs of train cars.

Authorities hope the balls — which could deliver serious blows to the head — will be enough to deter defiant roof riders.

"We've tried just about everything, even putting rolls of barbed wire on the roof, but nothing seems to work," said Mateta Rizahulhaq, a spokesman for the state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api. "Maybe this will do it."

Trains that crisscross Indonesia on poorly maintained tracks left behind by Dutch colonizers six decades ago usually are packed with passengers, especially during the rush hour.

Hundreds seeking to escape the overcrowded carriages clamber to the top. Some ride high to avoid paying for a ticket. Others do so because — despite the dangers, with dozens killed or injured every year — "rail surfing" is fun.

The first dozen or so balls were installed Tuesday hundreds of yards (meters) from the entrance of a train station just outside the capital, Jakarta. Painted silver, the balls hung by chains from what looked like the frame of a giant soccer goal.

But there was a glitch: the chains were too short, leaving a gap of about 16 inches (40 cm) between the balls and the roofs of the passing train carriages. Rizahulhaq said adjustments would be made.

If successful, the project will be expanded, with balls also set up near railway crossings.

Asked about worries that the balls could hurt or even kill those who defy the roof-riding ban, he insisted that wasn't really his problem.

"They don't have to sit on top," he said. "And we've already told them, if the train is full, go to the office. We will be happy to reimburse their tickets."

The commuters, known as "Atappers" or "Roofers," meanwhile are hardcore in their determination to stay on top.

"I was really scared when I first heard about these balls," said Mulyanto, a 27-year-old shopkeeper, who rides between his hometown of Bogor and Jakarta almost every day for work. "It sounds like it could be really dangerous."

"But I don't think it'll last long," he said. "They've tried everything to keep us from riding ... in the end we always win."

"We like it up there, it's windy, really nice."

Many of the roof riders — and regular passengers — say the main problem lies with Indonesia's dilapidated railway system. There are not enough trains to meet demand, they say. And there are constant delays in service.

"People have jobs! They can't be late," said Parto, a trader at the Jakarta stock exchange, who can usually be found sitting inside. "If the train is late, they'll do whatever they have to."

Several years ago, paint guns were set up to spray those riding on the top of carriages so authorities could identify and round up the guilty travelers. But roof riders destroyed the equipment soon after. The exhortations of clerics didn't work. Neither did the dogs.

Overcrowding has been an issue with commuter and passenger trains on Java- Indonesia's most populous island. In 2010, Indonesian passenger carrier PT Kereta Api introduced "Women's Only" train carriages in an effort to thwart other passengers who took advantage of the overcrowding to grope and fondle female commuters [similar trains operate in Mumbai and Tokyo- NANESB!].

Secured to a flatcar, Alaska Railroad 2-8-0 #557 passes by the Cook Inlet en route to Anchorage from the lower 48 in December. Photo- David Blazejewski/Columbia Basin Herald

After a nearly 50 year absence, the Alaska Railroad's last steam engine has returned home to Anchorage, AK this month.

The Baldwin 2-8-0 was built for the US Army in 1944 and went into service for the Alaska Railroad after WWII. The locomotive was in regular service for the Alaska until 1957 and was sold for scrap to a dealer in Washington State in 1962. However, instead of getting cut up, a Moses Lake, WA scrap dealer named Monte Holm took a shine to the old steamer and put it on display and would occasionally operate it on a short stretch of track.

Holm passed away in 2006, and a personal friend purchased the #557 from his estate before donating it to the Alaska Railway. Interestingly, the tender for the #557 never left Alaska and served in Maintainence of Way service along with a former US Army Corps of Engineers steam crane until 1974, at which point the railroad donated the tender to the Alaska Museum of Transportation and Industry.

The AKRR plans to fully restore #557 to operating condition and use the steam locomotive for excursions out of Anchorage.

The railroad has eight years to put it in service but Aadnesen is aiming for as early as 2013.

“We have a business case to put it back in a restricted kind of passenger service as a tourist attraction during the summers,” he said.

The project will depend on volunteer and foundation donations — money from the railroad can’t pay for it. It will cost more than $500,000 to refurbish the locomotive and get it back into service, then it will need to pay for itself. All that remains is to finish the regulations of establishing a foundation to receive such funds.

“We have no doubt that it can be done,” Aadnesen said.

Engine No. 557’s needs concern cosmetic issues like cleaning and painting. It will be completely disassembled and put back together to satisfy survey and inspection requirements for federal agencies.

After that, 557 will require annual maintenance plus periodic Federal Railroad Administration recertification, which will also have to be covered in the business case.

Last month, the Alaska Museum of Transportation and Industry in Wasilla, AK donated the 1700 gallon tender for the oil burning #557 back to the Alaska Railroad.

Sister Baldwin 2-8-0 #556, also a former US Army unit, remains on static display at a public park in Anchorage.

A pair of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic B39-8s are seen hauling freight westbound between St Leonard, New Brunswick and Madawaska, ME near Keegan, ME in March 2009. Photo- Kevin Burkholder

The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic announced a tenative deal to sell off 25 miles of track between Madawaska, ME and St Leonard, NB. The northernmost portion of the MM&A was left isolated from the rest of the system after the railroad sold the 230 miles of track between Madawaska south to Millinocket, ME that were slated for abandonment to the State of Maine last year.

If the Federal Rail Administration and Maine Department of Transportation approve, J.D. Irving subsidiary Eastern Maine Railway will purchase the Madawaska-Van Buren-St. Leonard railroad line for an undisclosed amount. The governmental agencies have liens on the property. The sale could be completed next month, said Robert C. Grindrod, MM&A’s president and CEO.

“We have an isolated piece of railroad there that doesn’t seem to be generating a lot of traffic,” Grindrod said Tuesday of his reasons for the sale, “and there seemed to be little or no prospect of regaining traffic from Twin Rivers.”

Twin Rivers Paper Co. executives claimed a year ago that the Madawaska mill’s future was threatened by MM&A’s failure to maintain its railroad tracks and by its missed delivery and pickup deadlines — often forcing the coated and uncoated papermaker to hire trucks on the fly to make shipments — because of miscommunication or an insufficient number of railroad runs.

MM&A officials countered that they were trying to meet demand but that the use of trucks and declines in production by Twin Rivers and its predecessor, Fraser Paper, made running more trains uneconomical and helped create the conditions that led to the company’s loss of $4 million to $5 million annually.

Shortly after the sale, the state of Maine subcontracted operations of the line to New Brunswick Southern- a Canadian company owned by J.D. Irving. New Brunsiwck Southern's subsidiary, Eastern Maine Railway, operated the section of the former Canadian Pacific line between the US/Canadian border at Vanceboro, ME to the current MM&A interchange at Brownville Jct, ME. New Brunswick Southern/Eastern Maine also interchanges with Pan-Am Rail at Mattawamkeag, ME.

Birmingham Southern GP38-2 #704 leads a southbound taconite train at Ensley, AL on Dec 30th 2011- Just days before WATCO assumes operation of the Alabama steel hauler. Photo- David Stewart

Within a few weeks of its announcement that it would be a majority shareholder for the regional Wisconsin Southern, Pittsburgh, KS based WATCO announced they would be purchasing Transtar's Birmingham Southern Railroad in Alabama.

Birmingham Terminal Railway has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Birmingham Southern Railway, which operates more than 75 miles of track in the region.

The railroad has access to the area's steel-making and manufacturing operations and connects to several major railroads, including Norfolk Southern [NYSE- NSC], CSX [NYSE- CSX] and Berkshire-Hathaway's [NYSE: BRK-A] BNSF.

Transtar is a holding company for some of the former United States Steel railways such as Pittsburgh's Union Railroad or Detroit's Delray Connecting. Transtar will still handle in-plant switching at US Steel's [NYSE: X] Fairfield, AL works and retains ownership of the Warrior & Gulf Navigation company

A pair of Iowa Northern gensets bracket a GP38 while hauling the IANR's first train on the former Union Pacific Garner sub in Garner, IA in November 2011. Photo- Craig Williams

Beginning in November, the Iowa Northern has taken over operations of the former Union Pacific [NYSE: UNP] Garner subdivision between Forest City and Belmond, IA.

FOREST CITY — The 28 miles of former Union Pacific railroad track from Forest City to Belmond has seen more traffic in the last three weeks than in the past five years, according to new operator Iowa Northern Railway Co. President Dan Sabin.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Gov. Terry Branstad and other local and county officials was held Monday afternoon in Forest City.

Union Pacific intended to abandon the line because it was reluctant to operate trains with fewer than 100 cars, making access to businesses along the 28 miles of track difficult.

The North Central Iowa Rail Corridor LLC purchased the track for $1.5 million and signed a 10-year lease-to-own agreement with Iowa Northern Railway to operate the line.

“Most of us know in this day and age when you lose a railroad you never get it back,” said Dave Kingland, manager of the North Central Iowa Rail Corridor and president of Forest City Economic Development Group.

The 30-mile line is isolated from the rest of the IANR, but Canadian Pacific has granted the regional trackage rights between Nora Springs, west through Mason City and on into Garner.

The first IANR train on the line ran on November 4th with a pair of new gensets bracketing an Iowa Northern GP38-2, with 35 empty grain cars and a single auto-rack for the Winnebago [NYSE: WGO] plant in Forest City. Besides the grain elevators in the communities located along the ex UP line, Iowa Northern is hoping the RV manufacturer will be a regular shipper.

Today's Train of Though- Fleeting Blaze of Autumn in the Last Frontier, November 29th 2011

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the state of Alaska, where according to railpictures.net contributor David Blaze, the peak fall foliage season lasts all of a day or two.

However, those rather severe limitations on autumnal photography in the Last Frontier didn't prevent him from heading trackside.

With clouds scraping the peaks of the Chugach Range in the background and flanked by brilliant golden aspen trees, Alaska Railroad GP40-2s #3001 and #3011 head north past the lengthy siding at Indian, AK with a 27 car train picked up from the barge at Whittier. The cars are from Canadian National's 'Aqua Train' barge terminal in Prince Rupert, BC and are enroute to the ARR yard in Anchorage.

As a bonus, the lead unit- ARR #3001- is still sporting it's as-delivered 1970s era paint scheme while the trailing #3011 is showing off the latest paint scheme. Apparently since that ARR has no painting facilities of its own, locomotives can only be repainted while being sent to the lower 48 for rebuilding, overhaul or other heavy maintenance.

Lisa Kelly: With the Angels

And by "With the Angels", I don't mean there was some sort of unfortunate mishap on Atigun Pass- think more like the US Navy's Blue Angels.

Wasilla, AK native and Ice Road Truckers star Lisa Kelly was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of flying with the US Navy's Blue Angels Precision flying team at an Air Show in Fargo, ND this month.

She says she has always wanted to fly in an F-18. In Kelly's line of work, she faces danger daily, but she says that's nothing compared to what the US Navy faces.

She says chasing this dream was a great experience. Kelly says, “We flew upside down, and I’m like hanging from my seatbelt dangling upside down looking at the canopy. We would go straight up and spin and it looks like the sun is just going around the nose of it.

The flight took place immediately prior to Fargo's AirSho between Aug 13th and 14th.



Both Lisa Kelly and Canadian ice road trucker Alex Debogorski will be making an appearence at England's Truckfest in a few weeks.

Today's Train of Thought- SD70MAC Attack Up North, January 15, 2011.

Even though Alaska is by far the biggest state in the Union, big trains are something of a rarity in the Big Dipper State, as the Alaska Railroad is isolated and disconnected from the rest of the rail network in the USA and Canada.

The link is provided instead by rail barges between Seattle, WA- where the cars are interchanged with BNSF or Union Pacific- or Prince Rupert, BC where the cars are interchanged with the Canadian National Railway.

The barges can typically accomodate anywhere from 40-55 cars each, but there are intra-line unit coal trains that can measure 75 cars in length. Although some of this coal is bound for on line customers like Fort Wainright, University of Alaska-Fairbanks or Eileson AFB, a good deal of the coal (mined at Healy, AK) travels to port at Seward where it is loaded onto ships for export to South Korea or Chile.

Railpictures.net photographer (and Alaska Railroad employee) David Blaze explains that on December 10, 2010, one of these 75 car trains was in the middle of unloading at Seward, but had to stop halfway through because of high winds. The train ended up leaving with 4 units and half of it's consist. The following day, another coal train showed up at Seward and was able to successfully offload its coal along with the other half of the train that had to stop on account of the wind.

For the return trip to Anchorage, the consist was successfully doubled up on December 12th, resulting in a 10 unit, 113 car, 7000 ft behemoth of a train- essentially 1½ trains. Here, David Blaze catches SD70MAC #4016 in charge of nine other EMD Behemoths as it snakes its way northward around the Turnagain Arm at Indian, AK on December 12, 2010.

Exclusive Sneak Peek at Lisa Kelly's Tatas...

And by 'Tatas', I mean the company that manufactures trucks and other vehicles in India [NYSE: TTM]....jeez, get your minds out of the gutter already. You'd think that was a sugestive or misleading headline or something.
Last night marked the debut or the History Channel's IRT: Deadliest Roads where some of the ice road truckers from Alaska and Canada travel all the way to Delhi, India to haul cement and construction supplies to a hydroelectric project in the Himalayas. To get there, they have to traverse the clogged, chaotic streets of Delhi before heading to a narrow mountain road hewn out of the mountainsides with little or no protection from a sheer 1,000 foot drop in many places. The company assigned spotters to each of the drivers (Alex Debagorski, Rick Yemm and Lisa Kelly) not because they're foreigners (although being unfamiliar with the road rules could play a role) but apparently that's a requirement in India to help the driver negotiate congested areas or parts of the roadway with tight clearance.

The most experienced truckers in the trio, Alex Debogorski, didn't last one day after getting into two accidents before he even left Delhi....and with some of the driving habits in that part of the world, it would be something of a stretch to say he was at fault. Then again, with 30+ years on the northern ice roads, it's not as though Alex has anything left to prove.

The thing I took away from the first episode was that truckers in India must belong to a particularly despised caste. How else could you explain jamming them into wooden-framed trucks with no air conditioning that wouldn't survive any significant impact and then sending them up mountain roads almost narrower than the trucks?

What's in a Name? Media, Democrats Try Unique and Novel Strategy Against Surging Alaska Senate Candidate

Earlier this week, CBS News reported that the Democratic National Committee had stumbled upon a brilliant and wholly unique strategy of portraying projected primary winner Joe Miller as some sort of fringe extremist [complete with unflattering photo- NANESB!].

Miller is projected to be the surprise winner of Alaska's GOP Senate primary from earlier this week after holding a narrow 1600-vote lead over incumbent Lisa Murkowski. However, out of an estimated 16,000 absentee ballots which were sent out, there remains close to 8500 left to be counted.

While Joe Miller recently backpedalled from an online message from his Twitter account comparing a possible party switch by Murkowski to prostitution, Democrat National Committee communications director Brad Woodhouse was unable to name thier party's Senate candidate for Alaska on a roundtable discussion on ABC News 'Top Line' webcast earlier this week [it's Scott McAdams, by the way- NANESB!].

Curiously the Democrats don't go into specifics in their allegations of 'extremism' on Miller's part, simply issuing this boilerplate, non-specific statement:

“Joe Miller seems more intent on imposing a strict social doctrine to please his out-of-state tea party backers but would leave the people of his state high and dry,”

Ah yes- those mean old Republicans are going to tell Americans who they can and can't sleep with when the country would be so much better off voting for Democrats who will instead be dictating to us what kind of vehicles we drive and what sort of light bulbs we can use. I think the Dems also running on 'Joe-Miller-thinks-unemployment-benefits-are-unconstitutional' platform based on an interview with ABC News last month.

Goodness, that's almost as ironic as a fat, career union thug decrying Sarah Palin for 'inciting violence' [Hey Trumka! I can see Eddie York's headstone from my house, you worthless fuck!- NANESB!]

Apparently 99 weeks worth of unemployment benefits are in fact constitutionally protected (had to fight tooth and nail for 4 weeks worth of benefits while unemployed for 6 months last year, but what the heck). The Dems want Alaskans to remember that when you go out to vote for Scott McWhatshisname in November!

New Hampshire Democrats Apologize, Quit After Sarah Palin Death Wish Posted on Facebook

Ah....the joys of anti-social networking.

One Granite State Democrat is in trouble after posting on a state representative's Facebook page that they were sorry former Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her former son-in-law Levi Johnson weren't on board the plane that crashed and killed former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens and four others on Monday.

In a posting on New Hampshire state Representative DJ Bettencourt's (R-Salem) Facebook page, NH State House of Representatives candidate Keith Halloran said of the fatal crash "Just wish Sarah and Levi were on board". Ironically, Bettencourt's post seemed to be lamenting the tendency for people to dogpile on a public figure and their legacy after their death.

State representative Tim Horrigan (D-Durham) weighed in on the crash by wishing Palin good health for his own less-than-altruistic reasons:

Just for the record, I don't wish Sarah Palin dead... but not merely for compassionate reasons. I also want her to live because a living Sarah Palin is less dangerous than a dead one. Her rise to the status of Head Tea Partier had nothing to do with anything she ever said, did or accomplished--- but as long as she lives she might be able to say or do things which could serve as a moderating influence. And she also might commit a gaffe bad enough to shock her followers, though that is unlikely. Unless of course she endorses Obama for President in 2012.

A staffer for Democrat Congressman Paul Hodes (NH-2) weighed in and tweeted "I wonder if & when Sarah Palin will learn the meaning of our state motto 'Live Free or Die'".

After initially dismissing his comments as a 'tempest in a teacup' Halloran announced Thursday that he was pulling out of the state House race and issued the following written statement:

After consulting with the secretary of state's office, I am withdrawing as an active candidate for the New Hampshire House. I urge registered voters to consider supporting and voting for the truly progressive candidates on the ballot on Sept. 14 and Nov. 2

That's a crying shame, because from what little I know about Halloran, he seems like the picture-perfect little progressive. Soothing and pretty words about justice, equality and helping the middle class while masking an angry, petulant, condescending, whiny, duplicitous individual who gleefully wishes for others to die for the high crime of not agreeing with their worldview. Or maybe he didn't put enough effort into his boilerplate progressive 'I'm for the little guy' speak hence the mask slipping and him not caring- at least in that moment- what other people thought about what he had to say.

Horrigan also announced his resignation and the suspension of his re-election campaign on Thursday. Representative Horrigan sent a formal letter to House speaker Terrie Norelli and later made an apology to Palin via Facebook.

Full disclosure- anybody paying attention knows that my politics lean to the right of center. And as much as I agree with her on a number of issues, there's still the fact that Palin quit halfway through her first term as governor. Quitters tend to be unappealing. With that said, I find the amount of obsessive hatred and vitriol directed at what is now a private citizen and her family by this country's institutional left bordering on the comical. Of course, she does make a nice big juicy distraction from the current administration pile-driving this nation into the ground.

As for the whinging about Horrigan and Halloran's freedom of speech, I actually wish they would stick around some more. I'm trying to see where, in all the criticism of their comments, somebody said that they DID NOT have the right to say it.....granted it's early, but so far- nothin'. It's classless and vindictive, but I have yet to hear somebody say they don't have the right to say it. These two were gotten rid of because they would be a distraction and liability to other Democrat candidates in New Hampshire. To even imply that the two are now some sort of martyrs for free speech would a transparent ruse that would insult the intelligence God gave a kumquat.

Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens Killed in Wilderness Plane Crash

86 year old Ted Stevens was among 5 people killed in a single-engine plane crash in a remote area east of Dillingham, AK late Monday.

Stevens was the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, taking office in December 1968 and leaving office in January 2009 after losing his re-election bid. Steven's seniority earned him enough clout where he was able to steer government and military spending towards his home state. Stevens was also responsible for lifting the cap on contract size for the Alaska Native Corporations established under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

The WWII Flying Tigers veteran left office under a cloud when he was found guilty of giving false statements in a Washington D.C federal court just days before the 2008 election. However, that conviction was later voided when it was learned prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence and testimony from the trial. The prosecutors and some of their witnesses were in turn investigated by the Justice Department for prosecutorial misconduct.

Stevens and six others- including former NASA chief Sean O'Keefe- were travelling to a fishing lodge in the remote western part of the state when the single-engine DeHavilland went down. Ironically, Stevens survived a 1978 plane crash that killed his first wife Ann and four other passengers. Stevens remarried in 1980 and had a daughter with his second wife Catherine.

Today's Train of Thought- Breathtaking Scenery in the Big Dipper State; July 8th, 2010

OK....I'm about a day late with this but on July 7th 1958, the Alaska Statehood Act was passed into law- even though statehood wasn't made official until January 3rd of the following year.

(History Channel)

So besides giving the rest of the USA oil, timber, gold, King Crabs, Native Corporations that subcontract no-bid, set-aside contracts, Sarah Palin, yodeller/songwriter Jewel Kilcher and tomboyish Lisa Kelly, Alaska is home to a one of a kind railroad- which would be none other than the Alaska Railroad. To start off with, the Alaska Railroad has no land connections with other railroads. While it does a robust business hauling sightseers between Anchorage, Fairbanks and Denali National Park, freight cars have to be brought in by barge from the Canadian National at Prince Rupert, BC or BNSF at Seattle, WA. They also have to be retrieved or put on the barge not by the locomotive, but a long string of empty flatcars coupled together that are pushed (or pulled) by the locomotives so they won't redistribute the weight on the barge suddenly or unevenly.

The extreme temperatures and remoteness of the state present its own set of unique challenges to the 470 mile railroad that connect the ports of Seward and Whittier with Anchorage and Fairbanks. In April 2009, a massive rockslide cut off the highway into the town of Whittier AK while the Alaska Railroad line was undamaged. With so many large boulders to clear, it took the Alaska DOT several weeks to clear the highway. In the meantime, the Alaska Railroad offered a free passenger service to shuttle the stranded residents to and from the town. There was also the problem of garbage accumulating in Whittier while they were waiting for the highway to re-open, since the company responsible for doing that was located on the other side of the rockslide. The ARR was able to help out by loading a few garbage trucks onto flatcars before offloading them in Whittier, have the garbage men make the rounds after bringing them in seperately by hi-rail vehicle and then load the garbage trucks back on the flatcars and return to Anchorage.

And while the ARR is fairly small and remote, they have managed to update their motive power, including new EMD SD70MACS and a Colorado Railcar self-propelled DMU. While they purged their roster of the GP49s, MP15DCs and vintage self-propelled Buddliners, they still reatain a number of older EMD GP40-2 and GP38-2s.

A good deal of the ARR's online traffic is aggregates such as gravel and ballast. Much of this is destined for in-state projects and even the Alaska Railroad's right-of-way. Railpictures.net contributor mtgteam2 caught Alaska Railroad GP40-2 #3012 in charge of a work train hauling just such a commodity in some old ARR hopper cars crossing Twenty Mile River at Portage, AK on June 2, 2009. The aforementioned railpictures.net contributor points out that it's not unusual for the ARR to run three work trains a day in the summer months, since it's important to get the major projects finished in the warmer weather.

All that gravel could come in handy when the ARR is constructing it's proposed 80-mile extension from Fairbanks to Delta Jct, AK and the US Army's Fort Greeley, which was given the go-ahead by a federal panel in January of this year.

Guilty Pleasure Update- Ice Road Truckers in the Himalayas? Canadians Keep Write On Trucking

Photo Courtesy of Alaskaroads.com

OK- I missed last week's Ice Road Truckers largely because I was imbibing in large quantities of alcohol and watching fireworks before leaving a trail of bottles and patio furniture (but mostly bottles) back to Chalet Fenway. But apparently the History Channel showed a promo that I just now heard about that will feature some of the Ice Road Truckers hauling cement on one of the mountain roads on the Indian side of the Himalayas.

Besides the discussions on the History Channel bulletin boards (apparently some people actually saw the Ice Road Truckers: Himalayas promos themselves but couldn't believe it), a number of articles interviewing Lisa Kelly or Alex Debagorski make mention of their trip to India appear after my customary half-assed internet search while some video of a blue-mohawk sporting Rick Yemm in the Himalayan foothills have been circulating.

OK...besides the really obvious questions like 'What would Lisa Kelly look like in a sari?' or 'Is there some smoldering Bollywood bombshell out there who secretly longs to become a truck driver on a dangerous mountain road?', I have to wonder if the road they're using for Ice Road Truckers: Himalayas would actually be an 'ice road' in the show's definition where they drive across frozen bodies of water. Technically the Dalton Highway might not count but Jack Jessee and Lisa Kelly were shown continuing on past Deadhorse and onto Prudhoe Bay itself.

The two Canadian truckers who have been with the show since its inception- Alex Debagorski and Hugh Rowland- can now add 'author' to their resumes. Last month, Hugh Rowland's On Thin Ice was released by Hyperion press. Alex Debagorski, who wore many hats before the History Channel series even began, has a book due out in November.

Guilty Pleasure Alert- New Season of Ice Road Truckers Begins Tonight

Some people readily 'fess up to having American Idol or Top Model as their requisite guilty pleasure for TV viewing. I'm going to have to say mine is the History Channel's Ice Road Truckers, which has the distinction of being one of the few shows on the network that I've warmed up to and is still around. To be fair, I was watching before the petite Lisa Kelly (above) made an appearance in season 3. The first two seasons were spent on the seasonal ice roads of Canada's Yukon and Northwest Territories with 18 wheelers hauling supplies across frozen lakes into and out of the otherwise inaccessible diamond mines there.

Season 3 featured the Dalton Highway, which serves as a corridor for oilfield equipment and supplies between the North Slope and Fairbanks, AK. Apparently season 4 will see a return to the Dalton Highway, which marks the first time the History Channel and Thom Beers' camera crew hasn't been booted off an ice road.

It's also worth noting that for all the bitching and moaning I did about a set aside, no-bid contract where an Alaska Native Corporation pocketed about $20 million for doing nothing earlier this year, the transportation company that's responsible for most of the commercial traffic on the Dalton is in fact a subsidiary of an Alaska Native Corporation itself.

Wine Country Boondoggle- Contractor For Napa Valley Railroad Stimulus Project Pockets $20 Million For Doing Nothing

(Amy Miller)

According to California Watch and the San Francisco Chronicle, a project involving a new bridge and track realignment for Northern California's Napa Valley Wine Train as part of the larger Napa River flood-control project was awarded $54 Million in stimulus funds. The Napa Valley Railroad is a privately-run tourist railroad that takes tourists and sightseers between Napa and St. Helena, CA and serves meals and wine in restored coaches. The Wine Train began operations when the Southern Pacific announced it was abandoning it's Vallejo to Calistoga, CA branch in 1985. Former Rice-A-Roni and Ghiradelli Chocolate President Vincent De Dominico and local entrepreneurs would purchase the right-of-way from Southern Pacific, four 1950s vintage former VIA Rail Canada/Canadian National Montreal Locomotive Works FPA4 diesels and some former Rio Grande passenger cars. The wine train began operations in 1987, and aside from ballast for the railroad's maintenance-of-way, very little freight is hauled over the line.

The current project and the contractor that was awarded the funding in a no-bid contract have come under scrutiny. Anchorage, AK-based Suulutaaq Incorporated was founded by Alaska tribes and enjoys special access to Federal Contracts including the Napa River Flood Control project.

However, Suulutaaq turned around and subcontracted the project to Peter Kiewit Sons, Inc.

Federal records show that Suulutaaq is paying Kiewit $28.1 million - 53 percent of the total stimulus contract. Suulutaaq is keeping about $20.4 million, or 38 percent of the total. The rest, about $4.7 million, goes to other subcontractors, all from the lower 48 states.

So that means Suulutaaq basically pockets $20 million of taxpayer funds by subcontracting a public works project that was closed to bidding. In other words, the company made $20 million without even lifting a finger.

Walnut Creek, CA contractor Robert G. Brosamer had planned to put in a bid on the proposed project as early as 2008, but was told that no bids were being sought at the time as it was looking like the project was a "done deal with an ANC [Alaska Native Corporation]".

Brosamer, the Walnut Creek contractor, said the public was paying a premium for the Wine Train project, saying, "It would have been a hell of a lot cheaper if they had put it out to bid."
"The reality is, Suulutaaq isn't doing much," Brosamer said.

However, as the article points out, very few of the jobs awarded to ANCs actually go to Alaska Natives:

Critics have complained that the no-bid contracts provide relatively few jobs and little investment income to the tribes while costing taxpayers a fortune.

Alaska Native corporations don't have to prove that they're socially or economically disadvantaged," Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said at a 2009 hearing. "They don't have to be small businesses. And they can receive no-bid contracts worth billions of dollars."The companies employ few Alaska Natives and "rely heavily on non-native managers," she said.

The current CEO of Suulutaaq is Samuel Boyle, who burned through an estimated $14 million worth of venture capital as CEO of sailnet- an online retailer of sailing and boating equipment that went bankrupt in 2005.

"My comment to anybody connected to this thing - if Sam Boyle is involved, watch out," said Arizona venture capitalist Kent Mueller, who said he lost more than $1 million in Sailnet.

[Hat tip: Zombie]

Today's Train of Thought: Rock You Like a Hurricane (Gulch)- October 8, 2009

Today's Train of Thought comes to us from Alaska. That's right- Land of the Midnight Sun, Sarah Palin, Lisa Kelly and yodeller/songwriter Jewel.

Photo- John Burcham

Do I have your attention? Okay...I'm going to ramble on about railroads for a little bit, so feel free to scroll back to these images if your attention starts to wander.

Railpictures.net contributor Dave Blaze captured this image of Alaska Railroad's Hurricane Turn flagstop train, powered by a pair of Budd RDCs (Rail-Diesel Cars, basically self-propelled passenger cars) as they creep across the 300ft high Hurricane Gulch trestle at Hurricane, Alaska in September 2008. By the end of December, all of Alaska's vintage Budd RDC's had been withdrawn from service and were awaiting disposition.