The stop in Whittier
is brief enough to detrain the cruise ship and day cruise
passengers. Available in Whittier are many amenities such as
Prince William Sound glacier day cruise boats, good restaurants, gift
shops, fishing charter operators, ice cream, and
accomodations. Whittier is also an important place on the Alaska
Railroad. All railroad freight exchanged with the lower 48 states
comes to Whittier barge dock.
Below left, the now abandoned Buckner building, was a
city within a
city. The Alaska Railroad Whittier yard had some movement. In
all my times at Whittier, I have never seen a rail barge at the dock. It must
be an impressive operation to watch. It has a three times per
week calling card. Below right is the cruise ship
terminal. People are waiting for their afternoon glacier
cruise and most rejoin the Glacier Discovery train about 6 hours
later. The train pauses for only a few minutes and leaves
Whittier for Portage and onto Spencer Glacier and Grandview.
At Portage, the
Glacier Discovery again rejoins the Alaska Railroad
mainline heading southbound towards Grandview. We passed by the
maintenance of way equipment.
Moving up the Placer
River Valley, Spencer Glacier becomes
visible. The railroad climbs up a grade and most passemgers are
welcome to join Conductor Culver and Engineer Bill Hightower in the RDC
car. All passengers are encouraged to be on the lookout for any
moose or bear. I happened to be the one to spot the moose in the
lower right picture. The stretch from Spencer Lake to Grandview
is my favorite portion of the Alaska Railroad. A passenger train
climbing a grade at crawl speed for the passengers benefit is unknown
on most railroads.
The original builders
of the railroad had a major challenge to find a
route through this area. The railroad goes through a series of 5
tunnels above the Placer River which is visible below.
The last tunnel has a
bridge at the southerly portal which crosses the
Placer River.
The railroad passes a
location named Tunnel then traverses the old loop district. At
least one mile of railroad track was eliminated by re-engineering the
railroad when the Bartlett Glacier retreated and a series of "S" curves
were installed. The labor intensive trestle bridges were removed
and one tunnel was abandoned. The lower right photograph shows a
marmot at home where the railroad had crossed over itself.
From Spencer Glacier
to approximately
milepost 44 is one of the most scenic portions of the Alaska
Railroad. The loop district is awesome in its serpentine climb
to the summit. Conductor Culver shares his extensive knowledge of
the loop district, complete with engineering maps for all who
listen. He points out all remaining roadbed, bridge piers and
abutments that are visible.
