Western Railroad Discussion > Alaska Help

I am heading to Alaska in a few weeks and need a little help. I am going to be around Anchorage and was hoping to photograph a couple freights. Does anyone know if the Alaska Railroad has any type of schedule for their freight operations? Thanks in advance for the help.

Mike

Been up there twice.....freight is very hard to find.......passenger is easy.

DaveL

They have a northbound intermodal that looks to be leaving Anchorage about 7-8PM weekdays from the intermodal ramp just north of the passenger station. They run a few rock and tank car trains but they run as needed, no schedule.

gmojim

You will get gravel trains running to Anchorage with out difficulty. Manifests and coal are more difficult but if you find one or pick it up on the radio following it wont be difficult.

John

My brother is working out of Fairbanks this summer, and he tells me there is a southbound Ox out of F. in the evening and its counterpart out of Anchorage...they usually try to get the passenger trains in first on both ends. Then several nights a week they run a FOX intermodal in the evening also, both ways...so the best bet to catch these in daylight is early and late at either end of the F.-A. line. There is a local out to the refinery from F., coal trains to Healy from F. and from the south and gravel trains.

The gravel trains usually make two round trips per day...the train leaves Anchorage in the dark (dark in Alaska?) hours of the morning, loads at the Palmer gravel pit in the 6-9am range and then returns to Anchorage. The loaded train usually has to wait at Palmer Jct (near Wasilla, where you can see Russia) for the northbound passenger to clear. It thens heads to SOuth Anchorage to unload before returning to the gravel pit in the evening, usually leaving Anchorage once the Southbound passenger has arrived. This schedule is just a rough estimate of operations and can vary depending the ecomony and volume of gravel needed.