Western Railroad Discussion > Alaska Railroad Coal Decline and Radio Question

Rode the the Alaska Railroad passenger train and learned of decline in coal  loadings. I was told the export busness is about gone except for a few trains a year, with the branch to Seward seeing very little traffic.Maybe someone can chime in and either correct or substantiate this information.So, I am guessing Healy is only sending out power plant coal for Fairbanks..Can anyone help me with the rode channel for the Alaska Railroad. I am hearing nothing on my scanner.Bill Webb

Best of MY knowledge road channels are;
161.280
160.260
160.755
161.160
JB

Seward sees most of it's business in the winter when the Port of Anchorage freezes over. Container ships go to the Port of Seward instead.

The last few trainloads of export coal from Usibelli Mine went to Japan. Alaska coal is supposedly one of the cleanest burning in the world (ultra-low in sulfur, low nitrogen, high in calcium, and is quick-burning), but also one of the most expensive. Japanese energy producers have had to rely on coal fired plants more since the Fukushima disaster but they have been under pressure to use the cleanest available coal, thus the recent sale to Japan by Usibelli. Whether any more orders will be placed or not is anyone's guess but the railroad doesn't seem to think there is a future and has offered it's aluminum coal hopper fleet up for sale. Personally, I think it's a mistake to do that until after the election. The entire energy market could shift depending on who is living on Pennsylvania Avenue. But hey, what do I know?

As far as other rail business in Seward, it's true that it is an ice-free port but it only seems to get used in the winter when capacity at the port of Whittier is tapped out. There is some other, minor potential business Seward handles, such as imported lumber, but with the economy in Alaska what it is right now, thanks to plummeting oil prices, rail traffic in general is down so most of the imported freight is coming through Anchorage and Whittier, which is about 60 miles closer to Anchorage than Seward is.

In addition to not being an ice-free port, there is a new fly in the ointment though, which is the crumbling infrastructure in the Port of Anchorage. Whether the City and State invest in repairing port facilities in Anchorage, or converting the AES facility in Seward to handle more inbound freight, is unknown but it could have an affect on the long-term plans for the rail line south of Portage.

More on the Anchorage port debacle here:

http://www.adn.com/anchorage/article/critical-port-anchorage-expansion-stalls-costs-skyrocket/2013/08/10/

http://www.adn.com/anchorage/article/city-moving-forward-port-anchorage-construction-project/2014/08/18/

As far as domestic (in-State) shipments of Alaska coal, Usibelli coal is used at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks, Aurora Energy in Fairbanks, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks power plant. That business seems fairly steady for now.

So the heating plants at JBER (Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson) stopped burning coal?

PHall Wrote:
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> So the heating plants at JBER (Joint Base
> Elmendorf-Richardson) stopped burning coal?

Elmendorf has a new power plant that collects and burns landfill gas from the Anchorage municipal solid waste landfill, adjacent to the base, and natural gas when the methane runs low. That plant may be generating all of the power needs for the base now. If they still burn any coal, it doesn't go by rail.

I also forgot to add Eielson AFB to the list of domestic coal customers above. Eielson is at the end of the Eielson Branch which extends from Fairbanks through Ft. Wainwright and North Pole, AK to the base.

What about that one plant I remember as a kid off of O'Malley Road and Old Sward Highway, I used to always see coal cars at that industry over there!

Thank you 3rd Switch. My scanner is alive now with info.I appreciate the help with the frequencies. Bill Webb.

ProAmtrak Wrote:
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> What about that one plant I remember as a kid off
> of O'Malley Road and Old Sward Highway, I used to
> always see coal cars at that industry over there!

Probably gravel hoppers, not coal. AS&G, a big aggregate customer for the railroad is right on O'Malley in South Anchorage and is where they unload trains that come from the mine/quarry operations up north.