Last weekend when I was in Galesburg, Illinois I spotted an engine that was a long way from home. In the yard next to the engine house was 2803 Alaska Railroad.
Does anyone know what this locomotive was doing in this neck of the woods.
The tracks of the Alaska railroad don’t even lead to the lower 48, it had to take a boat ride to get here. I speculate that it was sold and has not been patched by the new owners yet.
OK, you’ve got me beat in the long ways from home, but I was curious too, about a month ago ( I forget the exact date) I saw Alaska RR GP-38-2 units 2001 & 2006 at the BNSF engine facility in Spokane, WA. They looked freshly shopped, I just assumed that they had gotten some heavy maintenance there that the Alaska RR was not equipped to do themselves, but that was just a guess. Any one who knows more about it, I would appreciate any info you have.
The Alaska units (GP 38-2s 2001 & 2006) that I saw in Spokane, WA looked freshly shopped and with nice shiny paint, I did not see any type of patch job, as if they had been sold to a leasing company. So I am assuming that they are still active units.
Thanks guys for helping me track down the story of this engine.
Good eye ‘Railfan1’ I had not spotted the 2807 in the background.
And to your question ‘railroadjj’.
The Alaska Railroad does not connect to any other railroad. It runs from Fairbanks in the north thru Anchorage to Seward in the south, with a small branch to Whittier.
The engines were probably put on a boat at the Port of Anchorage and shipped to the lower 48. The tracks in Seward end in the middle of town. And the tracks in Fairbanks end at the Military base.
Right locomotives or freight cars are put on a barge at Seattle and shipped to the port of Whittier Alaska, then rolled onto the dock there. CN also operates a railcar barge from Prince Rupert, BC to Alaska, but I haver never heard of any locomotives going that way. The railcar barge between Seattle and Whittier is operated by a subsidiary of the Alaska Rwy. The GP49s are on their way off the Alaska Rwy. roster. 3 have been sold so far, the remainder will go next year. They are being replaced with another batch of SD70MACs.
While spotting a ARR unit in the “lower 48” is certainly unusual, it is far from unheard of. I have seen ARR units from time to time (about three times in the last ten years as I recall) on the BNSF “racetrack” through Aurora, IL.
Northshore Mining has been leasing some Alaska units while their main power is down for work. NSM is based out of Silver Bay, MN, 50-100 miles north of Duluth.
The company I work for sits right next to the line that feeds the auto train dock in San Diego Calif. Not to long ago I watched two almost brand new NS engines pull in a long line of emptys. Both engines were in the 9500 series. As I was leaving that night these two engines led a pair of BNSF engines witn a 150 car new car auto train. It was the only time I have seen NS in this part of the country
[banghead]no matter where you go norfolk southern seems to be there. i think they bought all the track in the united states. i went to north fon du lac yard a couple weeks ago looking to get a shot of wis, central or c n but around from behind the buildings pop three n s sd70’s heading north. i live 6 feet from n s track in tenn. didn’t need to drive 800 miles to get a picture of the same locos that go past my house. the same thing happened in philadelphia penn. and lacrosse wis.[soapbox]
Well, that sound’s pretty good. When I was living in Anchorage, Alaska one day I notice a Dever and Rio Grande Box Car setting in it’s Rail Yard awaiting to head further North on the Alaska Railroad Railway. I told this to my father in Denver, Colorado and he wanted to know what the Box Car Number were, since he was the Nite Chief Dispatcher for the Denver and Rio Grande RailRoad during that time frame. But, buy the time I could get back to the Anchorage Rail Yard that Box Car was Long Gone. Great Job on spotting an Engine from Alaska in the Lower 48. Take Care and Enjoy!!~
I know how ya feel – I went to the UP main across IL last September, all I saw was Wisconsin coal trains!!! [:(]
We had a trio of ARR GP40-2s in Wisconsin in May, getting painted at Horicon: http://www.fuzzyworld3.com/3um/viewtopic.php?t=1012
(Somewhere, I thought I had 'em in black and yellow too, but I can’t find that now…)
Credit to original photographers…
