The Glacier Discovery follows the contours of Turnagain Arm on the way back to Anchorage after a day of delivering passengers to the cruise boats in Whittier.

A empty coal train follows the lay of land enroute to Anchorage and then further north to the load out at Usibelli.

A train of traditional freight cars rolls past the salt water pond in Portage. These cars were delivered to the Alaska Railroad via the Canadian barge service out of Prince Rupert and makes a roun... (more)

Things can be pretty static in the 49th state so the chance to see something different brought me trackside on what was not the best day weather wise. Coming off the barge in Whittier were wind mi... (more)

Alaska Railroad's daily train (Glacier Discovery) from Anchorage to Whittier is about to make a station stop at Girdwood on June 27, 2005. The train's passenger car windows are hand washed every ... (more)

ARR 3009 leads the Glacier Discovery around the curve just north of the Rainbow siding.

From high above the cliffs at Beluga an Alaska Railroad train bound for the barge in Whittier and from there the lower 48 enters the curve at Beluga. From this perspective one gets a good view of ... (more)

Learn more at Alaska Railfanning. The northbound Glacier Discovery works through the picturesque sce... (more)

An empty coal heads north crossing the Knik River Bridge at 148.3. It was a nice day in Alaska for a change and I enjoyed the opportunity to check a location off my bucket list.

The short Glacier Discovery makes its daily return trip north toward Anchoarge behind ARR 3009. ARR 32 brings up the rear of this train.

Alaska Railfanning. The Glacier Discovery works its way northbound along the scenic Turnagain Arm.

The northbound Denali Star is in the Nenana River Canyon just south of Healy.

ARR 4321, affectionately dubbed the Countdown Unit, leads another Denali Star southbound on a picture-perfect summer evening. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I actually live... (more)

The Countdown Unit leads the Denali Star under Vandenberg Dr. on Elmendorf AFB. Follow along or share your trackside experiences in The Last Frontier at Railroad: Alaska Railroad
Locomotive: EMD SD70MAC
Location: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, USA
Locomotive #: ARR 4321
Train ID: Denali Star
Photo Date: June 19, 2012

The Spirit of Delta Junction leads a rock train south toward Anchorage. The Alaska Railroad runs these rock trains CP-style with one unit up front and one on the back.