Servicing Stop - Glacier Siding. With roughly 6 miles to go on the journey from Skagway to White Pass, the WPY Rotary Fleet comes to the attention of a servicing crew that has been pre-positioned at Glacier Siding, at around MP 14.1. Here, White Pass Rotary #1, and Steam Locomotives #73 and #69 will have their tanks topped off before proceeding on toward the pass. As the cisterns are filled, crews will check bearing and oil around as they usually do.
The action seen here took place on the first day of the 2011 Rotary Run....the last one held on the White Pass & Yukon Route, at least as of the ten-year anniversary. This trip was, hands-down, the coolest railroad event I have ever attended. The scenery was just drop-dead awesome (as you can see!), the weather was great and the equipment performed flawlessly. In addition, the railroad treated the 17 photographers who attended like special guests. The iconic 90-class diesel locomotive that you see on the left side of this photo was one of a pair that was powering our "chase train" this day. During the climb to White Pass, the Rotary Fleet and the Chase Train would play leap-frog with each other, utilizing sidings along the way, and giving the photographers a chance to photograph the plow train from both above and below as it made its way from Snow-less Skagway, to White Pass, where perhaps 15 feet or more of snow greeted us.
It's difficult to believe it has been 10 years since this event. Time flies!
