Denali

On Tuesday, we took another familiarization trip. This was an overnight trip. Holland America had to move five of their McKinley Explorer rail cars and Princess Tours was moving three of their rail cars to Fairbanks. We boarded the train in Anchorage and rode with all employees to Denali Park. It was a fun trip. We were on the train for about eight hours. It was very nice. The cars had open platforms on one end, which was a neat experience.

After boarding the train, I began to discover that the railroads are run a little differently around here. Passenger trains are run more like freight trains are everywhere else. They do run on a schedule, but it is a loose, casual schedule. We were told that the train would be departing the Anchorage station at 8:15am sharp. Well, we started rolling after we ordered breakfast, somewhere around 8:25am. There was not an exact time of arrival into the Denali Park Depot. They told us it would probably be between 4:00 and 4:30pm.

While we were still in the Anchorage station, breakfast began. Since this was a train full of employees, all the meals were free for us. Not only were they free, but this trip counted as work for us, and so we were getting paid for the ride! I ordered the steak and eggs for breakfast, which was quite delicious. It included a 5oz. piece of steak, a large serving of scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon. I also got a bottomless glass of orange juice with it. It was a very nice meal.

After breakfast, we decided to explore the train. At the front, there were to Alaska Railroad locomotives. For those interested, they were SD-70MAC's, which were built by the Electro-Motive Division of GM. Behind the two locomotives, there were five of Holland America Line's McKinley Explorer cars. These are the largest passenger cars in North America. They are fully domed on the upper level, and are over 18 feet tall. The enormous amount of glass on the upper level makes them great for seeing the scenery. On the lower level of each car there was a small kitchen, a dining area, bathrooms, a small gift shop, and an outdoor platform. The stairs were at either end of the car. All five cars were like this. Some had more of a serving area instead of a full kitchen, but they would be coupled with the serving area next to a kitchen. We had five of the ten cars that Holland America owns on the train. Behind the McKinley Explorer cars were three Princess cars. These regularly make up a train known as the McKinley Express. They are also bilevel cars, with a similar setup on the lower level of each car. The upper level was a little different though. Rather than having chairs, they had tables, like a Dining Car, and it was not a dome car. They had large windows, which did wrap around to the ceiling, but not full domes. They were also very nice cars though. The last car of the train had its open platform on the rear end, which was a great place to ride and see the scenery. It was also a unique experience, as it is very rare now that one can ride an open air platform on the rear of a train.

On the way to Denali, the train made one stop in Talkeetna to pick up more people headed to Denali. After that stop, and an intense game of Phase Ten, in an unoccupied Dining Car, it was time for lunch. For me, lunch consisted of wo Alaska King Crab sandwiches, which were absolutely delicious, followed by a rich brownie with chocolate chips, which was covered in ice cream and whipped cream. It was a very filling but very good lunch. After lunch, we went back to that rear platform to take pictures and watch the canyons roll by. The ride is great back there. While we were back there, we crossed the bridge over Hurricane Gulch, which is one of the better known landmarks on the Alaska Railroad. It is an enormouus steel bridge over a rather high gulch, with a small river hundreds of feet below. It is a rather impressive span.

When we arrived at the Denali Park Depot, there must have been some mix up with the train crew. The plaform is on the Denali Siding, and the main track has no platform. For some reason, rather than enter the siding to disembark, the train came to a stop on the main track. We were at the station, but not exactly in it, since we were on a track without a platform. They unloaded us onto the gravel and had us walk across the Denali Siding track and up onto the platform. It was rather odd. We met a motor coach at the station, which brought us to the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. We had a brief orientation there, and then we jumped back onto the coach.

Once on the coach again, we drove several more miles to the north to a town called Healy. This is where driver housing is, and where we will refuel the coaches. After a brief tour of the facilities there, we returned to Denali National Park, where we were supposed to be attending a dinner show. On the way back, our dinner show arrangements were changed. We instead went to the McKinely Chalet, which is the Holland America resort, and had a different dinner show there. It was a lot of fun. The wait staff was also the cast in the show. They did great. Dinner was casual and a lot of fun, and the show was a fun history of the settling of Alaska. A lot of it told the story of the gold ruch, which started in 1896 up here. It was quite interesting, and quite a lot of fun. After dinner, we returned to todge, and went to bed.

On Wednesday, we got up, and got ready to head back to Anchorage. There was breakfast for us at the lodge, and then we boarded the coach for the drive back south. We made one stop along the way, at the McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge. This is in a little town called Trapper Creek, AK, which is just north of Talkeetna. We toured that lodge, and took a lot of pictures of Denali Peak, or Mount McKinley. They have one of the best views of the mountain, and we were lucky enough to have a perfectly clear day. There were no clouds at all around the mountain, which was great. We had a million dollar view. It was great. After leavin that lodge, we headed back to Anchorage. When we arrived at the yard, we were done our work. It was a great trip, and the best part is that I got paid to go! I love my job! It was a blast.

I took over 200 pictures on this trip. I did not post them all, but to see some of the better ones, just follow the links below.
Railroad Stuff
Mt. McKinley
Other Trip Pictures