We eat lunch in western Alabama,
and
dinner as the train crosses the hills into Georgia, prior to our arrival in
Atlanta’s Peachtree Station.
On arrival in Atlanta,
we take a taxi to the convention hotel, the Westin Peachtree Plaza on North
Peachtree Street, check in and get our room, then visit the NRHS Registration
Desk where we check off our names and get our convention goody bags. Our room
is on the southwest ‘side’ of the circular tower comprising the hotel’s
residential building, about two-thirds of the way up. We will spend little time
in this room during our stay, however..
Atlanta NRHS (6/22-6/26)
Wednesday, June 22nd, 1994
The first excursion of the convention is over shortline
Georgia Northeastern, to the north of Atlanta. The Georgia Northeastern
Railroad runs over a portion of the old Louisville & Nashville ‘Hook &
Eye” route from Atlanta to Knoxville, the GNRR running north from the
present-day CSX Elizabeth Yard at Marietta, GA as far as Blue Ridge, with most
services concentrating on the southern end of the line. Today’s passenger excursion
goes only as far as Tate, 40 miles of 10 mph railroad. The train comprises four
cars from the New Georgia Railroad, headed by one of the railroad’s chop-nose
GP-7s, 2097, and high-nose GP-9 6576. The route is full of curves through
wooded hills with the valley bottoms in use as agricultural fields.
Elizabeth to Tate Route Description
Due to limited capacity, this trip is run in two sections,
one riding the train northbound, the other riding it southbound. We’re in the
group riding the train northbound. Buses take us from the hotel to the yard in
Marietta, where we board the train. About midway on the trip, we have a photo
runby, and later see the members of the other group lined up to photograph our
passage. We eat our box lunches before arrival in Tate. In Tate, we leave the
train and the members of the other group board it. The buses take us back to
where we had seen the photo line, and we also line up here for pictures as the
train passes. I talk with Ron Keevil, head of the United Kingdom Chapter of
NRHS, while on the photo line. Once the train has passed, the buses take us
back to the hotel.
This evening, we’re riding on the dinner train on the New
Georgia Railroad. We’re bused over to the Milepost 0 station, close to where
Union Station, one of the two downtown Atlanta depots, used to be, and after a
wait (during which we peruse the artifacts in the museum there), we head
downstairs to the platform alongside the CSX main line through the center of
the city. The dinner train comprises a number of fluted-side streamline cars
that have been fitted out as ornate dining rooms (5 cars plus a round-end
observation, accompanied by a heavyweight generator car), with an FP-7 on each
end (3499 and 3498), painted in the blue and crimson New Georgia color scheme.
Unfortunately, this previously scheduled outing will be the last run of this
dinner train, since the New Georgia railroad is shutting down due to the death
of its sponsor in state government.
Atlanta to Stone Mountain Route description
At the appointed time, the train reverses out on to the CSX
main, then heads east on the former Georgia Railroad line (later Seaboard Air
Line) to Stone Mountain, where the train reverses and returns to
its starting point. Darkness has
fallen by the time we reach the reversing point. Dinner is marvelous!
Back in Atlanta, we bus back to the hotel. In our room,
there is a ‘phone message awaiting us. We call back to speak with Jane
Delahooke, the real estate agent who is handling selling our house in Sierra
Madre. It transpires that the buyer wants to move up the closing date, for some
reason of his own, in a way that will not affect our overall costs but does
require our signature. I ask for some points of clarification, and Jane
promises to have them by tomorrow night. We then go to bed.
Thursday, June 23rd, 1994
Today’s excursion will cover two different routes between
Atlanta and Macon, GA, south by the former Central of Georgia route of the Nancy Hanks II, and north over the
former Southern Railway route of the Royal
Palm. The southbound trip is hauled by former Frisco 4-8-2 1522, and the
northbound trip by both 1522 and former Norfolk & Western ‘J’ class 4-8-4
611, operated by the Norfolk Southern Steam Program. All of the convention
excursions over NS lines (as is today’s) are operated under the auspices of
that program, and use its normal excursion train consist. We’re riding first
class, in heavyweight Pullman Kitchi
Gammi Club, seated in a four-seat Section with Frank Fields and his wife
from Upstate New York.
All of the Norfolk Southern excursions at this convention
start from Peachtree (Brookwood) station, used by Amtrak. We’re bussed up there
from the hotel at an early hour (because we have to be out of the station
before this morning’s westbound Crescent
arrives), and are allowed onto the platform under controlled conditions. Our
car is third from the rear of the train, with only dome-lounge Heart of Dixie and round-end observation
Mardi Gras behind it.
Brookwood to 10th Street Route Description
Spring Street to Macon via the CofG Route Description
10th Street to Macon via the Southern Route Description
There is a runby somewhere along this route. I notice that
Ron Keevil and his wife are sitting in the lounge area of our car.
At Rutland Junction, we turn east onto the recently built spur to CofG
Junction on the former Georgia Southern & Florida, then turn north past Bronson
Yard and draw to a halt adjacent to the former Macon Terminal Station.
Here, the train and locomotive will be serviced, and 611
will be added on the front of the train. We’re allowed off the train to wander
around while all this is going on. I take a look at the empty station
buildings, and watch 1522’s servicing and the addition of 611 on the front.
Then it’s time to reboard for the double-headed return journey. By now, we’ve
noticed the broad-leafed vine that seems to be everywhere, both at ground level
and draped over trees. On inquiring, we’re told this is Kudzu, brought over by
Japanese gardeners a century ago and now endemic throughout the South. Kudzu is
used by the railroads to stabilize embankments.
Friday, June 24th, 1994
Today, we’re visiting the Norfolk Southern Training center
at McDonough, located on the remnants of a branch line southwest from Grove,
which we passed through yesterday. We ride two buses from the hotel to the
Training Center, some 30 miles or so southeast of Atlanta.
The center has its own
Employee Timetable:
At the Training Center, we’re divided into two groups of 45
people each, one of which will tour the center first, while the other will ride
the training train along the center’s nine-mile dedicated segment of the former
branch line. We’re in the latter group. The train is headed, today, by a GP-60,
NS 4610, that has been painted in the former Southern Railway’s green color
scheme, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the formation of the
Southern Railway from a number of smaller lines under the auspices of the
Richmond & Danville. This train, with freight cars and caboose as well as
passenger accommodations, takes us west to the end of operational track, with
photo runby opportunities along the way.
Returning to the Training Center, we trade places with the
other group and tour the center, visiting the loco simulators (there are three of them, one with full motion
capabilities), the first class welding-training shop, the signal-repair
training shop located in a separate small building, the loco-repair training
shop on one end of the main building, and the NS Exhibit Car on the adjacent
outdoor repair-training tracks.
Once the tour is over, for both groups, the buses take us to
a nearby restaurant, where a barbecue lunch has been arranged. We’re seated
across from Frances and Michael Mohr, from the Washington DC area. After lunch,
the buses return us to the hotel. The message light is on, again, and we
discover that the faxed papers for the revised real estate transaction have
arrived. Chris goes to get these, we sign them, and them fax them back.
There is a Railroadiana Show taking place at the Hyatt
Regency, a couple of blocks north and across North Peachtree Street. We use the
skyway corridors and bridges to get over there without having to walk all that
way outside in the heat and humidity. At the show, I get some old employee
timetables from the region, covering at least the NS routes we are riding at
this convention.
In the evening is the usual NRHS Banquet. At this one,
former Southern Railway Steam Program Manager Jim Bistline introduces former
Southern Railway Steam Program Master Mechanic Bill Purdie, who presents a
slide show on all of the steam locomotives that at one time or another had
formed part of that program. Included is 2-8-2 4501, which should have
participated in this convention, but was stopped for repairs at its home in
Chattanooga, just a week or two earlier and is now laid-up awaiting its boiler
repair and re-certification. Following Bill Purdie’s talk, current NS Steam
Program honcho Carl Jensen talks about the current activities of that program
and assures us the NS Steam Program will continue!
J
Saturday, June 25th, 1994
Today’s excursion, utilizing 611 on the main line and two NS
diesels on the branch line to Athens, heads northeast out of Brookwood on the
main line towards Washington, DC for a 180-mile round trip, more than half of
it behind steam. Today and tomorrow we’re seated in round-end observation car
Mardi Gras. As usual, we’re bused up to
Brookwood station at an early hour, to clear the station before the scheduled
arrival of the westbound Crescent.
Brookwood to Lula Route Description
Lula to Athens Route Description
Before
getting to Lula, we wait half an hour in Griffin siding for a late westbound Crescent
to pass. Here, the diesels (including Southern-painted 4610, seen yesterday at
the Training Center) take over the train (i.e. 611 and its water bottle are
taken off), and the train turns down the Athens branch We have a photo runby, and lunches are loaded at
Paradise Valley. After lunch and the diesels running round the train at Athens
Yard, we have another runby at Paradise Valley. The return routing is the same
as the outbound routing.
Mardi
Gras is a round-end observation car with a central bar/catering area, and a
forward section with tables and more lounge seats. We’re seated at a table,
facing forward, as requested on our reservation form. The catering in Mardi Gras is exceptional. The crew
headed by Bobby and Brenda Moreman has really put on a magnificent effort for
the first class passengers on these excursions.
Back at Lula, there’s a lengthy delay while the train is
turned on the wye and freshly serviced 611 is added back on the point.
Meanwhile, the passengers are all off the train, waiting on a frontage road for
the train to back east of town and perform a photo runby with 611 on the point.
While we’re waiting for the 611 runby, Chris finds a puppy to hold in the front
garden of a nearby house. The local residents are all outside, wondering what
all these people are doing on their street. The owner of the puppy asks Chris
if she wants to take it with her, but we’ve far too much still to do on this
trip even to consider that!
Following the successful runby, the passengers reboard and
settle in for the return trip to Atlanta. Some folks I recognize from the
Chicago Convention the previous year are in the observation end of Mardi Gras, so I take the opportunity to
ask them about possible ways of getting out to Oak Park in time for the 11 am
tour at the Frank Lloyd Wright Studio, since we can’t use the CTA this year.
(The Green Line is closed down for refurbishment.) The universal recommendation
is to catch a bus at the underpass, just north of the C&NW station at the
corner of Canal Street.
Back in Atlanta, we have dinner at a nearby restaurant and
pack for our departure on Sunday afternoon (since we have to check out in the
morning, before Sunday’s excursion.)
Sunday, June 26th, 1994
This morning, we arise at the usual (for this Convention)
early hour, take the bags down to the lobby with us, check out of the hotel and
leave the bags with the bell captain. Then, we head outside for the convention
bus to take us up to Brookwood to board the train.
Today’s final convention excursion is going to Chattanooga,
TN, via Rome, GA, with both steamers and both of the diesels from Saturday’s
excursion. A couple of coaches, and all of the first class cars, will leave the
main train at Rome and return to Atlanta hauled by the two diesels, a 149-mile
round trip. We’re riding in Mardi Gras,
again, so will be returning to Atlanta. Today, we’re seated with Warren and
Martha, from Lancaster.
Brookwood to Howells Route Description
Howells to Rome Route Description
The train leaves the station westbound, in low clouds and fog.
At Austell the excursion heads
northwest, while the line to Birmingham on which we had arrived on Tuesday
continues west. At Braswell, we have a photo runby on the grade, at Rome, there is a stop to load lunches.
and at a junction at Forrestville, the train is split. The rear portion, in
which we’re riding, is turned on the wye, while the main train departs
northward behind the steamers. We retrace our steps on the same route as we had
come northward. On the way back, there is a photo run with just the diesels,
and the train arrives back at Brookwood in early afternoon. This ends the NRHS
Convention for 1994.
Chris and I walk south on north Peachtree Street until we
get to a MARTA station, where we purchase all-day passes and board a northbound
train. The line north turns northeast and ends at Doraville, after running
alongside the NS Armour Yard, where we see the first class cars off our
excursion train. We head back, getting off at the Five Points interchange
station. Thence, we ride the east line to Decatur, past the CSX Hulsey
intermodal yard, and return past Five Points to the west line, out to Bankhead
and back again. We don’t have time to ride south to the airport, but return
north to the hotel. In 1994, MARTA has 40 route miles and 240 cars.
The Journey West (6/26-7/1)
Returning to the hotel, we relax in the lounge until it’s
time to leave to catch our train. We reclaim the bags and take a taxi up to
Brookwood, where we check the big suitcases through to Seattle, keeping only
the overnight bags we will need along the way. We board the train in the
sleeping car that is added to the rear in Atlanta. Lee Dietrich is also back
here, as is Steve Hastalls, a blind conventioneer whom we had noticed the
previous year in Chicago. He turns out to be a CTA Customer Assistance
Coordinator. We all eat dinner together at the earliest seating with sufficient
space available in the diner (at the other end of the train, of course).
Empire Builder Route Description
We go to bed after leaving Red Wing, and are asleep before
reaching St. Paul.
Wednesday, June 29th, 1994
I awake briefly at Fargo, and am awake for good before
leaving Grand Forks.
Across North Dakota, it becomes clear that we’re steadily
losing time because some event on the railroad has disrupted eastbound traffic.
At Minot, during a long delay, we find out what is going on. The previous day,
there had been a BN freight derailment east of Havre, MT, due to the freight
hitting a low loader at a grade crossing. When we get to the location, we will
see its lead locomotive on its side at trackside. Meantime, the crew from yesterday’s
eastbound Empire Builder, which will
form our westbound crew today, has not yet had its legally mandated eight hours
of rest, and we must wait for that time period to expire. During the wait, a BN
locomotive is added to our consist.
Three miles west of Hinsdale, MT, the train stops to restart
the locomotives after the lead unit goes dead. The crew discovers that the MU
cable from the BN locomotive to the Amtrak consist was not connected properly!
(Presumably, this means we have been running with only the one locomotive since
Minot (about 300 miles)! Our 8:13 pm MT arrival at Havre is two minutes before
the crew’s legal hours of service expire! (This means that at Minot they had
been on duty at 9:15 am CT???—Either the story here is wrong, or the story at
Minot was wrong!) During the extended stop at Havre, the BN unit is removed,
and mail cars are added to the head of the train. Darkness falls while we’re
waiting in Havre (having inspected the GN steam locomotive that is stuffed and
mounted there), long before there is any possibility of seeing the Rocky
Mountains ahead. We go to bed before reaching Shelby.
Thursday, June 30th, 1994
East of Sandpoint, the
crew dies on the hours of service law at 6 am (PT). The new crew is driven out
from Spokane, and the train restarts at 7:06 am. I awake when the train stops.
It is unusual, indeed, for an Amtrak train to be in Spokane in the daylight,
but that is the pleasure we have today. We have long enough to go down into the
station, where I try to find Sarah Elkins (formerly of Xerox and active on the
SocialIssues list) in the telephone directory, but without success. There’s
also time to watch the switching moves that separate the train into the Portland
and Seattle sections, before its time to reboard the Seattle section. In
addition to Spokane, the train’s extreme lateness means that we will cross the
Palouse and the Cascade Mountains in daylight, a rare treat.
At MP 8, we wait 20 minutes for an on time Amtrak train 8 to
pass! Arriving in Seattle, we go to baggage claim to get our checked bags.
Somewhere long the line, the large suitcase, bought new especially for this
trip, has been split open. A complaint to Amtrak gets us a ride to the local
Sears store and a replacement suitcase. After transferring the contents, we’re
ready for the next step. Naturally, being seven hours late, the Ambus we had
intended to take onward to Vancouver, BC, has long gone. However, there is
another bus to Vancouver tonight, departing from a hotel somewhere uptown.
Amtrak issues us tickets for this bus and pays for a taxi to take us to the
departure point. We find somewhere to leave the bags and go to a nearby
restaurant for dinner. The bus appears about 8:30 pm, and gets us into
Vancouver after 11 pm. On the way, Canadian Customs wants to inspect the
contents of a suitcase. Chris tells them it will be up to them to get it closed
again, and they change their minds!
Friday, July 1st, 1994
We’re riding the Royal Hudson excursion train on BC Rail,
from North Vancouver to Squamish and return, departing mid morning from BC
Rail’s North Vancouver station. Not knowing any better, we take a taxi from the
hotel to the station, across the Lion’s Head Bridge. We pick up the tickets we
had ordered and paid for several months ago, and board the train when it is
ready for boarding. For the northbound run, we sit in an enclosed coach. The
train departs on time with only Royal Hudson 2860 for power. Royal Hudson 2860
is a semi-streamlined 4-6-4 built for the Canadian Pacific in 1940. It is still
painted in CP tuscan red and silver, albeit with British Columbia on the tender;
the cars in the train are in matching CP tuscan red paint.
North Vancouver to Squamish Route Description
At the
ferry terminal at Horseshoe Bay for the car ferries to Vancouver Island, we see
one of the ferries just arriving. Along Howe Sound, we stop for quite a
while at a siding to wait for a southbound freight. Nearing Squamish, the line
passes large logging operations that, inter
alia, transfer logs from rail to waterborne transport. At Squamish, where
Mount Garibaldi overlooks the scene, the train stops and backs onto a spur by
the harbor, adjacent to a street lined with restaurants.
We eat lunch at one of the restaurants, and then wander up
to the (new) front of the train, where 2860 is parked after having been turned
and watered. We have plenty of time for pictures before boarding time. The
trainset itself has not been turned, so our seats are now a long way from the
front of the train. I thus spend much of this trip in an open coach, up near
the locomotive where I can get lots of pictures of the steamer as it rounds the
many curves.
Back in North Vancouver, I observe a bus saying that it goes
to Vancouver by way of a waterbus. We opt to go this way, and the bus takes us
to the Waterbus terminal in East Vancouver, whence we take the hovercraft ferry
over to its Vancouver terminus adjacent to the CP Rail station. This is
convenient, because it’s right next to one end of the Skytrain line, which we
want to ride next. We board and ride the automated train service out to the far
end of the line in the suburb of Surrey, then return the same way. Along the
way, the Fraser River crossing uses a spectacular cantilever-suspension bridge
of a new design. Back in Vancouver, we go to an Indian Restaurant (South Asian,
not Native American) for dinner.
The Alaskan Cruise (7/2-7/13)
Saturday, July 2nd, 1994
We have many hours to pass, today, before it will be time to
board the cruise ship. We check out of the hotel, but store the bags there.
Then we walk south to a radio store that I have found in the Yellow Pages, that
advertises tuned antennas for radio scanners. Indeed, they have such things and
I buy one that is tuned for the 160 MHz railroad radio band. Then we walk east
to the Pacific Station, jointly operated by VIA and Amtrak, but built by the
Great Northern and still owned by Burlington Northern. After looking around
there, we walk further east to the Canadian National loco yard, where I get
some pictures, then walk back to the McDonald’s by the station, where we have
lunch.
After lunch, we take the Skytrain out to the location of
that interesting bridge, which I get some pictures of. There’s supposed to be a
railroad hobby shop in this area, but it has moved and it takes us a while to
find its new location. We go in to buy the current issues of magazines, but the
real point of interest here is a copy of a fax announcing the proposed merger
of the Santa Fe and Burlington Northern railroads!
Back in Vancouver, we reclaim our luggage at the hotel and
take a taxi to the cruise ship terminal. Here, we find that boarding is winding
down, and we board ship late enough that we miss the life-jacket drill. In
fact, we have also missed the setup for “immigrating” back into the US, and
have to do this at the desk on the ship, later on. We sail in late afternoon.
Almost before we have taken the measure of the ship, it’s time to dress for
dinner and go to the dining room where we meet our dinner table companions for
the trip. One couple (the Minters) is from Australia, and the other from
Berkeley, California. During dinner, we sail under the Lion’s Head Bridge and
out into the outer Vancouver Harbor, along which we had traveled in the BC Rail
excursion train the previous day. We go to bed not long after dinner, the
better to be up when we can see the scenery the following morning.
During the evening and night, the ship crosses the route
taken by the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, then
sails northwest through the Strait of Georgia between the mainland and
Vancouver Island. Adjacent to Campbell River, the Inside Passage narrows considerably,
with Quadra, Sonora, East and West Thurlow and Hardwicke Island on our right
(the side our cabin is on), then a stretch of mainland coast followed by
Cracroft and Malcolm Islands. North of the latter, we’re out into Queen
Charlotte Strait with the mainland on our right, the Queen Charlotte Sound,
with open water to our left. Entering Fitz Hugh Sound, heading due north, we
have Calvert and Hunter Islands on our left.
Sunday, July 3rd, 1994
The cruise ship comprises cabins of many different sizes and
styles, both exterior (with windows) and interior, for very different prices,
on a number of different decks, with access to amenities, entertainment and
dining facilities governed by cabin location. There are five or six different
meal servings available each day, in different locations (including formal
dinner), along with all day availability of coffee, tea, soft drinks and
snacks. There are many entertainment facilities available, some at extra
charge. The organized shore excursions are all extra charge, reservable in
advance.
After breakfast, the ship turns west and then north again,
passing between Denny Island on the right (east) and Campbell Island on the
left (west). At the north end of the latter is the picturesque native fishing
village of Ben Bella, with Cunningham Island on the right of the ship. We go
out on deck to watch as we slip past Ben Bella. We turn west between Horsfall
and Chatfield Islands, then between Dufferin Island and the mainland Dow
Peninsula. Turning north again, into Millbank Sound and then Finlayson Channel.
The coasts all along have mountains rising directly from the water, covered in
spruce, fir and pine trees. We continue up Tolmie Channel and then Princess
Royal Channel, with Princess Royal Island on our left and the mainland on the
right. Passing through McKay Reach and crossing Whale Channel, we enter
Grenville Channel, heading northwest again with Pitt Island on our left and the
mainland on our right. Lunch is obtained from the same place we got breakfast,
with formal dinner again at the same table with the same table companions.
During the night, we pass the BC port of Prince Rupert to
our right, cross from Chatham Sound in Canada to Revillagigedo Channel in the
US (Alaska).
Monday, July 4th, 1994
By morning, we’re docked at Ketchikan, AK, on Revillagigedo
Island, known as the “Salmon Capital of the World”. Like most of the towns along this stretch of
the southeast Alaskan panhandle, Ketchikan is surrounded by wilderness, with no
highway or rail connection to the outside world. From the ship, we see the
Ketchikan 4th of July Parade. After lunch, we take a tour bus to
tour Saxman Village, a native village with 22 totem poles, three miles to the
south of town. Totem poles are a feature of native villages all along this
coast, and this particular village has made a complete museum from them. While
there, we attend a performance of native children’s dancing in the village
auditorium.
In late afternoon,
the ship leaves Ketchikan to continue northward, emerging into Clarence Strait,
snaking through the Wrangell Narrows past Petersburg, on Mitkof Island, then
through Frederick Sound, with Kupreanof Island on our left, and Stephans
Passage, with Admiralty Island on our left. The Russian names are a legacy of
the erstwhile Russian ownership of Alaska.
Tuesday, July 5th, 1994
When we awake, the ship is docked in Juneau, Alaska’s
capital city, with Douglas Island across the Gastineau Channel to our left.
During the day, we take a bus tour that tours the city, past the State Capitol
and various historic buildings, then head out 13 miles to the northwest, along
the coast and past the airport, to Mendenhall Glacier, one of the largest
glaciers in Alaska that is accessible by road. Over 200 feet high, nearly three
miles wide and 12 miles long, the glacier makes a spectacular sight. At the
site is a Visitor’s Center that we have time to visit, as well as a trail that
takes us out onto the glacier itself. Above and behind this glacier and the
several others long the mountain faces behind Juneau is the 5,000 square-mile
Juneau Ice Field.
Departing Juneau, a ship this large cannot head directly
north, but must start out southward, the pass to the west of Douglas Island
through Stephans Channel and Favorite Channel, the north into Lynn Canal (really
just a long fjord) with mainland mountains on both sides, then into Chilkoot
Inlet and Taiya Inlet.
Wednesday, July 6th, 1994
When we awake, the ship is docked in Skagway, built in the
Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. There are a number of options for shore excursions,
today. We have opted for the longest possible train ride, followed by a later
tour of the town. Our train is thus the first to depart, and we have breakfast
quite early.
The White Pass and Yukon Railroad was built along the
Chilkoot Trail, to service the Klondike Gold Field in the very late 19th-century.
Today's run is a tourist train operation in the summer months only; the WP&Y
uses Alco 900hp and 1200 hp diesels hauling vintage and restored open platform
coaches obtained surplus from the East Broad Top railroad in Pennsylvania. The
WP&Y narrow gauge train picks us up right on the dock adjacent to where our
ship is berthed. Passing the railroad’s shops, to the west side of the line, we can see
the railroad’s steam locomotive out in the yard, under repair, as well as the
rotary snow plow.
White Pass & Yukon Route Description
A number of hikers depart at the Glacier station. At Bennett, alongside the eponymous
lake., there is time for a guided tour of the remains of the
town, head of both the Chilkoot trail and the competing Dalton Trail from
Haines-Port Chilkoot, including its wooden church, before collecting a lunch
and boarding the train for the return trip. Facing downhill, there are a number
of spectacular views on the downgrade south of White Pass before the train
deposits us at the dockside again.
Next, we have a later afternoon tour of Skagway that uses a vintage
open charabanc, with a guide named Sue. This takes us around the center of the
old town, out to the heights to the west where the wealthy built their houses,
and to the old cemetery across and immediately adjacent to the railroad line,
where Sue tells us a story about a pioneer family that is tied to a prominent
grave there. Then we’re dropped off near the White Pass & Yukon depot,
where we visit the gift shop and buy ourselves WP&Y sweatshirts. We walk
back to our ship, noting the harbor area where the other cruise ships and the
Alaska Marine Highway ferries dock.
Leaving Juneau after dark, the ship returns south down Lynn
Canal, then west through Icy Strait, with Chicagof Island to the south, and
north into the massive fjord known as Glacier Bay.
Thursday, July 7th, 1994
We awake in the southern reaches of Glacier Bay, as the ship
idles waiting to bring its passengers to the head of the bay during the middle
of the day. Already, we are in the upper reaches of Tarr Inlet. After a quick
trip to the cafeteria to grab coffee and tea, we go out onto the rear deck to
get a better look at the glaciers as the ship slowly turns past the face of
Margerie Glacier, to the west, and then across the face of the combined Pacific
Glacier and Ferris Glacier, across the north end of the inlet. While we’re
cruising slowly past, Margerie Glacier calves a couple of icebergs, several
minutes apart, producing an almighty splash followed a split second later by a
huge roar of sound, in each case. There is also a steady fall of ice breaking
off the front of the glaciers in massive chunks as wll as smaller splinters. An
icefall into the water causes large waves to spread across the water, rocking
the ship as they pass. We’re cruising in waters that, back in 1907 were under
the then extent of the glacier. In fact, back in 1750-1780 the combined
glaciers filled the entire bay south to where the Glacier Bay National Park
Visitor’s Center now is (we don’t get to visit this one). The new sweatshirts
come in very handy as we spend time out on the rear deck in Glacier bay and
College Fjord, where the cold ice impacts the air temperature even on beautiful
sunny days in July. The effect is rather like standing in front of an open
freezer in an otherwise warm kitchen!
We now cruise south back down the bay, passing Russell
Island, which the glaciers had reached as recently as 1892, and John Hopkins
Inlet, to the west, which had been Johns Hopkins Glacier in 1892. Rocky islands
in the deep water are covered in aquatic animal life, birds and seals on the
rocks and in the water, whales in the water, bears on the shore. As the ice has
retreated from the land, plant life has returned, first the ferns, then alder
and cottonwoods, the spruce and finally towering hemlock tress overshadowing
the spruce in the climax forest. Further south, we pass Rendu Inlet and Queen
Inlet, on the east shore of the bay, then Tidal Inlet on the east and Blue
Mouse Cove on the west, to reach Tlingit Point on the east, where the bay
widens greatly as another large area opens to the east, both part of the bay
having been under the glacier in 1860. We now pass the North and South Marble
Islands, covered in seabirds today that had been under the ice in 1857 and 1845
respectively. Passing Willoughby Island on the west and Beartrack Cove on the
east, then Berg Bay on the west and the Beardslee islands on the east, we reach
the location of the Visitor’s Center at Bartlett Cove, covered by the ice in
1794 followed by the mouth of the bay and our return to Icy Strait.
Leaving Glacier bay, the ship turns west through Icy Strait
and Cross Sound, and enters the open Pacific Ocean for the run across the ocean
to the southern Alaskan coast. Now that the ship can be put on autopilot, those
passengers who are interested are permitted to visit the ship’s bridge in small
groups at designated times. We go in late afternoon. The bridge of this
recently built ship has all kind of modern navigation and communications
equipment, and we are shown how each is operated. After our visit to the bridge,
we patronize the ship’s gift shop located nearby; I buy Chris a stuffed Husky,
named “Homer”, as the only kind of Husky she’ll be able to take home from this
trip.
Friday, July 8th, 1994
By morning, we’ve reached the southern coast of the main
part of Alaska, east of Seward. We enter the inlet (Prince William Sound) that
leads to Valdez, and also, on its eastern rim, includes a series of glaciers
named after major universities in the United States—Johns Hopkins, Amherst (up
the Coghill River Estuary), Yale, Harvard, Bryn Mawr, and Smith. This area is
known as College Fjord; Harvard glacier is at the end of the fjord, and looks
just like an icebound continuation of the fjord further into the mountains
(which is what I suspect it is). Many of these glaciers appear to be running
directly down the face of the mountains bordering the water, although in
reality what we’re seeing is the exposed end of ice that fills each ravine that
punctuates the mountain range. Naturally, the higher mountains in the deep
background are all snow-covered. As in Glacier Bay, the water surface is
littered with chunks of ice of various sizes, from freshly calved bergs to
quite small slivers in great profusion. The ship spends most of the morning and
midday hours cruising slowly past the various glaciers in this area. Then it
departs, west to return to Prince William Sound and then south to get back to
the open ocean.
Saturday, July 9th, 1994
By morning, the ship is docked in Seward. After breakfast,
we have to vacate the rooms taking our luggage with us. There are places to
store the luggage in seating areas, allowing us to do other things. There is
time to explore historic Seward, facilitated by an available minibus. After
lunch, in which leaving and arriving passengers mix freely, we debark by
groups, following instructions over the PA, boarding busses that take us to the
next destination on our various tours. We’re headed for a hotel in Anchorage
prior to riding the train north the following day. The bus ride to Anchorage
covers 126 miles of mountain and shoreline roads, stopping for awhile at a
mountain summit due north of Seward before dropping down to sea level, passing
Portage, the roadside location marking the western edn of the rail shuttle
through a tunnel to Whittier (which has no road access in 1994), then running
west alongside the Turnagain Arm (so named because it is so long that the tide
had turned again and is flowing in before the ebb tide has been able to reach
the open waters of Cook Inlet), before turning north to reach Anchorage.
In Anchorage, we stay in the east tower of the Hotel Captain
Cook, which afford us with an overview of the Alaska Railroad depot and yards.
We take a walk along the shores of Cook Inlet, passing some historic buildings
along the way, have dinner, and then use the telephoto lens to take pictures of
railroad operations for most of the evening until the far north evening light
starts to fade.
Sunday, July 10th, 1994
Today, we’re riding the cruise line’s “Ultra Dome”
observation cars on the rear of the Alaska railroad’s regular summer passenger
train, s far as Denali Park. These cars have seating grouped into fours, ad
we’re seated with the Yanceys, from Tyler, TX. These cars, rebuilt from former
commuter “gallery” cars from the Chicago and/or San Francisco areas, have
observation eating on the upper deck, with kitchen and dining room on the lower
deck. We eat both breakfast and lunch on board, with the food bettering even
that served in the main dining room aboard the ship.
Anchorage to Fairbanks Route Description
From Hurricane Gulch Bridge (300 ft. above the river), MP 286.5,
adjacent to the canyon of the Chulitna River, there are
often views of Denali (Mount McKinley), but today there are only storm clouds
in that direction. Along here, northbound passenger train 2 on which we’re
riding meets southbound passenger train 1. At Denali
Park, we leave the train for today. The whole Anchorage to Fairbanks trip
takes ten hours, of which more than six are between Anchorage and Denali Park.
We spend the evening, including eating dinner, at the Denali
Princess Lodge, across the river from the railroad tracks. One of the trains
that we see going past is a loaded coal or gravel train.
Monday, July 11th, 1994
After breakfast this morning, we take the included bus tour
into the wilds of Denali (Mount McKinley) National Park. The buses are old
school buses, with hard (if supposedly padded) seats and open windows, but the
vistas are spectacular. We head west into the park, along Riley creek and over
the hill to Savage River, past the Park Service Headquarters, and then past the
location at the end of paved road where cars must turn around. Continuing along
dirt road, we pass and cross the Sanctuary River and Teklanika River continuing
up Igloo Creek and across Bahlo Pass to the Polychrome rest Area, where we take
a break. Continuing west, we reach Toklat and cross the eponymous river, then
cross Highway Pass and Thorofare Pass to reach the Eielson Visitors’ Center. We
press on to Wonder Lake, as far west as the road itself goes. From all the
expected viewpoints, we get great views of Denali itself, with the clouds even
lifting off to show the entire summit at one point. The bus driver says this is
the clearest she’s seen the mountain, in 20 years of driving these summer bus
tours. We also see copious quantities of wildlife, including deer, elk and
moose as well as many smaller mammals and many birds—but no grizzly bear. We
return the way we came, observing more wild and plant life along the way.
After lunch back at the hotel, we’re bussed over to the
station to continue our ride north just 24 hours after arriving here. Denali Park station has marked-off waiting
areas for the tour passengers for each group of cars, separate from the waiting
area for Alaska Railroad passengers. Just after leaving Denali Park station,
the train is crawling along, and the scanner lets me know that this is because
there is a grizzly bear walking along the tracks and the engineer has no
intention of disturbing him. Looking north, I see the bear, and watch as he
departs down the hillside towards the river, allowing us to speed up to track
speed. The train arrives
in Fairbanks in mid evening, still in full daylight.
We stay in the Fairbanks Princess Hotel,
eating dinner at 11 pm, outside in the daylight! It’s still light out after
midnight, and again by about 2:30 am.
Tuesday, July 12th, 1994
This day is spent touring the various sights in the
Fairbanks area. We start out with a cruise on sternwheeler ”Discovery” on the
Chena and Tanana rivers; including visits to an Athabascan Indian village (Old
Chena Village), where we have guided tours of the various buildings, group and
more private in nature, and to a farm where Iditarod huskies are raised and
trained. Chris makes instant friends with a number of the dogs, and is asked if
she would like a puppy! Regretfully, she declines. Lunch is on board the boat.
After returning to the dock, we take a tour bus to visit the University on a
hillside above the town, a gold camp, during which we ride the rails into a
tunnel where permafrost can be seen embedded in the layers of earth, and then
try our hand at gold panning in the massive set of troughs set up for tour
groups to perform this activity. Then we visit the Alaska Pipeline before
returning to the hotel. We spend another evening in Fairbanks
Wednesday, July 13th, 1994
In (very) early morning, we fly out from Fairbanks
on a direct flight to SeaTac with an intermediate stop at Juneau, near to where
we had passed on the way up, eight days before. On arrival at SeaTac airport in
early afternoon, cruise activities end.
Mount Rainer, Olympic and the Journey South (7/13-7/17)
At the SeaTac airport, after reclaiming our luggage, we rent
a car and then struggle to find our way out from the airport to the route I
want to take towards Mount Rainer National Park. Eventually, we find our way
across the urban area to Auburn, on the east side, where we stop for lunch.
Then we drive south around the west side of Mount rainier, through Elbe and
into the National Park from the west side. Passing through Elbe, I notice a
tourist train obviously returning from its excursion of the day, and decide to
visit in the morning. This is identified as the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad.
Entering
the National Park, we pass the Longmire Lodge at which we had made reservations
for the night, but it’s much too early to stop here as yet. We continue further
into the park to visit the scenic sites high on the south face of the mountain.
We pass Cougar Rock, then start up the mountain, around curves and a sharp
hairpin turn, then around easier curves up the other side of the valley, past
Ricksecker point on the one-way loop, then yet further up the mountainside to
the Henry M Jackson Visitor’s Center in the Paradise area. Here we go around
the museum and walk the Nisqually Vista Trail. We leave this area by the
one-way road around the Paradise Valley, where we stop to look at the display
showing how the Nisqually Glacier has retreated over the years. A dormant volcano, 14,410 ft. Mount Rainier
is so high it creates its own weather, independent of the surrounding countryside.
Above Paradise, the permanent snows and glaciers loom above all below, home
only to the mountain goats. There are 27 named glaciers in the park. Then we
drive back down the mountainside to Longmire Lodge. We check in to the hotel,
have dinner in the dining room, and walk the nearby Trail of the Shadows nature
trail through the woods and meadows as the light starts to fade. We see a
number of the smaller animals, along with some blacktailed deer.
Thursday, July 14th, 1994
This morning, we rise early, eat breakfast, then check out
and head down the mountain to Elbe, where we stop at the Mount Rainier Scenic
Railroad. This has a collection of former logging locomotives, Shay, Climax and
Heisler, along with some old Harriman-style cars for patrons to ride in. We opt
to ride in the open air car in this clean mountain air, which has the advantage
of being right next to the steam locomotive. In the small yard at Elbe, we note
some former Milwaukee maintenance-of-way equipment before boarding our train,
which today is hauled by 1929 Lima-built Pacific Coast Shay 11. (The other
geared locomotives on this railroad are 1930 Heisler 91 and late 1920s Climax
10.
From Elbe, the
Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad, comprising 15 mph (passenger, 10 mph freight)
standard gauge track, runs east along this former Milwaukee Road branch to Park
Junction, whence a line once ran into the National Park, then turns south to
cross the Nisqually River on a bridge that affords good view of Mount Rainier
itself, and continues south through Shops to its terminus alongside the lake at
Mineral. Here, there is a short country music program before the train returns
to Elbe.
From Elbe we drive
south and then west to Centralia, then head northwest and west to Aberdeen,
Hoquiam and Grays Harbor. In Hoquiam, we turn north through Humptulips and
Neilton, in the Olympic National Forest, curving west at Amanda Park to reach
the coastal section of Olympic National Park at Queets. The coastal section
preserves rugged Pacific Coast scenery. For awhile, we head north along the
coast, through Kalaloch, then turn inland through the Hoh Valley and north
through Forks to Soleduck, where the road turns east. Along here, we see
Roosevelt Elk from the 5000-strong herd protected in the National Park. The
west side of the Olympic Peninsula is one of the rainiest places in North
America, if not the world, over 12 feet of rain a year. Most of the west side
of the National Park comprises temperate rain forest, the largest area in the
United States. Temperate rain forest thrives where there are heaver winter
rainfall, mild temperatures and summer fogs. We pass through Sappho and after a
number of miles of eastward driving through the forest, reach Lake Crescent.
The lake is hundreds of feet deep, with crystal blue waters; the bottom can be
seen from boats well away from the shore. Here, next to the Storm King
Information Station we stop for the night at Lake Crescent Lodge, reached in
early evening. We eat dinner in the magnificent dining room at the lodge, and
take a walk along the lake before going to bed in our cabin.
Friday, July 15th, 1994
In the morning, we check out of the lodge and drive east to
Port Angeles on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Here, we turn south, past Heart O’
the Hills and make the steep climb up the mountainside to Hurricane Ridge,
passing through forests of Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock and Western cedar on
the way up.. This area provides magnificent views of just shy of 8,000 ft.
Mount Olympus. There are over 60 glaciers in the National Park. A deep river
valley separates Hurricane Ridge from the Olympic Range. While up here, we
visit the Alpine Visitor’s center, have a morning snack, and photograph the
Columbia Blacktailed Deer. Then we return to road along the coast, eat lunch at
a restaurant in Port Angeles, and drive eastward through Sequim and Gardner to
Discovery Bay. Here, we take the road southeast across the Hood Canal Bridge
and down to Kingston, on Puget Sound where we take the car ferry across to
Edmonds. From the latter, we drive south into Seattle, passing by the
Burlington Northern’s Interbay Yard, where we stop to take some photographs,
then head on, by way of the road along the harbor, to our hotel in the center
of Seattle. We check into hotel, return the car at the downtown rental offices,
and eat dinner at a waterside restaurant
Saturday, July 16th, 1994
This morning, we check out of the hotel and take a taxi to
King Street Station. At the latter, we take the Coast Starlight on its
mid-morning departure for Los Angeles. As usual, we have an Economy Bedroom in
the Superliner Sleeping Car.
Coast Starlight Route Description
[consist]
F40
F40
Baggage
Transition
Coach
Coach
Coach
Coach
Lounge
Diner
Sleeper
Sleeper
Sleeper
Train 11, 7-16-1994 |
|
|
|
Seattle |
|
9:52am |
|
|
10:37 |
11:03 |
|
|
11:24 |
11:58 |
|
|
11:48 |
12:20pm |
|
|
12:35pm |
1:08 |
|
|
1:19 |
1:52 |
|
Portland |
1:50
2:15 |
2:17
2:42 |
|
|
3:30 |
4:16 |
|
|
4:02 |
4:48 |
|
|
4:52 |
6:20 |
|
|
7:52 |
9:27 |
|
|
9:39 |
10:42
11:02 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
5:50am |
7:49am |
|
|
6:10 |
8:09 |
|
|
7:05 |
9:03 |
|
|
7:35 |
9:33 |
|
|
8:00 |
9:51
10:04 |
|
|
9:35 |
11:38 |
|
|
11:01 |
1:03pm |
|
|
2:30pm |
3:53
4:07 |
|
|
5:00 |
6:38/48 |
|
|
5:50 |
8:03 |
|
|
6:40 |
8:35 |
|
|
7:25 |
9:05 |
|
|
8:10 |
9:15 |