Last week I was on the Glacier Discovery train, which operates daily between Anchorage, Whittier, and Grandview. The train leaves Anchorage in the morning, goes to Whittier, and then goes into Chugach National Forest, making stops in Spencer and Grandview. There is a brief layover at Grandview, and then the train heads north, going back to Whittier and ultimately returning to Anchorage in the evening. Many passengers ride the train to Whittier for scenic boat tours, and then return on either the train or a motor coach. Others ride to Spencer for rafting or hiking and then return to Anchorage via motor coach. While there are a few people who go out to Spencer or Grandview for camping, the majority of the passengers on the train return to their point of origin on the same day as they departed. In any case, the train only operates during the day.
On one of the trips I made on the Glacier Discovery last week, a gentleman approached me and asked me, "Does this train have a sleeping car?"
I replied that it did not, to which he replied, "Do any of your trains have a sleeping car?"
I responded, "No, we run all of our passenger trains during the day, so there is no need for sleeping cars."
He asked, "What about the trains that run at night?"
I was a little bewildered by that question, but said, "We don't run any passenger trains at night, they only run during the day. Just freight trains run at night."
He said, "Oh, well where do people sleep then?"
I said, "If you want to take a nap, you can do it in your seat."
I guess that was the answer he was looking for, because it seemed to satisfy his questions about railroad sleeping accommodations.
Alaska Railroad allows passengers to ride in the vestibules at the ends of cars if they wish. If there gets to be a crowd, people are asked to limit their time there so everyone gets a chance. All the entry doors on our passenger cars are Dutch doors, and we usually leave the top portion open. Because of this, the vestibules are quite popular for people taking pictures of the scenery, because it allows them to do so without glass in the way. However, when riding in the vestibule people are not supposed to lean or reach beyond the body of the car for obvious safety reasons.
On another trip on the Glacier Discovery, the day after the sleeping car interrogation, I noticed that some people were leaning way out of the side of the car ahead of the one I was in. It appeared that they were trying to photograph the locomotive in a curve, but they were hanging precariously over the side of the car. I walked up to that vestibule and spoke to them about it. They appeared to have been drinking, but they were polite and promised not to do it again. Less than a mile later, I happened to be in a position where I could see that vestibule from another car again, and noticed the same people doing the same thing, this time on the other side of the train. I walked to that vestibule again and asked them to find their seats. They protested a little but sheepishly made their way to their seats. As they were filing out of the vestibule, one of the people in the group asked, "Are you afraid we're going to try to jump off the train or something?"
I said, "No, I am more worried about you hitting something close to the tracks or losing your balance."
He then asked, "What would you do if we did jump off?"
The way he asked the question made it obvious he was just trying to get a reaction out of me by asking something ridiculous, so I replied, as stoically as I could, "Once you're off the train, you're not my responsibility."
He looked a bit surprised but did not comment.
This week, on a train chartered by Holland America Tours, one of their passengers asked me what is perhaps the vaguest question I have ever heard. Holland America has their own service staff on the trains, which does include tour guides to narrate the trip. As I was walking through the car, a man stopped me and said, "Excuse me, I just wanted to ask you about something the guide said earlier."
I knew right then that this was going to be interesting, because I had not likely been around to hear what the guide had to say in the first place, but against my better judgement I said, "Alright, I'll try to help."
He then explained, "Well, a while ago we were going through the Alaska Range and I saw this one mountain with some snow on it and it looked like it also had a glacier on it. Our guide said she didn't know the name of it and I was just wondering if you knew the name."
I expected it to be something I could not answer, but this was even more hopeless than I had anticipated. Before I could respond, he continued trying to describe the mountain, "It must have had a glacier, I mean, the glacier was pretty big. The mountain was pretty big too, but I don't think it was Denali, and I was just wondering if you knew the name."
He paused, during which time I was still blown away by the ambiguity. Once again, before I could say anything, he continued, "I know not all the mountains in Alaska have a name, but if this one does, I was just wondering if you knew. I know this might be a little bit of a stretch, but if you can help, I'd really appreciate it."
By this point I was thinking this was a lot more than a little stretch! I finally had a minute to respond and said, "I would probably have to see it to tell you what it is called."
I guess he thought he hadn't described it well enough, so he continued, "Well, it was pretty big and it was in the Alaska Range. It also had a big glacier on it, and it looked like there might have been some snow too. We just went by it a little while ago, it was on the left."
I told him again, "I'd have to see it to be able to tell you."
He then asked, "Well, do you think it even has a name?"
I said, "It probably does, most of the bigger mountains do, but I just don't know which mountain it was without seeing it."
He replied, "Oh ok, well if it has a name, do you know what it was?"
Figuring there was no other way out of this one, I simply said, "Nope!"
I guess that's all he was looking for, although I cannot imagine I gave him any more information than the tour guide already had.
Earlier today I had a man approach me and explain that he worked for New Jersey Transit. We chatted for a bit and compared notes on the electric railroading there and mountain railroading here. He suggested that I try to get on the railroad there, and told me that my seniority and vacation time would transfer. I was a little surprised by that, since it is a different railroad, but he went on to tell me that my seniority and vacation would transfer to any railroad in the country, and I should do my research. Having gone from BNSF to Alaska Railroad, I am well aware that seniority and vacation do not usually transfer from one railroad to the next. He was quite shocked when I told him that Alaska Railroad does not participate in Railroad Retirement or the United Transportation Union's "National Agreement." We tend to do our own thing up here in those cases. After he headed back to his seat, I could not help but wonder why he thought I would be interested in working for a railroad in New Jersey. We had this conversation as the train was passing through the Alaska Range and over Hurrican Gulch, and I could not help but think that by comparison, New Jersey has extremely little that appeals to me!
Sometimes the hardest part of the job is maintaining a straight face when someone says or asks something ridiculous, but it completely serious and expects a serious reply.
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