Another Summer in Alaska

My life is heavily divided between summer and winter. This probably has a lot to do with the nature of employment in train service on Alaska Railroad. For the first few years, it is highly seasonal. As such, I work the most in the summer, and then I am laid off for the winter. I say "laid off," but I think the railroad uses that term differently than most employers. When most employers conduct layoffs, it terminates employment. With the railroad, it is a temporary condition in which I retain employment and seniority, but I am not working. They will call me back to work in the spring.

Southbound at MP 58 on a work train.
All photos by James Ogden.

Alaska Railroad is a full service railroad, with trains operating year round, but because a lot of our passenger service caters to tourists visiting Alaska, we have more traffic in the summer. That is our busy season. In the winter, the freight continues on about the same pace as the summer, but the passenger service is reduced. In the summer, passenger traffic is the bulk of our business, in the winter it is more of a footnote. Typically I work from early May to October. Last winter, I even worked in December and January.

So, what do I do with myself all winter? Well, last winter I got the idea that I was just going to enjoy being unemployed. I figured I could get things done around the house, and spend some more time on hobbies. Turns out, when you rent your home, there is not a whole lot to do around the house besides the regular chores. My hobbies, while interesting, were not the only thing I could do. So, I went out and got myself a part time job, shuttling airline crews between their hotels and the airport. It probably does not sound all that exciting, but it was not bad. It was easy, and it certainly pays better than sitting around the house! I will probably do that again. This winter we own our home though, so I am certain the "honey-do" list will grow. No doubt, I'll stay busy, even without the railroad calling in the middle of the night!

This past summer flew by. I still feel as if I just moved up here to take the job with Alaska Railroad, but in reality, I have now completed three summers here. This summer, like the others, was interesting and enjoyable for the most part. I spent all of it on the Conductors' Extra Board. Last summer, the goal was to work the summer on the board, but I got bumped a lot. I was the lowest Conductor on the railroad last year. This year however, I had a few Conductors below me. I went to the board on May 12, and managed to stay there until September 20. At that point, they force assigned me to the Conductors' board in Fairbanks. I took a couple of vacation days instead of rushing up there, because they were talking about laying me off within a couple of days anyway. It is an awfully long drive to get laid off just a few days later. While I was on vacation days, I got bumped for the first time all summer, and then they laid me off on the 24th. That was the only time I got bumped all summer. Just having a few people below me in seniority makes a big difference. In 2014 I got bumped every two weeks, or less.

The northbound Coastal Classic runs along Turnagain Arm, at about
9:45pm, one summer evening.

Right now in my career, I prefer the extra board. To some people, that probably seems a little crazy, the schedule is unpredictable, and you cannot plan anything more than a few hours in advance. When the car needs maintenance, I always plan it for my wife's days off, because there is a very good chance I will not be around. Living life on a two hour call is not always the best way to go. But, despite the drawbacks, I enjoy the variety of the extra board. I rarely work with the same person twice in a row, and I rarely work the same job twice in a row. I get to go just about everywhere on the railroad, and sometimes I get to be on more unique jobs, that they only use the extra board to cover.

This year, I did the usual trips, such as the passenger train to Fairbanks, the yard jobs, and the Whittier freight jobs. Strangely, I did manage to entirely avoid tying up in Whittier, and I managed to avoid hostling most of the summer.

Hostling is a thankless job, especially the night hostling. Hostlers work out of the diesel shop, also known as the roundhouse, though it is actually not round at all. During the day, hostling is pretty slow. Most of the work is just moving locomotives around for the mechanical staff. At night, it can be pretty busy. The passenger trains all arrive in Anchorage between 5:30pm and 10:15pm. If fuel levels are below a certain level, the yard crew that switches passenger trains will drop the locomotives off at the fuel rack, outside the roundhouse, when they are done switching that train. They only drop it off. Once it gets there, it is in the hands of the hostlers. The hostlers fuel the locomotives, add sand if needed, and then do some general cleaning. They go through the cab and take the trash out and restock any supplies, such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, napkins, and track warrants. They also make sure all the tools and equipment are in their appropriate places. They also usually wash the windows. If time permits, the entire locomotive gets washed. We are probably a minority, as far as railroads go, for having Conductors and Engineers wash their own locomotives by hand! We get a bucket with detergent and a brush on a long handle and scrub the whole thing by hand, top to bottom. After the locomotives have been hostled, they get an air brake test, and then they go back on their trains.

Southbound at MP 180 on the QAP gravel train.

Even if the locomotives do not need fuel, the hostlers go over to the car shop, where the passenger trains are serviced, and at least go through the cab and take out the trash and refill the supplies. Once the locomotives are on their assigned trains, it is time to do brake tests. Freight cars get a Class 1 air brake test when they are first put in a train, and after that, only when the train is changed by more than one pick up and one set out. Passenger trains get a Class 1 air brake test every calendar day, even if the train has not changed at all. Usually the hostlers perform those in the middle of the night. The goal is to have the air tests done by the time the morning yard crew comes on duty, so they can focus on getting the trains to the depot early enough to leave on time. After the air tests, the night hostlers are usually just about done for the day. There is some paperwork to take care of, as always, and then it is time to go home.

The Whittier freights are usually interesting, even if the weather is lousy. Whittier is famous for the amount of rain and generally lousy weather it receives. Whittier and Anchorage are only about 60 miles apart, but the weather can be completely different. Sun and a cloudless sky in Anchorage does not necessarily mean it is nice in Whittier. Whittier itself is a small town, only 182 people live there, but it is an important place for the railroad and for Alaska. Whittier features a deep, ice free port, and so a lot of the things consumed by Alaskans arrive through Whittier. Some of that comes by rail, in an uncommon way. Alaska Railroad has no direct rail connection to the rest of the US or Canada. Instead, cars are interchanged to the BNSF, Union Pacific, and Canadian National by a fleet of barges. Car floats were popular in New York at one time, and the principle is similar, but the barges that come to Alaska are much bigger. The float operations in New York run on relatively calm water and over short distances. The longest voyages there were a few hours. The barge between Seattle and Whittier takes a week, on a normal voyage, and operates in much rougher seas. There are times when the swells exceed 15 feet, even in relatively protected waterways, and the barges must be able to handle that. When the barges get to Whittier, the rail cars roll off, much like the car float operations in New York. A train is assembled in Whittier, and then runs to Anchorage. Meanwhile, other cars are brought to Whittier, switched to comply with weight and balance requirements on the barge, and loaded for transit to the "Lower 48." Alaska Marine Lines operates three barges, each with eight tracks on the deck, and stantions to support shipping containers above the rail cars. Canadian National owns another barge, which operates between Prince Rupert, BC, and Whittier. It is similar, but lacks the equipment to handle shipping containers. All of these barges are capable of moving 45 or more cars. Every piece of equipment on Alaska Railroad arrives and departs the property on those barges.

Explorer Glacier, seen from a freight train headed to Whittier.

Loading and unloading the barges is a delicate operation, which requires a bit of planning. There is often switching to do before cars are loaded on the barge, because everything must be balanced properly. In addition, the Coast Guard has different requirements for shipping hazardous materials than the railroad, so a train that leaves Anchorage in compliance with all the railroad tonnage and hazmat requirements, usually does not meet all the Coast Guard requirements. Once all the cars are in the right places, loading the barge takes place at walking speed, and only when the tidal conditions are right. Too low or too high a tide means the slip, the movable bridge that connects dry land to the barge, will be at too steep an angle to safely move rail cars across it. The barges are capable of pumping seawater aboard for ballast, which can accommodate for some of the variation in the tide, but ultimately, Mother Nature gets the final say. If there are delays, it can mean "losing the tide," and having to wait for the next tide cycle. As a train crew member, there is a lot of motivation to avoid losing the tide, because it means getting stuck in Whittier longer, and no one likes staying there any longer than necessary!

Matanuska River, seen from the right of way of the old Sutton branch.

The passenger trains are always interesting. If nothing else, passengers have a way of providing some amusement, even if they do not intend to. The majority of the summer passengers are tourists, visiting Alaska from another place. Most are here for the first time. As such, a certain amount of tourist type questions are expected. Quite a few are on their first train ride, and so there are some common questions about the railroad that come up too. The most common question I get is who is driving the train. For some reason, many people assume the Conductor runs the train, and some people become a little alarmed when they see me walking through the passenger cars. It is funny because almost every kid on the train knows that the Engineer does the driving. No matter how hot it is outside, someone usually asks how much snow Alaska gets. I usually have to explain that it varies a lot, because Alaska is huge. Anchorage gets a few feet every year, but Fairbanks gets less. Whittier and Seward get a ton. People often ask how cold it gets in the winter too. Every once in a while, you get someone who really brightens your whole day, and it is usually a kid. To most of the kids on the train, the Conductor is what they want to be when they grow up. Some of them get all excited to see the Conductor, and it is hard to not enjoy that. I usually try to keep some souvenirs handy to give to the kids on the train. They are just little things, key chains or pins that say "Alaska Railroad" on them, but the kids love it. And, of course, there is always some wise guy on board who asks, "can I drive the train?" That question gets old, but it is usually an adult who asks and clearly thinks they are being pretty funny.

Charter trains are a completely different kind of passenger train. They are generally chartered by locals as a way to entertain guests. Sometimes they charter a car or two, and have them pulled by one of our regular trains, sometimes they charter their own train. I had the chance to work a charter this year that was organized by the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau. They charter a train to run to Portage and back in the evening, and then invite some of the local businesses in tourism aboard. They also invite travel professionals from outside Alaska to come up here and experience the railroad. It gives travel professionals a taste of what Alaska has to offer and a chance to network with some of the local vendors. They have lots of local food, dinner, beer, wine, and some local musicians or a DJ. They charter a dome car, a coach, a couple of our bistro cars, and a business car. The DJ or musicians usually set up in the business car, which can be arranged to accommodate dancing, while food is served buffet style in the bistros. The coach and dome are for people to sit down and enjoy the view.

Locomotives for the overnight freight to Anchorage are headed over to
the yard in Fairbanks. This is January, and it is -26 degrees.

We had a spectacular trip the day I worked that train. The trip to Portage is usually pretty scenic anyway, but it was a picturesque fall day in Alaska, complete with moose, Dall sheep, and beluga whales. Even the locals were pretty excited about it. The mountains were bright yellow, with a light dusting of snow on the tops, and the sky was cloudless. The evening sun lit everything up brilliantly. We had lots of time scheduled to get to Portage, so when the whales appeared in the inlet, we stopped the train to let everyone enjoy it and take pictures. As the sun set, and it began to get dark, people headed for the business car, where there was singing and dancing. They even had karaoke going for a little while. We turned the lights down in the business car and the coaches, and people enjoyed the entertainment well into the evening. With charters, you can never be sure if it is going to turn into one big drunkfest, which usually results in problems, or if it will go well, but this one turned out quite well.

Overall, I had a great summer. There were good days and lousy days, as one would expect, but it was a good summer, even if it flew by. A common question I get this time of year is when I expect to be recalled. I figure it will be early May. They may surprise me and call me sooner, but I would not bet on it. In the mean time, I'll enjoy not having to answer the phone, and get some things done on the honey-do list. They say the winters here are long, but it will go by fast too, and I'll be back to the railroad before I know it.

A panorama of Whittier in the winter, taken from my hotel room on the 14th floor of the Begich Tower.
Click on the photo to enlarge.