In 1994 I flew from Ontario, CA (ONT) to Atlanta, GA (ATL) on Delta Air Lines. The flight was oversold and they were looking for volunteers to take a later flight. The incentive to get people to volunteer was a free ticket good for one year on Delta to anywhere in the U.S.A. except Hawaii. So I voluteered and figured this would be a good way to visit Alaska for the first time for a cheap price (free). Airfares to Alaska were pretty expensive at the time. So in June, so as not too take too much time off from conductoring at Metrolink, I made another "whirlwind tour", flying to Anchorage (ANC), where I rented a car and drove to Portage to ride the shuttle train to Whittier. This was before the tunnels were paved for auto traffic. The next day I rode from Anchorage to Seward and return. The day after that I rode the train to Fairbanks, spent the night there and flew home the next day, with the plane making an intermediate stop in Juneau (JNU, another "new" airport). On the train to Fairbanks, when I chatted up the conductor and gave him my business card, he made arrangements for me to get a cab ride. Here's the northbound Anchorage-Fairbanks train with the Holland America and Princess tours cars bringing up the rear. If anyone knows specifically where this is, down to the nearest siding or mile post, please let me know. This was pre-911, before everyone became paranoid about unauthorized people riding on locomotives. Inward-facing cameras on locomotives have been a real game changer. I'm old enough to remember boarding commercial aircraft without having to go through ANY degree of security. It was a different world. I wish I could go back.

For you numbers people, here's the consist of the train. Looking back, I went to all the trouble to gather this information, so I may as well pass it along in case someone might be interested.

Alaska Railroad
Lv. Anchorage, AK 0830 hrs. - Ar. Fairbanks, AK 2030 hrs.
June 25, 1994

ARR 3015 GP-40?
ARR 3014 GP-40?
ARR P-30 HEP unit ex-UP E-Unit Booster power unit
ARR 101 Baggage ex-UP baggage car
ARR 205 Coach built by Dawoo of Korea
ARR 401 Diner built by Dawoo of Korea
ARR 500 Dome-Coach ex-UP built by ACF
ARR 206 Coach built by Dawoo of Korea
WTMC 510 Dome "Chulitna" ex-ATSF Big Dome
WTMC 554 Dome "Eklutna" ex-ATSF Big Dome
WTMC 511 Dome "Nenana" ex-ATSF Big Dome
WTMC 553 Dome "Kashwitna" ex-ATSF Big Dome
AMTK 800097 A ex-SP gallery car Midnight Sun Express
AMTK 800076 B ex-SP gallery car Midnight Sun Express
AMTK 800599 MSEX 7085 C ex-SP gallery car Midnight Sun Express