Story and photographs by Richard Elgenson

RailNews Network writer

What was my concern about the weather?  Oh, nothing.  Alaska?  In many places Alaska is a rain forest which means lots of rain in the summertime.  In fact, some of my Alaskan friends tell me that the weather is more clear and sunny in the wintertime.  Of course the sun rises late and sets early.  In the summer, Alaska lives up to her name "land of the midnight sun."  You see the sun when it is not raining. Since Talkeetna was the beginning and end of the Hurricane Turn train, it made sense to stay here several nights.  In additon to being a point on the railroad, Talkeetna is the gateway to Denali for climbing and visiting glaciers.  I had telephone contact with my Alaska Railroad freight conductor after checking into the Talkeetna Roadhouse.  He would be leaving Fairbanks in the evening and estimated passing through Talkeetna at 3:45 AM.  I set my alarm for 3:27 AM with the intention of walking over to the Section House shelter to say hello as they ran their train by.  My alarm went off and the first thing I noticed was the sound of rain.  I debated whether to get up or not.  My decision was I'll see my friend in a few days or wait until he passed through Talkeetna on another run.  At 4:50 AM, I heard the whistle of a southbound Alaska Railroad freight.  Several hours later, I got up and endured my first day of rain.  In Alaska, one should never let the presence of rain deter them from doing any activity.  After having a burrito at the Talkeetna Roadhouse restaurant, I decided to put on my rain jacket and walk around town.  I wondered what the Talkeetna State Airport was like.  I walked down the road, crossed the railroad track and worked my way towards Hudson Air's hangar.  I walked in and for the fun of it asked if any air tours were perhaps going up today.  The woman said that due to the weather, most flights were grounded.  She showed me an internet weather page.  The outlook was for heavy showers until noon and less rain later.  I was curious about air traffic control at this airport.  The lady at Hudson Air said the "tower" was across the taxiway and behind a hangar.  I wanted to take a direct route and asked if it was safe to walk across the taxiway.  Her only answer was to look both ways, which I did.  I walked into the Federal Aviation Administration Talkeetna Flight Service Station and found several employees who were very friendly and willing to answer my questions.  Unlike major commercial airports, this air traffic control tower was at ground level.  The FAA boys even joked that they were "underground."  I did find out that the Talkeetna State airport has a 3,500 foot long runway and 600 to 800 operations on a typical day. A major metropolitan airport such as John Wayne Airport in Orange County California has about 1,200 operations per day.  Talkeetna has another ariport called the Village Airstrip which is the original airport in the area. 

Talkeetna is at the end of the Talkeetna Spur Road, 14 miles off the Parks Highway.  It is worth the time and effort to get there.  Alaska Railroad serves this town during tourist season with the Denali Star passenger train in both directions.  Offseason, through train service is weekends only.  The Hurricane Turn Flagstop train runs Thursday through Sunday during tourist season from Talkeetna to Hurricane Gulch.  It also runs once per month October through April from Anchorage to Hurricane Gulch.  Off season, the equipment is traditional with a locomotive, coaches and a cab car.

Below left, visitors walking on  Talkeetna Spur Road.  Below right, the section house is visible to the left of the radio tower.  The town park is on the left side of the frame.

   

Below left, looking down Main Street towards the railroad.  Below right, looking down Main Street away from the railroad.

    

Below left, mass transportation, Talkeetna style.  The National Park Service Talkeetna headquarters (below right)  is worth visiting.  All climbers attempting Denali must register here and have their equipment checked by the NPS.  Inside, there are flags from teams who have summited Denali and other exhibits regarding the mountain.  A short video is played constantly.

   

Below left, the rotating beacon at one end of the Talkeetna State Airport.  Below right is the Fairview Inn.  It has a bar and rooms.  While walking around on Sunday evening, I happened to chat with a young woman who told me about the open microphone talent night held on Mondays.

   

Below, talent night at the Fairview Inn.  I had brought my note pad and was drinking very good tap beer while recording my experiences.  I met people from Austria who had needed some paper and a pen for exchanging phone numbers.  Of course, I saw these people walking around town the next day.  In case you are wondering, the talent was good.  Below right, this group are mechanics from one of the local air taxis.

   

Earlier that evening, I had contact with my Alaska Railroad conductor friend who he told me that his northbound train would be run through town some time after 11:30 PM.  I told him to tell the engineer to turn off the ditch lights as they rounded the curve.  At the appropriate time, I excused myself from the Fairview Inn with my camera.  I heard the train horn and got to the platform.  I took a natural light photograph which shows a small amount of light at 11:40 PM.  The train rounded the curve and the ditch lights were extinguished.  I then shot a flash photograph to let them know I was there.  Then one more flash shot of the locomotive.  As the lead locomotive passed me, the conductor lit me up with his flashlight and we exchanged hello.  When would I see my friend and his train again?

    

   

   

The earlier material I mentioned from John Combs' Alaskarails web site has references to the Village Airstrip and bush pilot Cliff Hudson.