The below left photograph shows
Bartlett Glacier in the center right of the frame. When the
railroad was built, Bartlett Glacier spilled over the low hills in the
foreground and occupied the area which has track going from left to
right. This necessitated the building of the loop district.
Below right, just above the dome car are rocks which form the walls of
a chasm which has water running through it, also visible in the left
photograph.
Below left shows a line of shrubbery which is the overgrown old
mainline. It is just above the front of the train.
Below left is a view looking towards
part of the old lower loop. One bridge pier is visible where the
water goes out of sight. There are two others still in existance
visible from the right spot. Below right is a low hill that the
lower loop traversed. There is a spot where the track crossed
over itself and bridge abutments are visible. The picture I shot
a week later from the Glacier Discovery barely shows it. That
train slows down enough to find the spot.
We are now back at Tunnel, the track
gang house used for track maintenance. The track on the right is
the one the Coastal Classic had pulled into to meet the Cruise train on
my way south to Seward.
The railroad descends through the five tunnels, which are mostly
curved, along the Placer River Gorge.
The final part of the descent yields views of Spencer Lake and Spencer
Glacier. Below right, yes, they are icebergs.
The violet colored flora is Alaskan Fireweed and the yellow is Goat's
Beard.
Page 11 Alaska Railroad Coastal
Classic
