Below left, coming off Lower Trail
Lake. Lower right, the route next sees water on the east
side of Kenai Lake. On a nice day, the mountains on the opposite
side of the lake reflect on the lake surface. This day was not
one of those days.
In the two photographs below, fire
scars are visible just above the lake surface and below the green areas.
The mountains that contain the
Harding Ice Field become visible. They are sawtooth in shape, but
give few hints of what they retain. I had no idea of what my
relationship with the Harding Ice Field would become in just a few
short hours.
Eventually the track crosses the last major river over a truss bridge.
Further on down the
road, at MP 12, the railroad crosses divide with the last portion
hugging the side of the hill through a rain forest. There are
occasional glimpses of the Seward Highway and then for the last few
miles, the road and track parallel one another. The train speed
is not great due to many curves in the alignment. The extra time
is good for contemplating whatever you plan to do in Seward.
The
railroad crosses the Resurrection River at MP 3 with the station at
MP 2. The railroad dead ends here having already passed the
railroad yard and roundhouse. The airport at Seward is next to
Resurrection Bay. The Alaska Railroad roundhouse is visible
with a cruise ship at Seward for its layover day.
The train is pulled into the station
head end first. After passengers disembark, the crew wyes the
train, which now looks like the lower left photograph. Note
station building on right side. We
arrived in Seward about 11 AM with the weather nice enough for
shirtsleeves. After finding my bags, I got a ride to Ballaine
House, a 100-year-old house at 437 3rd Avenue. The main
highway into town turns into 3rd Avenue and Ballaine House is at the
intersection of Madison Avenue at the top of the hill. John
Ballaine, founder of the Alaska Central Railroad, constructed this
house in the early 1900's. While the Alaska Central and the
successor company Alaska Northern went bankrupt, John Ballaine remained
in Alaska to become a thorn in the side of Colonel Frederick Mears,
the United States Army officer brought in to finish the railroad for
the U.S. Federal Government. I have just gotten here after a very
nice train ride, what good will happen next?
Page 6 Alaska Railroad Coastal
Classic
