This is an interestinig project and probably the most difficult track laying effort I have seen. I copyed Anchorage, north of a point just south of the wye to the airport, to start the route which is mile 120 more or less. I am now at mile 234, a few miles north of Talkeetna. This route is being done at the request of a few others and I have no real interest in this line but it is interesting anyway. It has some of the crookedest stretches I have seen, and some of the longest tangents. You can use a 500r quarter degree, or a 6000r half degree piece at the end of a curve and it is almost invisible when running a route but when the following tangent is 5 miles long or more, it is difficult to get it exactly on the correct headiing.
Most of the line is operated under track warrants with the first 20 miles or so out of Anchorage being TCS and likewise the last 10 miles or so into Fairbanks. Otherwise all siding turnouts are either #10 or #15 manuals, mostly #10. When comparing the 2010 track chart (which I will include in the documents) with Google Earth, a number of sidings, and wye's no longer exist. And there is not much on line business either. Talkeetna, and Nenana are the only major towns along the line. Healy is fairly large, but mostly out of sight of the railroad. There is passenger service and some trains will stop on flag at certain points just to pick up somebody whose home is "not on the grid" and take them to town, which may be 100 miles along the line. The Smithsonian Channel or Nat. Geographic Channel, I forget which, had a nice series on the Alaska RR and I watched most episodes of it and was glad I did my railroad thing in the south east part of the lower 48.
I'll add to this as I progress. My intent is to include the major bridges. There are dozens of small concrete bridges which have ballasted decks, but where I can tell that the bridge is not a ballasted deck, I am including a strech of bridge rails. There are also dozens of pipes under the track, some of which are planely visible. Then there is Hurricane Gulch. I use TSM and will create it and the other truss types but if one of you wants redo a bridge it is fine with me. I take my length measurement off what it says on the track chart.
Jerry Sullivan, P.E. (retired from CSX & Southern, retired docent C&TSRR)
Most of the line is operated under track warrants with the first 20 miles or so out of Anchorage being TCS and likewise the last 10 miles or so into Fairbanks. Otherwise all siding turnouts are either #10 or #15 manuals, mostly #10. When comparing the 2010 track chart (which I will include in the documents) with Google Earth, a number of sidings, and wye's no longer exist. And there is not much on line business either. Talkeetna, and Nenana are the only major towns along the line. Healy is fairly large, but mostly out of sight of the railroad. There is passenger service and some trains will stop on flag at certain points just to pick up somebody whose home is "not on the grid" and take them to town, which may be 100 miles along the line. The Smithsonian Channel or Nat. Geographic Channel, I forget which, had a nice series on the Alaska RR and I watched most episodes of it and was glad I did my railroad thing in the south east part of the lower 48.
I'll add to this as I progress. My intent is to include the major bridges. There are dozens of small concrete bridges which have ballasted decks, but where I can tell that the bridge is not a ballasted deck, I am including a strech of bridge rails. There are also dozens of pipes under the track, some of which are planely visible. Then there is Hurricane Gulch. I use TSM and will create it and the other truss types but if one of you wants redo a bridge it is fine with me. I take my length measurement off what it says on the track chart.
Jerry Sullivan, P.E. (retired from CSX & Southern, retired docent C&TSRR)
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