Welcome to Whittier! - Two of the last three GP40-2s to wear their 1975 as delivered black and yellow paint march a 6015 ft train out of the 13,338 ft long tunnel and into the town of Whittier. The train is at MP F2.6 and in less than two miles will enter the Whittier yard where the train will be cut up and the flats spotted for stripping of empty containers and back loading of loads that have arrived on the weekly AML barge from Seattle. Whittier is the ARR's main port for shipment of containers which arrive via barge stacked in racks above the main deck which contains 8 tracks for interchange of railcars to the BNSF & UP in Seattle. The Tunnel itself is a marvel of engineering. Having been converted to dual use a decade ago, it is the longest shard highway/rail tunnel in North America and is essentially a 2.5 mile long grade crossing. To the right can be seen the traffic signals and highway lanes where traffic waits to be cleared through the tunnel. For those of you interested in learning more about this fascinating tunnel click here to visit the Alaska state DOT's official web site on the tunnel or if you are a TRAINS magazine subscriber click here to access an interesting web exclusive feature they did on the tunnel last year.Note: the photographer is a railroad employee with permission to be on the property and was wearing all required PPE while taking this photograph.
From a hint of "Bee" (NKP 765), colorful "Bees" (KCS), "Bees" w/ "attitude", to "Bees" that "sting" your eyes, in their own way they have "Bee" on display! Equipment that "Buzzes" with Yellow & Black colors! ("Bees" can still "Bee" entering this "hive"!)
