Rammin’ Snow

An Alaska Railroad freight train found itself stuck in a snowbank, when the train plowed into avalanche debris that had just previously swept across the tracks along Turnagain Arm. The 3144 foot long train was making the run from Whittier to Anchorage, when it hit the debris around 2am on Tuesday morning, just south of Girdwood.

The impact derailed two locomotives, and partially derailed a third. No crew members were injured during the impasse.

The area is known for its avalanche threat, and conditions on Monday were prime. The Seward Highway, which parallels the railway along Turnagain Arm, was not impacted, since the snow did not make it as far as the roadway.

That engineer was living every kid’s dream, who had a train set up in their basement.

Snow was still being cleared from the Anchorage side of the snow drift as of this writing.