Twisting Toward Oliver During my summer as a tour guide in Alaska I spent many wonderful nights, the best of my life, in Denali National Park. On many of my tours I'd spend a night or two with my guests at the Denali Park Village just south of the Nenana River bridge at MP 231 on Parks Highway. I would normally have mid days free while my tour guests were off for the day in the park and once my work duties and reservations were set for the evening I could indulge myself with a hike or some photography. The Alaska Railroad mainline was within earshot just across the highway and river up on the hillside within the eastern boundary of Denali National Park. I'd always wanted to climb up there for a shot of them winding along the edge of the bluff and finally made the point to do it one day. This location is about MP 341.5 and is immediately south of the 6202 foot siding known as Oliver. A set of triple s-curves make for a fun sight and the telecompression of a long lens makes the gentle twists (ranging between 2 and 7 degrees) look more dramatic than they are. The heavy welded concrete ties, and modern power prove that while the ARR may be isolated it is decidedly not backward and is the equal of any lower 48 Class 1. Here is the flagship of the fleet, daily train 230N, the Denali Star on its 356 mile 12 hour journey from Anchorage to Fairbanks only a half dozen miles from their stop in the park. The twin SD70MACs cut a sharp profile as they twist through the squiggles along the unstable hillside through slide zone 341. Denali National Park, Alaska |
