White Pass & Yukon-Skagway 41 years ago (7)-White Pass shops
| May 23, 2020 07:56AM |
Looking back is always bittersweet because you can't do it without bringing all the memories of your modern day self to the remembered experience and things have changed. Now that I have enough money to buy a lot of film I have a camera that doesn't need it. I've done a lot of traveling by myself where I got to set the schedule. But in 1979 I was with a friend interested in other things than just railroads and he was driving his vehicle (though like all friends we grew interested in more by the exposure to each other, and we'd already spent some time on railroad adventures for me by then).
Now I know that someone was probably working inside that long ago Saturday, and unexpected visitors can often get in (Cass, Fort Wayne, a lumber museum in Pennsylvania and other jaunts come to mind, and a tour at Cheyenne). And no one would have cared if we had crawled around the yards. But the 1979 me only snapped a few photos driving by and briefly stopping, on to other adventures. After all, it was our first day in Alaska on the ground with our own rig, and there were a lot of things to discover. And I thought the few rolls of film I had purchased in Oregon were enough for the whole trip.....
Alcos (MLW) 107 and 104, I think, and a GE. The light was against me that overcast day; at least it wasn't raining:
The White Pass had pretty much no use for boxcars by then, and the number of boxcar sheds around a small town was so great we quickly paid no attention. Now I know I was looking at relics of narrow gauge history from all over. One was still in use, former Colorado & Southern #8336 (retired 2009, Como folks!):
Gondolas were rare on the White Pass but they were still using a few:
The sun broke out for a moment; I turned around and snapped a photo looking down river:
Finally, a look at as much of the show as you could get in with my SLR. Wish you could step in to that frame and look around further don't you? I do.....:
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2020 03:52PM by heatermason.
Now I know that someone was probably working inside that long ago Saturday, and unexpected visitors can often get in (Cass, Fort Wayne, a lumber museum in Pennsylvania and other jaunts come to mind, and a tour at Cheyenne). And no one would have cared if we had crawled around the yards. But the 1979 me only snapped a few photos driving by and briefly stopping, on to other adventures. After all, it was our first day in Alaska on the ground with our own rig, and there were a lot of things to discover. And I thought the few rolls of film I had purchased in Oregon were enough for the whole trip.....
Alcos (MLW) 107 and 104, I think, and a GE. The light was against me that overcast day; at least it wasn't raining:
The White Pass had pretty much no use for boxcars by then, and the number of boxcar sheds around a small town was so great we quickly paid no attention. Now I know I was looking at relics of narrow gauge history from all over. One was still in use, former Colorado & Southern #8336 (retired 2009, Como folks!):
Gondolas were rare on the White Pass but they were still using a few:
The sun broke out for a moment; I turned around and snapped a photo looking down river:
Finally, a look at as much of the show as you could get in with my SLR. Wish you could step in to that frame and look around further don't you? I do.....:
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2020 03:52PM by heatermason.
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488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
The NGDF was started by Don Richter and is currently operated in his memory by Nathan Holmes and others. Others who have contributed to the upkeep of this board are (in no particular order): Charles McCandless, Everett Lueck, Ted Wilton, Cole Adams, James Bane, John Moellmer, Jon Bentz, Linn Moedinger, lloyd lehrer, Rod Jensen, John Craft, Steven Forney, Herb Kelsey, Bill Ramaley, Russ Sperry (El Russo Loco), Josh McNeal, John West, Jim Armstrong, Bob Bergstrom, Greg Scholl, Blake Forbes Doug van Veelen and Mark Fuller.