Posted by Keith in Washington on Thursday, September 27, 2001 at 11:14AM :
In Reply to: Check out the Wc-53 Carryall, it rides the rails! posted by Eric B. on Wednesday, September 26, 2001 at 6:57PM :
Nice picture and the wheels on it are different. I would suspect that the picture was taken in Whittier or doubtfully in Portage AK. Whittier was a major military supply base in WWII due to its locat1on on the Prince William Sound. The only way to get out of Whittier was by train trough a tunnel to Portage AK. From Portage it is just a short run to Anchorage. It would not surprise me that they altered trucks to run the rails out of Whittier.
The train is last I undersood is still the only way out of Whittier. The pass that seperates it from the rest of the mainland has glaciers. You can load up your car onto a train in Portage for a short 30 minute trip to Whittier then you can catch the State Ferry to other parts of SE Alaska. I herd rumors of a road for the future. Maybe Bret and Charlie who are still in Alaska can shed light on access to Whittier.
The only railroad in Alaska, with the exception of some very short lines associated with mines and etc, is the Alaska Railroad which was a military railroad that was turned over to the state after the war. It runs from Seward Ak to Anchorage then continues up to the Fairbanks Area. The spur to Portage is located between Anchorage and Seward. This railroad was one of the main methods for moving supplies in mainland Alaska during the war.
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