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| PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist (1542391) | |
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PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by kp5308 on Fri Apr 3 14:41:55 2020 Our train was completely booked through Holland America Cruise Lines to meet the ship Island Princess at Whittier, Alaska. It originated in Fairbanks with one stop to load most of the passengers at Denali. An additional stop was made at Anchorage to change crews only. These moves are considered extras by the railroad and carry a DEX (Denali Express) symbol. The train we rode held approximately 700 in 8 "Ultra Dome" cars. Behind SD70MAC #4322 was the only non-Holland America car, ARR #653 (Colorado Railcar 2007) and the only car which loaded in Fairbanks. The main difference between the Alaska cars & the Holland America fleet is the observation deck is on the upper level. The car seats 72 and is completely self contained. Like the McKinley Explorer cars Karen & I rode the car's length is 89’ and height is 18’-1”. For a detailed description of the car Karen and I rode click HERE. : We were directly behind the 653 and followed by our McKinley mate. Behind us were 5 Princess Lines cars from that era of the operation. The first 3 are single cars Sanford (CRM 1996) and Blackburn (CRM 1999) that seat 88. I do not know the third cars build date or name but I verified that they all have an identical interior lay out and can travel independently. The cars received a general refitting and renewal during the 2005-2006 winter off-season, which included new interior upholstery, seating and décor, new exterior paint and upgrading of the ADA accessibility:  The rebuilding included a lift for ADA access to the dome. The 3 cars have a small bar and come in at 85’ long and 17’3” high:  The lower level has dining space for 36 on leather seats with cloth backs, ADA compliant restrooms and 2 ADA spaces:  The last two cars are from the initial test of the one stop Alaska vacation model of the cruise line controlling everything except getting to the starting point and back home at the completion of the trip. In 1988 Tour Alaska/Princess bought several retired Southern Pacific commute(r) cars. Tilamook Railcar Repair cut the cars to the belt rail and added a second deck. A pair of 2 car sets were completed with one car outfitted with a kitchen and a total capacity of 90 while the other carries an extended observation deck and seats 84. The cars in our consist were part of the last group of bi-levels built by Pullman-Standard for SP in 1968. The cars are 85’ long, 17’-5” tall and are the lightest of the Ultra Domes at 147,000 lbs. vs roughly 190,000 for the rest. The photo depicts the observation car Foraker (ex-SP #3745) coupled to the kitchen car Denali (ex-SP #3744). They are easily identified by the center entry doors from their commute days:  The cars have all table seating on both levels. Another unique feature is the passage between the 2 cars is on the upper level:  They were refurbished in 2004, receiving a full interior refitting, including new seating, upholstery and décor, as well as renewal of the HVAC and generator systems. An ADA lift to the dome was also installed:  The only updates that I have been able to locate about the fleet is the cars have been getting repainted with the last ones getting the treatment in 2019. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by https://salaamallah.com/ on Fri Apr 3 14:43:36 2020, in response to PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Fri Apr 3 14:41:55 2020. NICE PHOTOS |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Orange Blossom Special on Fri Apr 3 15:35:10 2020, in response to PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Fri Apr 3 14:41:55 2020. The cars they were supposed to buy in Orlando. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by kp5308 on Fri Apr 3 15:37:11 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Orange Blossom Special on Fri Apr 3 15:35:10 2020. ??? Florida Fun Train??? |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Orange Blossom Special on Fri Apr 3 15:38:02 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Fri Apr 3 15:37:11 2020. The Commuter Rail. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by kp5308 on Fri Apr 3 16:04:38 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Orange Blossom Special on Fri Apr 3 15:38:02 2020. I did not uncover any Florida connection except for the ex-Florida Fun Train consist, which we passed: And saw later at the Whittier dock as we boarded the ship: 
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by italianstallion on Sat Apr 4 21:19:06 2020, in response to PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Fri Apr 3 14:41:55 2020. Pretty senior crowd. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Elkeeper on Sat Apr 4 21:46:08 2020, in response to PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Fri Apr 3 14:41:55 2020. Kevin, did you get to see the Ex-Panama Canal Locomotive #802, mounted in front of the Anchorage station? |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Nilet on Sat Apr 4 22:46:29 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Fri Apr 3 16:04:38 2020. Nice! Did you stay over in Whittier before you sailed out? |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Nilet on Sat Apr 4 22:53:15 2020, in response to PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Fri Apr 3 14:41:55 2020. Nice! Could you walk through the whole train or were you confined to your pair of cars? |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Nilet on Sat Apr 4 22:53:19 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by italianstallion on Sat Apr 4 21:19:06 2020. Holland America is like that. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by kp5308 on Sat Apr 4 23:01:25 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Elkeeper on Sat Apr 4 21:46:08 2020. Kevin, did you get to see the Ex-Panama Canal Locomotive #802, mounted in front of the Anchorage station?Our route did not pass the Anchorage station. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Dave on Sat Apr 4 23:04:13 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Nilet on Sat Apr 4 22:53:15 2020. If you're a cruise line passenger you're supposed to stay in your assigned car. As you may have seen from the pictures I posted last week, both Holland America and Princess have their own cars on the train.Having said that, We were in a Princess car and I walked through the entire train. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by kp5308 on Sat Apr 4 23:09:40 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Nilet on Sat Apr 4 22:53:15 2020. could you walk through the whole train or were you confined to your pair of cars?Uhhh...how do you think I got photos of all the interiors? BTW somehow I neglected to include the Alaska 653 interior! Upper level:  Lower level:  |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 07:39:41 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Dave on Sat Apr 4 23:04:13 2020. When-ish last week? I seem to have missed them.Holland America and Princess are the same company, so I wouldn't be surprised if their cars were interchangeable. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 07:39:43 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Sat Apr 4 23:09:40 2020. I wouldn't have thought to presume.When I rode from Fairbanks to Anchorage in 2012, I could walk through the train as far back as the last ARR coach (which was about halfway back). At the end of that car, this sign was posted:  Since this was prior to the common usage of aLtErNaTiNg cAsE to indicate sarcasm, I took the sign at face value and did not enter. I did spend much of the ride camped at the dutch door near that sign, though. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by kp5308 on Wed Apr 8 07:49:55 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 07:39:43 2020. If you rode from Fairbanks to Anchorage it wasn't one of the extras dedicated to a Holland America departure from Whittier. I was never questioned by the staff as I walked the entire train. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 09:36:31 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Wed Apr 8 07:49:55 2020. I guess not.I rode from Fairbanks to Anchorage, then from Anchorage to Whittier the next day. I saw quite a few trains coming into Whittier before I sailed out, so presumably those were the dedicated extras. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Dave on Wed Apr 8 10:21:11 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 07:39:41 2020. http://www.subchat.com/readflat.asp?Id=1158324&p=1#1158389 |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by kp5308 on Wed Apr 8 10:39:51 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 09:36:31 2020. The Whittier port was quite the busy place and very well organized. The ex-Florida Fun Train consist we passed on the way down from Denali was all but unloaded by the time we boarded the ship:
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 12:06:11 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Wed Apr 8 10:39:51 2020. I found Whittier to be amazingly charming but more or less the opposite of busy. I did get a closer look at the ex-Florida Fun Train cars while I was there. Most of the cars were in a single consist that had been rented out to Princess Cruises (I got close enough to see their posters in the vestibules) but the former Tiki Bar was actually on my train down from Fairbanks. It had been completely redecorated by then, but the crew remembered it running in Alaska in its incongruous tropical decor. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 12:06:14 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Dave on Wed Apr 8 10:21:11 2020. Ah, you were there just a few months before I was.Alas, Photobucket turned evil and slapped their ugly watermark on your pictures in the 8 years since then. :( |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by kp5308 on Wed Apr 8 13:07:10 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 12:06:11 2020. I would have liked to explore the Whittier scene but the H-A gang herded us directly to the ship once the train stopped. Oh well, it was raining hard anyway.... |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 14:15:48 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Wed Apr 8 13:07:10 2020. Ah, I stayed in Whittier for two days before sailing out and I didn't get herded anywhere. I don't recall how many people boarded the ship with me but it couldn't have been more than a dozen or two.That rain, though. That's Whittier for you. I got mostly overcast and a bit of sun, but there were some pretty impressive downpours. Two days later, though, I got nothing but sun in Juneau, which is pretty lucky all things considered. I should have ridden the tramway while I was there but it sort of slipped off the schedule. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by kp5308 on Wed Apr 8 15:38:21 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 14:15:48 2020. The entire 8 car trainload we were riding with went directly onto the ship.We had excellent weather for the cruise down the Inside Passage, highlighted by the Skagway stop & the White Pass & Yukon trip:   We just didn't have the time for the tram at Juneau...really looked like a worthwhile ride. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 17:06:33 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Wed Apr 8 15:38:21 2020. Ah, you're still ahead of me. I didn't even stop off in Skagway at all so the White Pass & Yukon must await my next trip. Hopefully by then it'll take me all the way to Whitehorse!Weather was great in Juneau but turned typical (for the area) as soon as I left. I didn't see sun again until I got off the ship in Canada. Still definitely worth it though. 10/10 would sail again. |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by kp5308 on Wed Apr 8 19:42:38 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by Nilet on Wed Apr 8 17:06:33 2020. Unfortunately the present length of the route fits the cruise line timing. We went with the longer trip to Frazer BC and the only way that trip sells is to bus it back to Skagway. The daisy pickers don't want to be on the train the entire day.BTW WP&Y is no longer independent...Carnival runs the show We spent a few days in Vancouver before calling it a vacation. I would highly recommend a visit. Now THIS is a Rail Fan Window :o)  |
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Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist |
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Posted by Nilet on Fri Apr 10 06:12:32 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: The Denali Express Consist, posted by kp5308 on Wed Apr 8 19:42:38 2020. It's a pity that Carnival bought the WP&Y. I guess an extension to Whitehorse is unlikely, then.In 2012, I actually bypassed Vancouver entirely. I sailed to Prince Rupert and took VIA from there (which was an incredibly worthwhile trip in its own right). I did railfan Vancouver in 2008, though, so I have experienced that railfan window. |
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