Random picture thread for Friday

Potato chip rock, San Diego

@markelman1125 What are the two you are holding
in the first frame?

The Alaska Railroad operates on a single track so when an oncoming train approaches a siding has to be found for one of the trains to allow the other to pass.

As luck would have it, a mile long northbound freight forced our southbound passenger Dome Car train to pull over to the siding while we were departing from Alaska’s Denali National Park. This afforded the opportunity to film from the Ultra Dome Rail Car’s open air viewing platform at a distance just feet away from the speeding train.

Watch in the below YouTube linked video as close to a hundred rail cars are combined to create a mile long train.

Behind two huge locomotives over 40 Tank Cars initially appear. This is followed by a single box car. Then dozens of Flat Cars laden with containers appear. Another pair of locomotives then link dozens more Flat Cars carrying wheeled truck trailers. In addition there are rail cars that have been configured to carry huge pipe sections, lumber and other construction and building materials.

One comes to appreciate how important the Alaska Railroad’s freight trains are to supplying interior Alaska. This train headed to Fairbanks and neighboring North Pole’s Fuel Distribution Center also transports fuel that will be used to supply jets flying out of the nearby Air Force Base.

The freight trains are also integral to sustainability of the Alaska Railroad as 60 percent of its revenue is sourced from carrying freight.

An interesting financial fact is that Alaska purchased the railroad from the Federal Government in 1985 for 22.3 million dollars and just this year alone it is projected to net a 33 million profit. Its assets total 1.3 billion dollars.

Much of the container freight seen on this train was loaded onto Alaska Railroad Marine Barges in Seattle and then off loaded onto the train in Whittier Alaska. Goods from as far away as Mexico can be in those containers. Many of the wheeled truck trailers on this train had been driven off a Tote Roll on Roll Off vessel that regularly departs Tacoma for Anchorage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HKZdvDtCwM

Some related photos and a few screen shots from my above video:

Pickle Ball

@Pennyfreak__ said:

@asheland said:

@Manifest_Destiny said:

That’s so cool! It’s like a moment in time

And I believe that's "Christine" in the picture!

Photos from Monday under the Big Tent:

This video is presented with the consent of the performers, Pipeline Vocal Project - the top vocal trio in the State of Alaska.

Listen to and watch an impressive performance by Pipeline Vocal Project as this talented trio sing to their own beat and vocalize the sounds of instruments as well. Everything you hear, including the percussion, comes from their voices.

Offered here is their complete half hour show as it was performed on their final day at the 2024 Alaska State Fair.

Songs include their own renditions of classics such as one they arranged for a cruise while performing at sea.

Included medleys of their own creation pay tribute to varied musical eras.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiC3BtbcTtg

Fire in the Sky - From this week:

@JWP said:

$1 bought dinner for you and your date. Toppedoff
the gas tank. Good times.