| At Wasilla just north of
Anchorage we spotted the Transportation Museum so I stopped to have a look. |  |
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This is a 1916 Model T Ford Dump Truck. Original parts are in black other
parts are red. It is believed it was originally used by the BPR (Bureau of
Public Roads or more commonly Bureau of Parallel Ruts). |
| This Weaver Bros truck
was built in 1932 and was the first Kenworth in Alaska. |  |
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This is a Ford Model T Homesteader truck. The engine dates from 1911, the
frame from 1923 and the body 1926. It was found at May Creek, well beyond
the end of the road at McCarthy in the Wrangell/St Elias Preserve. |
| A 1923 Dodge Tourer from
the days when all cars were black. |  |
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For some reason old farm machinery always seems to be painted in red and
yellow, even when it isn't a McCormick Deering. |
| I'm not sure what the
connection is with transport but it is an impressive display. |  |
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All forms of transport are represented including boats. This is the frame of
a kayak. |
| There are more planes and
pilots in Alaska than anywhere else in the world, and more home built
planes. This is the KR-1 Seagull which is the smallest plane ever to fly
from Alaska to the lower 48. |  |
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Another surprise in a transport museum are the quilts on display. Jan didn't
come and so missed these. |
| Outside we moved on to
the railway items. This 1500hp F7A was delivered in 1952, one of six
delivered to the Alaska railroad by EMD. It was the first and the last of
this model in service. |  |
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The US Air Force also had some switchers like this 1200hp Baldwin S-12 built
in 1952 for use at the bases in Alaska. The Alaska railroad is not connected
to any other system. |
| This is a 1934 Evans auto
railbus, bought by the Chitina Power Company in 1939, and used for transport
from Copper Creek to McCarthy after the Kennecott mine and the associated
railway closed in 1938. It ran until 1944 when the tracks were recovered. |  |
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A relic from the days when companies owned private coaches. This belonged to
the Bureau of Mines and was used for mines rescue as a support vehicle. |
| Inside is a display of
old photos including this shot of a collapsed viaduct at mile 50 between
Seward and Anchorage in the snow on April 5th 1921. It collapsed as a snow
clearing train was crossing. Two engines and the snowblower were lost. The
line was closed for 26 days. |  |
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Another railbus awaiting restoration. |
| This is a snowplough
belonging to the brute force category. The rusting parts are wings held out
by hydraulic pressure. |  |
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This is a 1952 Seagrave Ladder Firetruck. Red paint always seems to go very
matt as it gets older. |
| Another matt red fire
truck. This is a 1967 Western States pumper in service with the University
of Alaska until 1982. |  |
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I'm sure there is one grader for every 3 people in Alaska. |
| This is a 1942 Douglas
C47A transport. It saw service in Alaska from 1953 to 1978 and covered over
3 million miles in 17900 hours. |  |
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A Fairchild C123 which also flew 3 million miles in Alaska between 1957 and
1984 |
| A 1949 Sikorsky H5H
Dragonfly helicopter used for rescue missions from Elmendorf AFB until 1961. |  |
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A portable Air Traffic Control Tower first used at Yakatak from 1941 to
1950. It was then used at Anchorage until the permanent tower was built when
it was moved to Hood seaplane base. But in 1964 it controlled Anchorage
again when the tower there collapsed after the earthquake. |
| This seemed much more
modern and I wasn't sure it was an exhibit but..... |  |
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Back at the RV we had company. These were visitors not exhibits. |
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