Alaska Volume 3: Giants in the Dark: Winter on the Alaska Railroad by Alaska Railroad

The third in the Pentrex 3-volume DVD series about the Alaska Railroad brings you a view of Alaskan railroading like no other, for it carries you along the rails in the dead of winter, when temperatures are minus 30 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit and you're lucky if you see five hours of daylight. Photographer Patrick Hunstiger set up his studio lights and cameras to capture this incredible action in 1994. Now, with this new DVD release from Pentrex, you can experience powerful diesels challenging the cold, snow, and darkness, guiding freight and passenger trains through the frozen frontiers of the Alaskan wilds.Winter alters the way the Alaska Railroad does business. A busy summer week of up to 100 trains a week will drop to 25 during the winter. However, the spectacular drama of railroading in Alaska is undiminished. GP40-2s, GP49s, a GP30, F7-B, E8-B, and MP15 are seen spewing show from the rails, sliding through the darkness while snow flurries cover the cabs, and hauling their trains past ice clogged-bays and jagged white peaks. Approaching the Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood aboard the Ski Train is a magical sight for the mountain is lit for night skiing, but for the most part what you'll see is the bitter cold, the heavy storms, and the dangers facing the men and equipment in a land of perpetual darkness. It's an extraordinary insight into a type of railroading that few dare to face.