Here is a line side industrial activity that can pop up anywhere on a railroad. In Whittier Alaska a large steel barge had been abandoned on the beach at the head of the bay not too far from West Camp Road. Central Environmental, Inc. Environmental Services was contracted to remove the rusted out hulk. An old railroad spur runs adjacent to the road and gondolas were staged there to receive the scrap from the barge demolition. A Cat excavator with large steel cutting shear was used to dismember the barge into manageable pieces which were hauled to a transfer site next to the road. At this location they were further compacted, folded and crushed. The excavator was then fitted with a bucket and thumb which carefully placed the pieces on end in the gondolas. Because of the low density and honey comb nature of the pieces the crew maximized the car loading by stuffing smaller pieces inside. These are unusual gondola loads. This fleeting scene could be recreated on a model railroad nearly anywhere. -- Pat Durand