Photo courtesy of John Combs
July 2001

       While in Moses Lake, Washington I stopped by to see Alaska Railroad #557, the last steam engne to run on the Alaska Railroad.  It is now owned by Monte Holm, owner of Moses Lake Iron and Metal Co.  He made one modification and that was to change "Alaska" to his road name "Mon-Road".  He is a very friendly individual and also has a museum of antique cars, motorcycles, railroad equipment, trivets, etc.  You can see his museum free of charge plus check out his collection of prototype trains.  I also purchased his fascinating autobiography, "Once a Hobo" and read it cover to cover.  It is an excellent "rags to riches" story that tells about the hard life of this hard working hobo.