556

556

556

556

556

Engine 556 and her tender have rested on the Park Strip along 9th avenue for many years. For most of those years the cab was wide open so children and adults alike could climb up and imagine what it was like to run the rails in this machine.
 
The modern world is no place for such imagination and besides the homeless were making quite a mess of this once proud machine. There was talk of removing 556 but cooler heads got together and a year or so ago, asbestos was removed, new paint and a fence to protect the display.
 
What came next has to be one of the better ideas ever to come to pass in Anchorage, and a wonderful display for visitors, residents, and rail fans.

 
Photos courtesy of Stefanie Jaz Coppock