Avalanche engulfs Alaska Railroad train

Avalanche engulfs Alaska Railroad train    An Alaska Railroad Corp. freight train was partially buried by an avalanche about 20 miles south of Portage early Thursday morning.
   The three-man crew was not injured, but about 10 railcars were buried, the railroad said. The train was transporting lumber, sheet rock and other building materials when it departed Seward headed for Anchorage with 64 railcars and three locomotives Wednesday night. No hazardous materials were being transported.

An avalanche 20 miles south of Portage buried railcars.

   'The train crew initiated an emergency stopping procedure around 11:30 p.m.,' the Alaska Railroad said in statement. 'The crew unhooked the locomotives from the railcars and attempted to proceed north towards Anchorage, but an avalanche halted their progress.'
   Maintenance workers were sent to the scene to clear snow and retrieve the train crew.
   The Alaska Railroad hopes by Friday to mitigate further avalanche activity and clear existing slide zones. The weather is expected to improve and crews will first remove the free railcars once the area has been assessed and deemed safe for train movement, the railroad said.