The Aquatrain

blackomega · Jul 23, 2019

Here is a flight over the CN Aquatrain

A unique marine - rail transport system that routinely transports railcars between the Port of Prince Rupert and Alaska
there are other barges that transport railcars but nothing else in the world is as big as the Aquatrain

Enjoy

Feel free to post any questions or comments and as always please like and subscribe

Twocalf · Jul 23, 2019

Very cool and interesting! So I guess the rail cars are unloaded onto tracks at Whittier then the train passes under a huge mountain through a 2.5 to 3 mile long tunnel on it's way to Anchorage and maybe Seward. Apparently the tunnel accommodates both trains and cars. I had no idea.

blackomega · Jul 23, 2019

Twocalf said:
Very cool and interesting! So I guess the rail cars are unloaded onto tracks at Whittier then the train passes under a huge mountain through a 2.5 to 3 mile long tunnel on it's way to Anchorage and maybe Seward. Apparently the tunnel accommodates both trains and cars. I had no idea.

Longest combination road rail tunnel in the world

mavic53 · Jul 24, 2019

Go back and film the unloading. An amazing barge I have never seen such a thing . Well done.

AnzacJack · Jul 24, 2019

I’m not a boat person, but that is super impressive

rustysteel · Jul 24, 2019

VERY COOL!!
There was a discovery channel series about Alaska railroading. The show was horrendous(over dramatized as all of the current reality TV shows are) but they did include the operations of loading and unloading this barge.

Twocalf · Jul 24, 2019

rustysteel said:
VERY COOL!!
There was a discovery channel series about Alaska railroading. The show was horrendous(over dramatized as all of the current reality TV shows are) but they did include the operations of loading and unloading this barge.

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to look it up, I'd love to see the episode featuring the loading/unloading of this rail barge. Everything in that part of the world from Vancouver northward just seems bigger, grander, and the distance between infrastructure (towns, roads, powerlines, etc.) is staggering. This is where boats and aircraft rule!

blackomega · Jul 24, 2019

This is all I was able to find
Sadly it appears to be in french but if you all could find an english version please let me know

rustysteel · Jul 24, 2019

Found what I was thinking of... a railroad barge but unfortunately not the Aquatrain. Still a cool operation.

Meltdown | Railroad Alaska

In Alaska the spring thaw puts the railroad into meltdown mode and a freight train is stalled on the line’s highest bridge – the infamous Hurricane Gulch.

www.destinationamerica.com

The show "Railroad Alaska" was on Discovery channel

blackomega · Jul 24, 2019

mavic53 said:
Go back and film the unloading. An amazing barge I have never seen such a thing . Well done.

I will try on that one. kind of hard to find out when the crew actually does the loading offloading. Also I think the tide plays a role somehow. It might take a while but I will see what i can do

Twocalf · Jul 24, 2019

blackomega said:
This is all I was able to find

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Sadly it appears to be in french but if you all could find an english version please let me know

Thanks, I watched most of this even if I couldn't understand the narration! The video spoke for itself and really enhanced your drone video by understanding what the Aquatain is all about. What I liked about this documentary is that there were more real people doing their everyday jobs and not a bunch of talking head "talent" than are featured in most US based Discovery shows.

Twocalf · Jul 24, 2019

rustysteel said:
Found what I was thinking of... a railroad barge but unfortunately not the Aquatrain. Still a cool operation.

Meltdown | Railroad Alaska

In Alaska the spring thaw puts the railroad into meltdown mode and a freight train is stalled on the line’s highest bridge – the infamous Hurricane Gulch.

www.destinationamerica.com

The show "Railroad Alaska" was on Discovery channel

Thanks.

blackomega · Jul 25, 2019

Thanks guys I will keep these coming

Smokieflies · Jul 30, 2019

Great and very interesting footage.

blackomega · Aug 2, 2019

I dug through my pictures and found this shot where there are more cars on the barge.

I can see the tug boat making its run back here on my AIS so will go out again

blackomega · Aug 14, 2019

mavic53 said:
Go back and film the unloading. An amazing barge I have never seen such a thing . Well done.

You ask and I deliver

The Aquatrain being Loaded

Hello fellow pilots You asked for it and was finally able to get footage of them loading the railcars on the barge. Sadly at the time I only had one charged battery so I did not go crazy with my flying I also sped up the video 4X in post it is a very slow procedure and at normal speed would...

mavicpilots.com