Hurricane Turn Explained

Box Width:30em
Hurricane Turn
Status:Operating
Locale:Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, USA
Start:Talkeetna
End:Hurricane Gulch
Distance:57.6miles
Journeytime:2 hours 30 minutes each way
5 hours 45 minutes round trip
Frequency:Thursday through Sunday (May through September)
Seating:Coach
Catering:None
Owners:Alaska Railroad

The Hurricane, or Hurricane Turn, is a passenger train operated by the Alaska Railroad between Talkeetna and Hurricane Gulch in Alaska. This train is unique in that rather than making scheduled station stops, it is a flag stop train meaning that passengers between Talkeetna and Hurricane can wave a white cloth anywhere along the route and the train will stop to pick them up. The train runs daily Thursday through Sunday between the months of May and September and the first Thursday of every month the rest of the year (between Hurricane Gulch and Anchorage).[1] The Hurricane Turn is one of the last true flag-stop trains in the United States.[2]

By 2009, the Budd Rail Diesel Cars were removed from service on the Hurricane Turn.[3] Current configuration is two passenger cars and one baggage car with a powered locomotive on one end and a non-powered cab car on the other. This gives a control cab on both ends so the train can be operated safely in both directions and doesn't need to be turned around at Hurricane Gulch. In 2020, summer services began in July in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Alaska Railroad official train information . https://archive.today/20120711042550/http://akrr.com/arrc127.html . dead . 2012-07-11 .
  2. News: Feidt . Annie . Into The Wild: Alaskan Train Caters To The Intrepid . 17 October 2020 . NPR . 19 September 2011.
  3. Web site: Alaskarails.org.
  4. News: Alaska Railroad pushes back start of summer passenger service to July . 17 October 2020 . Anchorage Daily News . 4 April 2020.