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ANNUAL POSTER PRINTS
The 2009 ARRC annual print is titled "Clearing the Way" by Wasilla artist Taffina Katkus.
The print depicts a Jordan spreader crossing the Hurricane Gulch Bridge on a cold Alaskan afternoon. The sundog and frozen Mount McKinley in the background illustrate harsh frigid conditions.
"I wanted to capture the enormous expanse of the gulch and the bridge," said Katkus. "I imagined the huge challenges that the engineers in that era would have faced to erect this remarkable bridge."
Taffina has called Alaska home for 38 years and worked as a commercial sign painter & graphic artist for the past 25 years.
The 2009 poster, print and pin are available from our online Gift Shop, at the Alaska Railroad Depot Ticket Window (see hours), or by calling 1-800-544-0552 (in Anchorage 265-2494).
"Dawn Departure," is the 2008 Alaska Railroad print from Anchorage artist Kurt Jacobson. This is the second time Kurt has been selected as a featured artist for the Alaska Railroad print. His first piece was featured in 2006 and titled "Lighting the Way."
Kurt's design for the 2008 Alaska Railroad print features the new Fairbanks Depot with the Denali Star train and a new GoldStar coach preparing to depart the depot headed south to Denali, Talkeetna and then Anchorage.
"Dawn's Light breaks upon the Fairbanks Alaska Railroad Depot with the Alaska Railroad's Gold Star Service ready to board and depart for an exciting railroad adventure," Kurt says. "I attempted to capture the light as it rises and shines its early morning golden light upon the station and train."
Jacobson will sign prints and posters in the Anchorage Depot on Saturday, December 1, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and at the Fairbanks Depot on Saturday, December 8 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Prints cost $50, posters cost $25, and pins cost $5. Items from the Alaska Railroad Giftshop will be available as well.
"Reflective" by North Pole artist and railfan Art Chase, continues the tradition of artwork featuring the Alaska Railroad.
Chase's design for the 2007 Alaska Railroad print includes a graphic salute to the steam engines of yesteryear and today's current locomotive power. The print features locomotive #751 signifying the past, a new AC power locomotive signifying movement toward the future, and the solid constant that signifies Alaska - Mount McKinley.
"I was trying to come up with a steam-oriented idea, but I also know that the railroad has always been forward thinking," said Art Chase. "I am really excited about this painting. I have wanted to create an Alaska Railroad annual print for a number of years."
Chase's photographic works has been featured in the 2005 Alaska Railroad Corporation's Annual Report. He is also a member of the team that restored the old Tanana Valley #1 engine in Fairbanks.
Chase will sign prints and posters in the new Fairbanks Depot on Saturday, December 9 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and in the Anchorage Depot the following Saturday, December 16, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Prints cost $50, posters cost $25, and pins cost $5.
The 2007 poster, print and pin are available from our online Gift Shop, at the Alaska Railroad Depot Ticket Windows or by calling 1-800-544-0552 ( in Anchorage 265-2494).
The 2006 Alaska Railroad Corporation's annual print is titled, "Lighting The Way" by Anchorage artist Kurt Jacobson.
This print features an Alaska Railroad SD-70MAC locomotive pulling passenger cars through the wintry backcountry of Alaska. The scene has Mount McKinley in the background with the train coming toward the viewer. This was Kurt's first submission to the Alaska Railroad Art competition.
Kurt was born and raised in Alaska. With no formal Art school training, he has taken lessons from other Alaskan artists such as Teresa Ascone in watercolors and from Bill Cross in Acrylic painting classes. After shattering his wrist in 1995 and having it rebuilt, his family convinced him to get serious about art. In 1998, he founded Snowbound Art Studios, and started selling his art at the Anchorage, downtown market. Today, his originals are sold in Art galleries in South Central Alaska as well as the larger Arts & Craft shows in Anchorage.
"The Alaska Railroad is an important mode of transportation for Alaska in the winter as well as the summer," says Kurt. "So the painting shows how beautiful Alaska is, in a winter snowfall, and how the railroad "Lights the Way" through a snowfall providing its service throughout Alaska."
The 2006 poster, print and pin are available from our online Gift Shop, at the Alaska Railroad Depot Ticket Windows or by calling 1-800-544-0552 ( in Anchorage 265-2494).
The 2005 Alaska Railroad Corporation print is entitled, "The Goodbye Caboose," by Anchorage artist Betty Atkinson. The winter scene depicts a child swinging at a park near Bootleggers Cove, waving at the passing caboose. The train is making its way north hugging Cook Inlet as it heads towards the Anchorage yard. In the background the sun is setting gently over Sleeping Lady.
Artist Betty Atkinson is an Anchorage resident. Her formal art training began at the University of Iowa and continued at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Alberta, Canada and most recently at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She has studied aborad in Europe on an art study tour. Betty's artwork has earned awards and have been shown in Juried Exhibitions throughout Alaska, the United States and England. A number of her pieces can be found in local galleries in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Seward.
This piece titled, "The Goodbye Caboose," was inspired by a scene that Betty Atkinson witnessed some years ago at Elderberry Park in Anchorage, Alaska.
"It was an early spring afternoon. The snow was still on he ground, but this young child was determined to use the swing. As the train went by, he waved at the caboose and I was reminded of my own childhood desire to wave at the train as it passed. For many of us that tradition goes on into adulthood. The sight and the sound of a passing train is a wonderful part of the American heritage. My passion is to paint the Alaskan landscape. Because the Alaska Railroad is an integral part of the Alaskan landscape, it was a pleasure to produce this artwork."
Approximately 4,500 posters and 750 prints are published. The posters sell for $25 and the prints for $50. Prints, posters and pins go on sale at the Anchorage and Fairbanks depots in early January.
This years print is a repeat performance by James Havens, who also painted the 2001 print. The painting depicts a southbound Whittier freight train traveling along Turnagain Arm with a pair of breaching orcas in the foreground.
The prints, posters and pins will be available in the Anchorage Depot on Saturday, January 3, 2004 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and in the Fairbanks Depot the following Saturday, January 10, 2004 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Prints will cost $50, posters$25, and pins $5, and will be also be available from the online gift shop after January 3.
The 2004 poster, print and pin are available from our online Gift Shop, at the Alaska Railroad Depot Ticket Window (see hours), or by calling 1-800-544-0552 ( in Anchorage 265-2494).
Painted by Sue Dranchak, the first ARRC employee ever selected to produce a railroad painting, this year's painting depicts the southbound Denali Star traveling through Healy Canyon.
Dranchak's painting includes the Nenana River and a reflection of the scenery in the side of the train, just as a passenger would observe from a vestibule. Dranchak currently works as a Mechanical Laborer in the Fairbanks Car Shop, and started at the railroad in 1995. She earned her art degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks last year, paying her way through school by working at the railroad.
Artist Debby Dubac completing the Alaska Railroad 2002 Print featuring one of Alaska Railroad's new SD70Mac locomotives.
The 2001 print byAnchorage artist James Havens features dall sheep overlooking a train passing by Beluga Point on the Turnagain Arm of South Central Alaska.
This Photomosaic by Robert Silvers is made of over 3,000 Alaska Railroad photos submitted by railfans. Featured in the print, waving the Alaska and U.S. flags aboard our 2001, are former Governor and CEO of Alaska Railroad Corporation, Bill Sheffield, and Board Chairman, Johne Binkley.
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