Alaska’s White Pass route adds modern diesels

SIX new 3300hp diesel locos built by National Railway Equipment Company (NREC) in Mount Vernon, Illinois in 2020 have been delivered to the 914mm (3 foot) gauge White Pass and Yukon Route (WPR) that runs from Alaska into Canada’s Yukon Territory. The new model E-3000E3B locos were originally built for export to Australia for operator Qube and the first four new WPR locos were originally built for but never delivered to

Qube, although it does have eight earlier locos delivered in 2011-12.

The new locos have an EMD 16-645E3C engine and will largely replace the classic old ‘Shovelnose’ diesels built by GE in 1954-56 and 1963-66 but re-engined with new Cummins engines replacing the original Alco 6-251B engines in 20082013, although some ‘Shovelnose’ locos will be retained for heritage use.

JULIAN GARRATT Old and new WPYR motive power at Skagway on May 10: On the left is a pair of GE ‘Shovelnose’ locos 98+90 and on the right new NREC E-3000E3B loco No. 3005. Most of the E-3000E3B locos are in the green and yellow traditional livery carried by the Shovelnose locomotives.