Those are great photos! Carving ice -- especially in such detail -- is not easy. Anchorage has some talented artists.
I took part in the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks http://www.icealaska.com many years ago. It was fun but c-o-l-d (minus 20 to 30) at night. The ice was harvested from a gravel pit next to the ice park, and because there was no vegetable matter in the water the blocks were crystal clear -- like the one your husband is looking through.
There were two competitions: the single block contest, where teams of two had 60 hours to turn a 5ft x 8ft x 3ft block weighing about 7,800 lbs. into something wonderful or playful, like the sculptures in your pics.
There was also a multiple block competition where teams of 4 persons had 10 blocks, each measuring 4ft x 6ft x 3.3ft. --about 46,000 pounds of ice total -- to work with. The teams have 192 hours -- 9 am Sunday to 9 pm Friday -- to create their masterpieces. I was on one of these teams with three Russians, which was interesting since neither spoke the other's language. Lots of hand gestures got us through the week. We used a variety of tools -- forklifts, chainsaws, chisels, blowtorches and bare hands -- to create a 25 ft. high abstract butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. We put in about 14 hours a day and completed the sculpture with a couple of hours to spare, giving us time to stand around drinking vodka and watching the other teams frantically trying to finish their sculptures before the clock ran out. We won our category, which was a bonus to a unique experience.
Like above, one competitor did an empty sphere; the difference was that his was big enough that he hollowed it out by climbing inside!
Throughout the winter in Fairbanks ice sculptures would show up all over town. Some were sponsored by merchants -- a giant tooth in front of a dentist's office, a dog sitting patiently beside the front door of a vet's office. Others, like those in the OP, just appeared randomly and whimsically in parks and on street corners throughout town. While I never saw a train -- which is great! -- there were a number of other sculptures for children to play on. At the Ice Park soldiers from nearby Fort Wainwright created a gigantic mastadon with a long slide down its back for the young and young at heart.
When spring thaw came, the sculptures would melt and their water would return to the gravel pit, only to reappear in new and different works of art the following winter. It was really quite magical.
I live in the desert now, and while I don't miss the sub-zero Alaskan winters (it's 50 degrees here and minus 15 degrees in Fairbanks right now), I do long for the ice competition, sled dog races, auroras and good friendships we made.
Thanks for sharing the photos and bringing back so many good memories.
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