The Alaska Railroad
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click photo to enlarge |
The Alaska Railroad is currently owned by the state of Alaska. The United
States government was planning a railroad route from Seward to the interior
town of Fairbanks. President Taft authorized a commission to survey a route in
1912. The line would be more than 470 miles long and provide an all-weather
route to the interior. In 1914, the government bought the Alaska Northern
Railroad and moved its headquarters to "Ship Creek," later called Anchorage. |
click photo to enlarge |
The train ride from Anchorage to Seward turned out to be one of the most
beautiful rides I have been on. It had been raining on and off for the two
previous days so the mountains had a fresh coat of snow and were bight
white. The train was fairly empty too, so we could wander wherever we wanted.
We were told in another week or two the train would be totally full for the
rest of the season. Mostly we stayed in the last car so if something pretty
came up I just hopped out the back to take a photo. |
click photo to enlarge |
They really did a nice job on the train taking care of little things like
your luggage. When we boarded the train you put a tag on your luggage of
what hotel you are staying at and your bags got delivered there. We started
out in a domed car but soon ended up at the last car. There was only one
young couple in that car with us. The scenery was stunning and there is
one picture of a glacier that looks like it flows under a bridge. The train
would stop for you to see wildlife or scenes like the glacier. |
click photo to enlarge |
click photo to enlarge |
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