Alaska Railroad Tours are a great method to see the Alaskan frontier in a new and exciting way. Back in 1904 construction first began on Alaska Railroad, formally known as Alaska Central.

Alaska Central was begun as a way to transport goods from the seaport of Seward to the land in Interior Alaska.

Because this large project was started by private funding, finances were pretty tight. In 1909 when the laws changed, forbidding private access to coal, suddenly all coal had to be imported for the railroad. As you can probably guess, imports were expensive and money soon ran out. Alaska Central filed for bankruptcy.

 A company known as the Alaska Northern Railroad soon took over the job left undone and construction continued until 1912. When that company also failed, it became apparent that a railroad would need to be sponsored and paid for by the government.

On March 12, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson gave permission for the construction to continue on the railroad set to run from Seward to Fairbanks. His plan for the railroad was that it was to be 1000 miles long and cost nearly $35 million dollars! From there on, the Alaska Engineering Commission was put in charge of the project.

It was decided that the railroad should begin in Seward because they needed a sea port and Seward sat right on Resurrection Bay, plus in the winter the chilly waters did not freeze so there would be no problems of the icy sort.

In 1915, the U.S. government bought the 71 miles of track which was constructed and owned by Alaska Northern for $16,000 for each mile of track. As construction went forward, the project began to grow. Along the way of the track, coal mines were opening up to supply the locomotives with coal to operate.

Finally on July 15, 1923 the Alaska Railroad officially opened.  President Warren G. Harding drove the gold spike, the last one until completion into the ground. Of course, as history would tell it, Mr. Harding did miss the spike two previous times before giving it a good whack. On his way back home, President Harding stopped to have lunch at the Fairview Inn in Talkeetna. He was feeling ill and died of a heart attack on August 2, 1923.

Nowadays, the Alaska Railroad operates between Anchorage, Seward, and Whittier to the south and Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali, and Fairbanks to the north. It no longer serves its original purpose to transport goods but it does make a very good scenic train ride for those who choose to forgo the experience.

You see lots of wildlife in the luxurious cars and leave the stress of highway transportation back on the loading dock. The Alaskan Railroad may be complete now, but it is far from being history.  A ride on the Alaskan Railroad Tour is one you just don’t want to miss.