(Book your Alaska Railroad, Seward Lodging Package)
The State of Alaska rail heritage dates back to 1898 when the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad completed its 111-mile route between Skagway and Whitehorse. Not long after, in 1903 the Alaska Central Railway (the states first) completed its main line between Seward and 50 miles northward. It went bankrupt just four years later and was reorganized as the Alaskan Northern Railway. The Alaska Northern extended the rail to Kern Creek, an additional 21 miles by 1910. The Alaska Railroad came into being in 1914 when Congress purchased the Alaskan Northern Railway and authorized funding to complete a 400 mile line from Seward to Fairbanks. With the completion of the Alaska Railroad, a whole new era in communication and transportation began. The Railroad not only carried the mail but alongside the tracks was the nations longest, public owned, telegraph line. This line was connected by marine cable with Seattle in 1934, connecting Alaska to the rest of the country with instant communication. By 1944 with the second port at Whittier (the other being at Anchorage, the Alaska Railroad headquarters by 1915 having been moved from Seward), the Alaska Railroad. was all but complete and has changed little over the last 70 plus years. These first trains also hauled the latest and greatest machinery into the interior. Before the Alaska Railroad was completed, this large equipment had to be shipped to Valdez, then hauled up the Richardson Trail to Fairbanks. This trail usually took two to three weeks to cover. An even longer seasonal route was across the Pacific and Bering Sea and up the Yukon and Tanana Rivers on stern wheel steamers. This route often took a month or more to complete. But now with the Railroad you could get your equipment from the ship at Seward to Fairbanks in four to five days. The Alaska Railroad became state owned in the 1980’s when President Ronald Reagan, in 1983, signed legislation transferring ownership of the Railroad to the state of Alaska. The transfer was official on January 5, 1985 when on that day the Alaska Railroad came under ownership by the state of Alaska.
The development of the Alaska Railroad opened endless possibilities for freight as well as passengers to Alaska. Book your advanced Alaska Railroad, Seward Lodging package today, to begin your trip of a life time to Alaska.