Some kids are suckers for trains. I admit I was one of them.
At least once or twice a week a few of us “trainies” would head for the local tracks near the neighborhood and try to clock in the speeds as the shiny cars sped along a (now quite well-known) corridor in Philadelphia. There was a special thrill about learning the signals and trying to understand how everything worked. And then there was the fact that they seemed so big from where we stood. We especially loved the long haul sleeper trains with their huge engines. Where would they wind up? In New Orleans, maybe? Jeez, if you were lucky the engineer might spot you and hail an impromptu wave while he blew the horn. That was the ultimate.
Come Christmas my brother would drag out our HO model train set from a big box in the storage room and my Dad would set up a wooden platform in the dining room on saw horses away from the tree. He’d get frustrated when the few sets we had didn’t run exactly as planned. But finally when we managed to get them all going like clockwork it was magical. We’d turn out the lights and watch them light up as they glided along the tiny tracks. I realized then that I was not alone in my fascination with the railroad and when I traveled all over Europe without experiencing one train excursion I knew I was missing something.
So, I find myself in Alaska and after a few days of tripping the light fantastic so to speak (no, not partying until the wee hours but staying up late to spot the elusive Aurora Borealis), I decide to take that long awaited train trip. Lady Aurora had shown her colors for 3 nights in a row and even though we were worn out from lack of sleep and the frigid temperatures, not to mention trekking to out of the way viewing spots, we were leaving on a high (although alas, with only 2 hours sleep). So what, we would catch up on zzzz on the train (so I thought)!
And so, bundled in our long johns on a freezing morning with the temperature hovering at 0 degrees, we boarded the Denali Star and slowly chugged away on the Alaska Railroad heading south to Anchorage from Fairbanks.
Feeling a little bit out of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, the bright yellow and blue train inched its way out of the station as the conductor yelled “All aboard!” We had arrived at the station early and it was all I could do to keep from standing out in the cold admiring the beautiful machinery of those awaiting cars in the golden sunrise. It was winter and there were just 3 passenger cars but just like when I was 10 they seemed larger than life.
I have to admit that when I started planning my visit to Alaska, riding the rails from Fairbanks to Anchorage on the Alaska Railroad was one of the first things on my list. It was an all day excursion and a no brainer. I was a “trainie” after all. I had a few minutes to browse the gift shop before boarding and lo and behold displayed within a glass case was the actual model engine in HO size, for sale and priced at $170. I tried hard to recall if it was one of the pieces in our Christmas set.
Pulling slowly out of the station, we were welcomed by Alana, our lively commentator for the 12 hour journey. Slowly the cars inched their way along the outskirts of Fairbanks before rolling into a snowy white Alaska countryside. Little by little the drop dead scenery unfolded, the train piercing through endless miles of boreal forests on a route marked by numerical mileposts, which you could follow in the trip guide I’d bought for a few bucks at the ticket counter. Less than an hour later we were threading our way through nearly deserted ghost towns with names like Nenana, Ferry and Glitter Gulch then zig zagging around stunning Denali National Park after lunch, all the while edging a snow-capped backdrop of the Talkeetna Mountain Range. I had seen similar sights like this in Norway and Switzerland but in Alaska the mountains seemed to almost be ready to swallow the tiny train, sometimes soaring to an elevation of nearly 6000 feet, the peaks straddling miniscule mining outposts like Windy and Cantwell, population 200.
Alana and the cheerful dining car crew were like fun-starved party hosts, coaxing the eager passengers to shout “mooooose, mooooose, mooooose” at each and every sighting of the roving beast. And when we finally spotted two of the massive animals foraging just past Honolulu, halfway point between Fairbanks and Anchorage (that’s right – MP 289), the train slowed to a halt for photo opps (nice!). Alana, as perky as ever, made the call-out, never missing to detail a special moment during the trip. “Who knew there’d be moose in Honolulu”, she yelled. And just about every person onboard lost it.
A few minutes later, we were treated to the cloud-covered peak of Mt. Denali looming 20,310 feet high above the earth, the highest mountain in North America. When the train finally pulled into Anchorage tooting its horn at half past eight at night, it was clear that everyone had snapped some of the best photos ever.
As we collected our bags from the porter and entered the station I had the ultimate surprise. The railroad was exhibiting a full blown display of model trains at the Anchorage station with both HO and HO Scale (mini-sized) sets. A bespectacled old engineer was on hand to answer questions about the display. He was obviously a serious “trainie” and reminded me of the men we admired at the helm of those gleaming engines of yesteryear. He did a great job of explaining all the sets and how many manpower hours it took to execute the tableau.
We grabbed our checked bags and headed out into the Anchorage night to find some sleep. If only he could have blown the horn, too.
*With trains departing Anchorage on Tuesdays and southbound trains departing Fairbanks on Wednesdays, the Aurora Winter Train operates from Mid-September to Mid-May, going through Anchorage, Mat-Su Valley, Mount Mckinley, and Fairbanks.
From the TravelSquire Editors: The Alaska Railroad is a full-service passenger and freight railroad servicing ports and communities from the Gulf of Alaska to Fairbanks. It carries more than 400,000 passengers annually along the coast, over mountain passes and to the heart of the interior.
In 1985, the federal government sold the Alaska Railroad to the State of Alaska for $22 million, and ever since the railroad has continued its tradition of providing travelers with a world-class train ride and unmatched passenger service. It has six $4 million GoldStar double-deck dome cars (in use summer only). The cars travel routes from Seward to Anchorage, and Anchorage to Fairbanks, with stops in Denali National Park. It was recognized as an Alaska Scenic Byway in 1997 for its outstanding scenic, natural and historic features.