X-Nico

11 unusual facts about Alaska Railroad


Bill Sheffield

After leaving the position of Governor, Sheffield served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Alaska Railroad from 1985 to 1997.

Clear, Alaska

Clear is 4 miles south of the Alaska Railroad Clear Site station established about 1918 at mile 392.9 ARR.

District of Alaska

In 1902 the Alaska Railroad began to be built, which would connect from Seward to Fairbanks by 1914, though Alaska still has no railroad connecting it to the lower 48 states today.

EMD F40C

Along with a small fleet of HEP-equipped EMD SD70MAC locomotives operating on the Alaska Railroad, the F40Cs are the last six-axle passenger locomotives in daily service in North America.

EMD MP15DC

The Alaska Railroad had four MP15DCs used as yard switching engines, numbered 1551-1554.

George Alexander Parks

To offset running deficits and reduced federal subsidies, rates for the Alaska Railroad were raised and a toll was implemented on the Richardson Highway.

Hope Highway

The original highway connected the city of Hope to Moose Pass, which then took people to Anchorage via the Alaska Railroad.

Loren Leman

He was also a sponsor of legislation to enable the Alaska Railroad to complete its most recent track realignment and improvement project from Ship Creek to Wasilla.

Maynard L. Taylor, Jr.

He was employed by the Civil Aviation Administration and the Alaska Railroad, and taught at the newly founded Anchorage Community College, the predecessor to the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Nenana River

The upper valley of the river furnishes approximately 100 mi (160 km) of the northern route of both the Alaska Railroad and the Parks Highway (Alaska State Highway 3) connecting Fairbanks and Anchorage.

Patrick K. Gamble

Following his service in the Air Force, Gamble became a senior executive for the Alaska Railroad, where he succeeded Bill Sheffield as President of the railroad.


Hoquiam, Washington

Anton Anderson - chief engineer of Alaska Railroad; Mayor of Anchorage; worked as a surveyor in Hoquiam.

Princess Tours

Princess Tours runs ten cars a day (five north, five south) from Anchorage to Fairbanks on the Alaska Railroad, stopping at Talkeetna, Denali, and occasionally Whittier.

Railroads Illustrated

The magazine's well-known cover icon was an image of an Alaska Railroad F-unit.