The Alaska Railroad

Sometimes a forgotten carrier because of location, the Alaska Railroad (ARR) today is a Class II, Regional operation with nearly 400 miles of trackage. Its lines are essentially a single mainline stretching from Seward in the south to Fairbanks in the north. Since its beginnings in the early 1900s the railroad has done much to bring prosperity and a transportation need to a region and state that lacks infrastructure because of topography. While it may not seem likely the Alaska Railroad does have a lot of freight business with wide range of customers part of which is thanks to its two port connections. And, with recent expansions the company is looking to even further develop its services. Today the ARR is owned by the State of Alaska (since 1985) and is one of only a few private railroads in the country to still host passenger trains regularly (especially during the summer months, serving vacationers), adorned in a beautiful dark blue and yellow livery with ALASKA flanking the sides of its locomotives.

The Alaska Northern extended the system to Kern Creek, 71 miles from Seward by 1910. The Alaska Railroad came into being in 1914 when Congress purchased the Alaska Northern and authorized funding to complete a line from Seward to Fairbanks, realizing that a privately funded railroad probably could not complete the link to the state's largest cities due to the high cost and relative low return on investment (in other words, the new business gained would not be able to cover construction expenses). With the government takeover and new funding the first step was to purchase the narrow-gauge Tanana Valley Railroad near Fairbanks, which operated about a 45-mile system serving nearby mines.

The Alaska Railroad became state owned in the 1980s when President Ronald Reagan, in 1983, signed legislation transferring ownership of the railroad to the State of Alaska. The transfer was official on January 5th, 1985 when on that day the ARR came under ownership by the state. The state spent $22.3 million to purchase the railroad although the final price tag was nearly $100 million as Alaska had to spend an additional $70 million bringing the right-of-way up to proper standards due to many years of deferred maintenance. To learn more about the Alaska Railroad please click here to visit their official website.

In all, the Alaska's system runs roughly due north winding its way from Seward in the south to Eielson in the north, where the Alaska serves the Eielson Air Force Base. And, currently the Alaska Railroad’s roster consists entirely of EMD power from two F40PHs to more than two-dozen almost-new SD70MACs.

Throughout the years the Alaska has a wide range of steam and diesel locomotives it has rostered. However, the below information covers only the current units on the fleet. Of note, if you might be interested in learning more about the companies fleet of steam locomotives please click here.

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