While visiting Alaska, we rode the Alaska Railroad several times. The hype was over following the first ride.
We rode as gold star ticket holders. This allowed us, as tourists, to sit in the 2-story forward car with the scenic panoramic windows. Along the entire route, each time, we had a hostess that incessantly repeated herself! While this may be her job, eventually passengers began to hear, 'whah whah whah whah whah whah (imagine Charlie Brown!) So tired of hearing 'chug chug chug or chuck your adult beverage' each time we stopped to load/unload people or 'the train doesn't leave people, people leave the train (to stretch their legs or take a smoke break!'
Breakfast was provided for our first ride! Half of our car's passengers were directed to a separate dining car down stairs of our 2-story car. We were given a choice of 4 options for breakfast (as well as 4 different choices for lunch when lunch was served.) None of the choices received overwhelming applause from the passengers. It seems as though we all just muddled through in order to have SOMETHING in our bellies!
Our first two rides were part of tours in which we were to see several types of wild animals. Between the two rides, we saw a plethora of beluga whales, several trumpet swans, dahl sheep, 2 osprey, several juvenile eagles, a few salmon, and a single moose. We've heard about the earthquake of 1964 and the pickled trees it left behind too many times to count!
While the railroad is a unique way to get around, I feel once is definitely enough to experience the landscapes of inland Alaska. The mountains, rivers, and other terrain covered by the Alaskan railway really aren't different enough from one another to warrant additional trips.
The train station & gift shop was more interesting than my successive excursions on the actual train. The cautionary safety speech followed by the 'ALL ABOARD' call was entertaining. The children's toys & books, postcards, ornaments, and other knick knacks/collectables in the gift shop drew large crowds before the train left the station, as well! read more