September 2021 is truly the "Month of The Train" for me. Just a few days before my Coast Starlight trip, I had the privilege of traveling on Alaska Railroad's "Coastal Classic" train which runs from Anchorage to Seward. My trip was a daytime round-trip--leaving Anchorage at 6:00 AM and returning just after 10 PM. I traveled in the luxurious "Gold Star" service. The trip takes 4 and 1/2 hours each way. It is, without a doubt, the most scenic train trip I have ever been on.
The Alaska Railroad Depot in Anchorage is elegant. It features a waiting area, as well as a gift shop selling Alaska Railroad memorabilia. The Alaska Railroad is unique in that it only serves Alaska and has no physical connection to Canada or the Lower 48 except for a rail barge at Whittier.
Gold Star Service features seats in a full-length observation dome car, with a dining room on the lower level. There is also an open-air observation platform (the only kind in the world) at the end of the car's second level. Gold Star Service includes complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages throughout the journey, as well as a full course meal in the dining room on the lower level. My parents and I went on the trip. We had an Alaskan hot breakfast featuring reindeer sausage, biscuits and gravy, and Alaskan home fries. For the return trip, we had Alaskan Pot Roast, the signature dish of the Alaska Railroad.
The scenery aboard this route is unsurpassed. You travel past Turnagain Arm, and then climb the mountains of the Kenai Peninsula where you see waterfalls, mountains with beautiful glaciers, wildlife and very-well engineered rail infrastructure. A highlight of the trip is traveling through a horseshoe curve that traverses a mountain pass about 45 miles north of Seward. All of the line is single-track, and so you are really up close with the scenery. Seward is a quaint port town on the Gulf of Alaska that serves as the head of the Alaska Railroad. Freights routinely ship goods from Seward north to Anchorage and Fairbanks, and also exports from these two cities to be loaded onto ships in Seward. After we arrived in Seward, we took a tour boat to Kenai Fjords National Park, where we saw such wildlife as bald eagles, sea lions, puffins, killer whales, and humpback whales. We also saw spectacular Aialik Glacier up close!! It was a magnificent sight!
The Coastal Classic is considered Alaska Railroad's most popular excursion train, and I can clearly see why it is. We rode on the very last train of the season.
The Alaska Railroad Depot in Anchorage is elegant. It features a waiting area, as well as a gift shop selling Alaska Railroad memorabilia. The Alaska Railroad is unique in that it only serves Alaska and has no physical connection to Canada or the Lower 48 except for a rail barge at Whittier.
Gold Star Service features seats in a full-length observation dome car, with a dining room on the lower level. There is also an open-air observation platform (the only kind in the world) at the end of the car's second level. Gold Star Service includes complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages throughout the journey, as well as a full course meal in the dining room on the lower level. My parents and I went on the trip. We had an Alaskan hot breakfast featuring reindeer sausage, biscuits and gravy, and Alaskan home fries. For the return trip, we had Alaskan Pot Roast, the signature dish of the Alaska Railroad.
The scenery aboard this route is unsurpassed. You travel past Turnagain Arm, and then climb the mountains of the Kenai Peninsula where you see waterfalls, mountains with beautiful glaciers, wildlife and very-well engineered rail infrastructure. A highlight of the trip is traveling through a horseshoe curve that traverses a mountain pass about 45 miles north of Seward. All of the line is single-track, and so you are really up close with the scenery. Seward is a quaint port town on the Gulf of Alaska that serves as the head of the Alaska Railroad. Freights routinely ship goods from Seward north to Anchorage and Fairbanks, and also exports from these two cities to be loaded onto ships in Seward. After we arrived in Seward, we took a tour boat to Kenai Fjords National Park, where we saw such wildlife as bald eagles, sea lions, puffins, killer whales, and humpback whales. We also saw spectacular Aialik Glacier up close!! It was a magnificent sight!
The Coastal Classic is considered Alaska Railroad's most popular excursion train, and I can clearly see why it is. We rode on the very last train of the season.
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