In 1956, the Alaska Railroad still had trains called the Aurora (now spelled AuRoRa to emphasize the railroad’s initials) and Midnight Sun, but they operated on very different schedules than in 1931. In the earlier year, both trains went from … Continue reading
The rock cut sheltering part of the train shown on the (back) cover of this booklet is obviously not the same as the rock cut on yesterday’s booklet, but where might it be? The illustration appears to portray the train … Continue reading
The train on the front cover of this 1932 booklet appears to be going through the same rock cut as on yesterday’s 1931 booklet — except that the tracks appear to be curving to the right today while they went … Continue reading
This is the 1931 edition of yesterday’s booklet, which was from 1927. One major change is that, instead of having a centerfold map of Alaska, this one has photos on the center pages and a much larger map that unfolds … Continue reading
We’ve previously seen booklets promoting the Alaska Railroad from 1934 and 1939. This one is from 1927, which was just four years after the line between Anchorage and Fairbanks was completed in 1923. Click image to download an 17.5-MB PDF … Continue reading
The golden color on the cover of this booklet is reminiscent of the 1939 Alaska Railroad booklet shown here previously. This 1934 edition shares some of the same headlines with the 1939 version, but the text and photographs are mostly … Continue reading
One group that benefitted from the creation of Amtrak was the Alaska Railroad and its passengers. Amtrak didn’t buy much equipment from the Union Pacific, so UP sold many of its cars to the Alaska Railroad for use on its … Continue reading
Alaska was still “America’s last frontier” in 1939, and though most of this booklet is oriented towards tourists, page 21 points out that the then-territory “offers opportunities for homestead settlement–free and exempt from taxes, adjacent to The Alaska Railroad.” The … Continue reading
In 1981, the Alaska Railroad’s train from Anchorage to Fairbanks used former Union Pacific streamlined coaches, domes, and dining cars. The cars were painted yellow–which may even have been Union Pacific Armour Yellow–and blue and the interiors still had large … Continue reading
