Courtesy Alaska Railroad
Alaska Railroad
The great, untamed wilderness of Alaska sits atop many travelers’ bucket lists. And while there are plenty of ways to experience this state, the Alaska Railroad gives passengers views that they won’t see from a bus or cruise ship.
“The train route covers about 500 miles,” said Susie Kiger, director of passenger sales and marketing. “It covers the south central and interior of Alaska, so your scenery ranges from coastal areas such as Whittier to Fairbanks. There are diverse landscapes with glaciers and mountains. As you go up north, you get into rolling hills and tundra.”
Travelers who buy land packages from major cruise lines operating in Alaska may get a ride aboard the cruise line’s private train cars between Denali and Anchorage. But independent groups can also book trips in the railroad’s main cars, which include glass-domed sightseeing cars and dining cars serving a la carte meals.
Although the Alaska Railroad is primarily a transit line, the scenery and wildlife opportunities keep most tourists enthralled during the ride.
“Our crew really tries hard to find animals for the guests,” Kiger said. “South of Anchorage, we see black and brown bears almost every day. Further north, you can see caribou from the train, and there are beaver pods. We’ve even seen whales from the train.”
Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad
[ Elkins, West Virginia ]
The wooded, hilly West Virginia landscape makes for great railroad terrain. Visitors to the Elkins area can experience the area’s waterfalls and other scenery on the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad’s several different excursions.
“Our area is very scenic,” said manager Naida Vonne Simpson. “We’re traveling alongside three different rivers and up into the mountains. A couple of our excursions have stops at the High Falls of the Cheat River.”
One of those is the New Tygart Flyer, a four-hour trip that takes visitors through an S-curve tunnel, into a 1,500-foot-deep canyon and across a high bridge over the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River. The train stops at High Falls and gives passengers 45 minutes to enjoy the waterfall.
The longer Cheat Mountain Salamander ride goes to the falls, then continues on to the Cheat Bridge. From there, groups can take a short bus ride to the Durbin Rocket, a two-hour steam engine ride.
The organization also offers a number of special experiences, such as the Mountain Explorer Dinner Train.
“It’s a four-hour round trip that serves a four-course, sit-down dinner on the train,” Simpson said. “We also have improv comedy and murder mysteries on the dinner train a few times every year.”
Arkansas Missouri Railroad
Established in 1986 as a freight operation between Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Monnet, Missouri, the Arkansas Missouri Railroad now offers a number of passenger excursions that show off the beauty of the Ozark Mountains.
“You’re going right through the foothills of the Boston Mountains and the Ozarks,” said passenger train operations manager Brenda Rouse. “There’s an artist point, where the trestles are 135 feet above the ground. It’s a lot of countryside that you wouldn’t see from the highway just driving.”
The company offers a variety of train tours that last one, three and a half, and eight hours. The main ride runs from Springdale to Van Buren in Arkansas and uses Alco locomotives, a much-loved American engine out of production since the 1960s.
Groups can choose from a variety of classes of service on the train, which can feature snacks or fine food and entertainment.
“We can do everything from peanut butter to prime rib on the train,” Rouse said. “We have an open-air car for spring and fall foliage. We can also set up train entertainment, like train robberies and our love theme, Romance on the Rails.”
