26 October 2012

The Alaska Railroad

October 26, 2012 Alaska

My grandparents first landed in Alaska in the 50s to work on the Alaska railroad. My grandfather had worked the railroad in west Texas & east New Mexico and decided to pick up his family and move to Alaska. They had 2 kids still living at home, my dad was in his senior year of high school and my aunt, Marie. However, my dad did not move with his parents. He was able to stay in a garage apartment of some family friends to finish out his senior year, so aunt Marie was their only child to move with them.

A year later my dad graduated high school and made his way to college in Las Vegas, New Mexico (yes New Mexico, not Nevada) where he met my mom and they were married by summer. The intrigue of moving to Alaska never left my dad and somehow my mom caught the bug as well. As my parents say, they honeymooned the AlCan, the Alaska Canadian highway, in 1953.

The railroad holds lots of history and memories for my family. I remember stories from my grandma. The most interesting thing I remember was taking a trip with her to Skagway, Alaska. It was a trip with my parents and 2 grandmas. We drove our motorhome up through central Alaska, down to Whitehorse, Canada and took a train to Skagway putting our motorhome on the train (we sat in a train car for the ride).

While on the train she began pointing out various places along the way where they had worked the railroad. It didn't take long before my grandmother had quite a crowd of people around her as she shared points of interest and tales of old, one after another.

Skagway is a beautiful location and is a popular stop on some of the Alaskan cruises. If you ever find yourself on an Alaskan cruise in Skagway you MUST take the train ride tour. It is a beautiful ride!!

Anyway, all this to say we stopped at the Railroad Depot in Anchorage.

There you can see Engine #1, the Yukon Territory's first steam locomotive that arrived in 1905.

There was a small giftshop inside where we got Brennan his train. Or rather, engine.
I must say, Alaska has the prettiest engines in the nation!! Not that I'm biased or anything. Ha!

At the giftshop I also found this book, which I plan on getting soon!! Outhouses of Alaska!! Outhouses are still sometimes all you can find in the middle of nowhere Alaska, other than a bush or a tree!!