Seward Depot

There are two passenger depots in Seward, AK, but the original depot is no longer used by the Alaska Railroad. The original depot was built at milepost 0, the southernmost point on the Alaska Railroad. It was built before Anchorage had even been founded, and Seward was the location where people began their trip to Fairbanks and the interior of Alaska. When the railroad was completed, a trip to Fairbanks took two days by train, with an overnight layover in Curry. Curry no longer exists as anything more than a spur track, but that is a story for another day. The current Seward depot is pretty nondescript. It is a small wood frame building next to an asphalt platform at the end of the track. The current end of the track is at milepost 1.6.

At 5:36pm, on March 27, 1964, south central Alaska experienced a major earthquake. At the time, it was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, measuring at 9.2 on the Richter scale, and lasting around four minutes. The epicenter was east of Anchorage, so while there were effects statewide, the majority of the damage was at the south end of the railroad. One of the consequences of the earthquake was major elevation changes in areas near the ocean, including in Seward. Prior to the earthquake, the railroad continued south from the location of today's depot, along the shore line, and then around to the location of the original depot. Along the way there was a yard, some oil storage facilities, and numerous docks and piers.When the earthquake occurred, the soft silt and mud beneath all that gave way and slipped into Resurrection Bay, taking the railroad, piers, and oil facility with it. In addition, the earthquake generated tsunamis that affected Alaska, but also traveled out into the Pacific Ocean, reaching places as far away as California, Hawaii, and even New Zealand. The tsunamis reached Seward shortly after the earthquake and washed many buildings and facilities near the shore into the ocean. In addition to all this, the destroyed remains of the oil facility caught fire, and the fire was then spread throughout the town by the tsunami.

Despite all the destruction in Seward, and the fact that the old depot is located right next to the shore, it still stands. The mile and a half of track between it and the new depot were never rebuilt, which is why the railroad no longer goes to milepost 0. Today the old depot houses some of the offices of the Alaska Sea Life Center, but they have left the exterior almost exactly as it would have been while serving the railroad. There are some exhibits in there, and visitors to the Alaska Sea Life Center can usually visit those exhibits during normal business hours. Anyway, several days ago I was in Seward on a coal train and the hotel we stayed in was right around the corner from the old depot. It was a gorgeous day, so I decided to go for a little walk and take some pictures while I was at it.

The front of the old depot.

North end of the old depot. The concrete building in the background is the main part of the Alaska Sea Life Center.

South end of the old depot, the concrete porch is newer.

Former track side of the old depot.

Track side of the old depot. The parking lot is where the south end of the yard would have been located.

With the exception of a dock missing in the foreground, the view from the old platform is unchanged.