The depot is a quiet place during the winter. Between October and May, the Alaska Railroad only runs a few passenger trains per month, one to Fairbanks and back each weekend, and one to Hurricane on the first Thursday of each month. By the middle of May however, the depot will be a busy place several times a day, with daily departures to Fairbanks, Seward, and Whittier. The passenger trains will get longer as tourist traffic increases in the spring. Freight traffic also picks up in warmer weather, and is beginning to pick up now. It will slow down again in the fall, just like passenger traffic does. The Alaska Railroad is the only railroad in the US that still carries both freight and passengers.
The depot itself was built during World War II, to help accommodate the increase in passenger traffic during the war. Interestingly, the Alaska Railroad carried more troops during the war than any other railroad in the US. The depot has been renovated and remodeled inside since its completion. In the last couple of years, a high level platform was added to meet ADA boarding requirements.
The locomotive that sits out front, ARR #1, is an old tank style steam locomotive, with an 0-4-0 wheel arrangement. The locomotive belonged to the US government and was built for use in the constriction of the Panama Canal. The canal was finished in 1914, and many of the newly surplussed locomotives and freight cars from that project were brought to Alaska, to build the "government railroad." The federal government owned and operated the Alaska Railroad until the 1980s, when the state of Alaska purchased the railroad. Since the state purchased it, the railroad has been operated for profit and pays all of its operating expenses without receiving a subsidy from the state.
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