PHOTO: Since 1923, Alaska Railroad has been carrying passengers and cargo in America’s last true frontier.

It all began on July 15, 1923, in Nenana, Alaska, when President Warren G. Harding drove a golden spike into the rail, marking the official completion of the Alaska Railroad from Seward north to Fairbanks. Ever since then, Alaska Railroad’s (800-544-0552, www.alaskarr.com) familiar blue and gold trains have been carrying cargo and passengers in America’s last true frontier state. The railroad was in on the ground floor of “Seward’s Folly,” predating even Alaska’s admission into the United States in 1959. When you put your clients on the Alaska Railroad (AR), you are essentially giving them a seat in Alaskan history.

AR is a full-service passenger and freight railroad connecting Alaska’s ports to various communities in the Southcentral and Interior regions of the state and also offers the nation’s last flag stop train. The railroad offers a great scenic ride with wildlife-viewing opportunities for more than 400,000 guests annually, riding on seven different routes along the Alaska Railbelt.

A large percentage of AR’s business comes from cruise ships, which the company partners with on excursions. Many travelers board the train in Seward and Whittier, the ports used by cruise lines such as Holland America Line and Princess Cruises.

AR recently put out a sampler of its two- to 10-day programs. The seven-day “Deluxe Alaska Sampler” (May 31 to Sept. 5) exemplifies all that goes into one of the company’s packages. Not just a train ride, this particular package adds in a visit to Denali National Park & Preserve behind the wheel of a 4x4 as well as rafting, a glacier cruise, a wildlife tour and rail journeys to Seward, Girdwood and Denali. AR vacation packages usually include rail transport, tours and hotels in Alaska’s most popular destinations.

The six-day “Glacier Cruise & Interior Alaska” (May 31 to Sept. 6) visits Whittier, Denali and Fairbanks, and even dips into the Arctic Circle, ending with a flight from Fairbanks back to Anchorage. The six-day “Denali & Spencer Glacier” (May 27 to Sept. 6) goes beyond the glacier with a Tundra Wilderness Tour and a float trip on a glacial river. The five-day “Taste of Alaska” (May 21 to Sept. 6) includes a glacier and wildlife cruise through Kenai Fjords National Park, Mount McKinley flightseeing and more. The two-day “Real Alaska Tour” (May 10 to Sept. 13) gives you a package you can sell as a short break.

Assembling the Total Experience

Altogether, the company’s website (www.alaskarailroad.com) features 10 vacation packages ranging in length between two and 10 days, but knowledgeable reservationists are ready to customize, which they can do readily, thanks to their multitude of supplier partnerships with everything from flightseeing operators to hotels and small land operators. “On the rail side we don’t market passes, just point-to-point rail travel, but we package vacations adding tours, hotels, extras such as flightseeing and other components to create a total vacation package,” said Bruce LaLonde, AR’s director of guest services and passenger marketing.

While the packages were conceived by people who know Alaska extremely well, AR is more than willing to customize. “If you book through Alaska Railroad, we can put it all together exactly as the client wants it,” LaLonde said. “We can customize for individuals or groups, and we are happy to work closely with travel agents. In fact, we pay 10 percent commission.

“For instance, if a client wants to book our six-night “Alaska’s National Parks by Rail,” which visits all of the state’s national parks, but he or she only has five nights, we can tailor the trip to those requirements,” says LaLonde. “We also sell a lot of groups with agents. We provide a free seat for every 20 passengers and we discount on the rail portion for groups as well.

LaLonde also noted that the company does a lot of day trips off of the cruises. “Daytrips are popular in general,” he said. “Anchorage to Talkeetna is a very popular route. Talkeetna is a quirky little Alaskan town. It is where the climbers headed to Mount McKinley stay, and it’s also a center for flightseeing around the mountain. People often go to Denali and hop on the buses that head into the park, where they almost always see wildlife.”

AR offers two classes of service. The basic service is Adventure Class that uses coach-like cars with comfortable seating and full dining service. GoldStar is the highest class of service using dome cars with reclining seats. “GoldStar uses the upper level of two-tier cars, and so we are the only railroad offering upper-level outdoor platform viewing,” said LaLonde. “It’s great for viewing and taking pictures, because the extra height brings you over any vegetation in the foreground.”

While AR sells the rail portions only on a point-to-point basis, the reservations staff is there to either sell complete packages or to add or subtract to the client’s requirements. “Most people [including agents] just book on our website, but vacations are more complex, and so people work with our reservations staff,” said LaLonde. “Our reservations people are all from Alaska, and we encourage them to travel around the state and know the products they’re selling. When you deal with one of our staff you’re talking to people who personally know what they’re selling. We want that from our employees. We want them to be excited about the product.”

The vast majority of AR’s out-of-state passengers come during summer and book through travel agents and are usually over 55 years of age, affluent and educated. More and more families are traveling on AR trains. “It’s a great way for families to vacation, because they don’t have to strap into cars,” said LaLonde. “They can move freely throughout the train and interact with each other.”

Though most tourists come in summer, winter is definitely growing for AR. “Last year was a record winter for us, and we had to add frequency,” said LaLonde. “We saw a lot of people from Europe and Asia. Winter travel is a different experience. It creates a real community among the travelers, and it’s just beautiful up here with the Northern Lights, and Denali is just beautiful that time of year. We are a four-season destination.”

AR educates travel agents by offering fam trips and by providing information through its trade-dedicated space on the company website at www.alaskarr.com/traveltrade. It features a 36-minute webinar on how to sell the product. Agents can also order or download the company brochure on the site. The railroad, which is a private corporation owned by the state of Alaska and with no connection to Amtrak, is an icon of Alaskan frontier culture. The railroad receives no state subsidies and is wholly self-sustaining, living entirely on its own revenues.