Train Museums in Alaska: Every Railroad Museum by Town
- 5 museums
- 4 towns
- 2 with train rides
- 1 free
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Few railways anywhere were built the way the White Pass & Yukon Route was: blasted through the coastal mountains above Skagway in only 26 months during the Klondike Gold Rush, climbing almost 3,000 feet in 20 miles. That line is one of 5 Alaska museums and rail sites in 4 towns on this page, which belongs to our family guide to train museums in every state. Type your town into the finder below to see what is closest.
The rest of the list follows the Alaska Railroad from the ocean to the Interior. Seward's 1917 depot stands at the southern end of the line, the Anchorage Museum is the big indoor stop in the largest city, and Fairbanks' Pioneer Park pairs a summer park train with Engine No. 1, the oldest operating steam locomotive in Alaska and the Yukon.
Distances are long and most rail sites open only in summer, roughly May to September, so plan around the season and check each card for current times.
Look inside the book
Big engines, little legs. Bring Rally along.
In Rally Takes the Train, a corgi's little legs can't manage the big train stairs, so Dad gives him a boost. It takes about five minutes to read, a good fit for the drive to an Alaska train museum.
Rally Takes the Train
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Quick picks: where to start in Alaska
Best train ride
Skagway
The White Pass Summit Excursion climbs past tunnels, trestles and a 1901 cantilever bridge in about 2.5 to 2.75 hours round trip.
Best first visit with a toddler
Fairbanks
Park admission is free, and the summer train loop plus a carousel make an easy outing for small kids.
Free steam engine
Fairbanks
Engine No. 1, an 1899 H.K. Porter, is small enough not to frighten little ones, and admission costs nothing.
Rainy or snowy day
Anchorage Museum (Alaska Railroad history)
Anchorage
Open year-round in downtown Anchorage, with a hands-on Discovery Center and a planetarium, though its railroad exhibit has closed.
Arrive by train
Seward Depot (Alaska Railroad)
Seward
Ride the Alaska Railroad's summer train from Anchorage, then walk to the 1917 depot that survived the 1964 earthquake.
Map of every train museum in Alaska
Every train museum in Alaska, town by town
5 museums in 4 towns, A to Z by town. Tap any museum for its own page: the full story, what to see, what kids can do, hours, tickets, contact details and 20 answers to the questions families ask.
Anchorage
Museum with a major rail exhibit
Anchorage Museum (Alaska Railroad history)
Alaska's largest museum, in downtown Anchorage, hosted the Alaska Railroad's centennial exhibition in 2023 and 2024. That show has closed, but the museum is open year-round with a hands-on Discovery Center and planetarium for kids.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsFairbanks: 2 train museums
Both Fairbanks stops share 44-acre Pioneer Park, so one free-admission visit covers the park train, Engine No. 1 at the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum and the 1923 Harding Car. Plan a summer visit, between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day.
Outdoor rail park
Pioneer Park Railroad
A summer train that loops around Fairbanks' Pioneer Park, a free-admission history park with a pioneer village, a carousel, the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum and President Harding's 1923 railroad car. Confirm schedule and fares before you go.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsRailroad museum
Tanana Valley Railroad Museum
A free summer museum in Fairbanks' Pioneer Park built around Engine No. 1, the oldest operating steam locomotive in Alaska and the Yukon. Volunteers restored it over a decade and still fire it up for special events.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsSeward
Historic rail site
Seward Depot (Alaska Railroad)
Seward's 1917 railroad depot, the Gateway to Alaska at the southern end of the Alaska Railroad, survived the 1964 earthquake and is on the National Register. Summer trains from Anchorage still bring visitors to town.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsSkagway
Heritage railroad with a museum
White Pass & Yukon Route
Skagway's Gold Rush narrow gauge railway climbs almost 3,000 feet in 20 miles, past tunnels, trestles and a 1901 cantilever bridge. The White Pass Summit Excursion takes 2.5 to 2.75 hours; trains run May to September.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsCompare every Alaska train museum side by side
Type, train rides, admission, hours and who each one suits, in one table. Tap a column to sort it, or a museum to open its page.
| Hours | Best for | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Museum (Alaska Railroad history)Anchorage | Rail gallery | No | See the Hours and Tickets page on anchoragemuseum.org. $5 Third Thursdays offered | Open year-round; see the museum's Hours and Tickets page for current times | Families wanting an indoor day in downtown Anchorage |
| Pioneer Park RailroadFairbanks | Rail park | Yes | Park admission free; train fare charged | Summer; check with Pioneer Park for current train times | Families with young kids visiting Fairbanks in summer |
| Tanana Valley Railroad MuseumFairbanks | Railroad museum | No | Free | Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day; check with the park for daily times | Steam fans and families spending the day at Pioneer Park |
| Seward Depot (Alaska Railroad)Seward | Historic site | No | Free to view the exterior; city tours $45 to $171 in 2026 | Depot interior hours not posted; Alaska Railroad summer service to Seward | Families riding the Alaska Railroad to Seward |
| White Pass & Yukon RouteSkagway | Heritage railroad | Yes | 2026: Summit Excursion $155 adult, $77.50 child; Steam Summit Loop $249 adult, $180 child; Bennett Scenic Journey $289 adult, $144.50 child | Seasonal, May to September; departure times vary by excursion | Cruise visitors, families and rail fans in Skagway |
No museum on this page matches every filter you picked.
Alaska rail day trips
Trip 1
A summer day in Pioneer Park
- Pioneer Park RailroadFairbanks
- Tanana Valley Railroad MuseumFairbanks
The park train and the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum sit on the same grounds in Fairbanks. Ride the loop around the park's edge, walk over to see Engine No. 1 and Old 67, then find the Harding Car. Ask the Friends of the Tanana Valley Railroad when Engine No. 1 will next be fired up.
Trip 2
Anchorage to the sea by rail
Spend a day at the Anchorage Museum, then take the Alaska Railroad's summer train south to Seward, about 78 miles away as the crow flies. Walk to the 1917 depot at Adams Street and Ballaine Boulevard. The one-hour Historical City Tour picks up at the train depot if you want a guided look at the town.
Tips for Alaska rail trips with kids
- For young children, choose the White Pass Summit Excursion; the eight-hour Bennett Scenic Journey suits older kids with more patience.
- White Pass child fares are about half the adult price on most trips as of the 2026 season, and some coaches have wheelchair lifts, so ask when booking.
- The White Pass summit trip is Alaska's most popular shore excursion, so book ahead on the railway's website.
- The Tanana Valley Railroad Museum is open only from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.
- Pioneer Park does not post its train schedule online; confirm times and fares with the park before you go.
- The Anchorage Museum's railroad centennial exhibit closed in February 2024, so visit for the Discovery Center and planetarium, and check the exhibitions page for rail shows.
- Seward depot interior hours are not posted, so ask locally whether the building is open on your visit.
How railroads opened up Alaska
Gold brought the first big railway. After the 1896 strike in the Klondike, tens of thousands of stampeders poured into Skagway, and the White Pass & Yukon Route was built to carry them and their freight over the mountains. Its golden spike was driven at Carcross, Yukon, on July 29, 1900, linking Skagway's deepwater port to Whitehorse on a 110-mile line. Up north, the 3-foot narrow gauge Tanana Valley Railroad served Fairbanks' first industry from 1905 until about 1917.
The Alaska Railroad tied the territory together. Its depot at Seward opened in 1917, when the town was called the Gateway to Alaska, and by 1923 the tracks linked that ocean port with Fairbanks. President Warren G. Harding traveled north that year to mark the line's completion, the first U.S. president to visit Alaska. Part of the old Tanana Valley line became part of the Alaska Railroad, and the 1964 earthquake later destroyed the track beside the Seward depot, though the building survived.
You can follow that story across the state. Ride the Gold Rush grade on the White Pass & Yukon Route, see the first steam locomotive used in Interior Alaska at the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum, find Harding's car at the Pioneer Park Railroad, and stand at the ocean end of the line at the Seward Depot.
How far apart are Alaska's rail sites?
Times are rough estimates without traffic; summer road conditions vary, and Skagway is left off because most families arrive there by ship or from Whitehorse, Yukon.
| Museum | From Anchorage | From Fairbanks |
|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Museum (Alaska Railroad history)Anchorage | 5 min | 6 hr |
| Seward Depot (Alaska Railroad)Seward | 1 hr 45 min | |
| Pioneer Park RailroadFairbanks | 6 hr | 10 min |
| Tanana Valley Railroad MuseumFairbanks | 10 min |
From Rally's family
In our book, Rally rides into a dark tunnel and holds his breath until a big bright light and a cheer come back. The White Pass trains go through two tunnels on the way up the mountain, and I love picturing small passengers waiting for that same burst of light. Rally is our real corgi, and the story was my mom's idea before she passed in 2021. My kids are learning to read with it now. Print our train coloring pages for the long Alaska drives, and read the story behind Rally.
Holiday trains and seasonal days at Alaska museums
Alaska's rail season is summer, and none of these five sites lists Santa or pumpkin trains. The special days to watch for are steam-ups of Engine No. 1 at the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum, held for special events during the summer season, and the steam trips on the White Pass & Yukon Route, which run May to September. In fall, the Anchorage Museum adds Halloween programs to its calendar. For holiday options around the state, see our guides to Christmas train rides in Alaska and Halloween train rides in Alaska.
Train museums beyond Alaska
Alaska shares no border with another state, so there is no quick drive to a neighbor's train museums; the closest state pages are a flight or a long sea trip away. The White Pass & Yukon Route itself crosses into Canada, with trains and train and bus combos to Carcross and Whitehorse in the Yukon. In Washington, the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie runs weekend train rides from its 1890 depot, and families heading south can keep going to Oregon for more.
A train book for the drive
Amtrak does not run in Alaska, but if your family travels on to the Lower 48, our guide to Amtrak routes with kids can help you choose a first ride.
Free for train families
Print the Rally coloring pages before you go
Watercolor coloring pages from the book, free to print. They fit in a folder with a few crayons for the drive to the museum or the wait for the next train ride.
Get the free coloring pages
A train story for the ride homeRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi's first train trip to see his grand-paw-rents. Hand-painted in real watercolor. $13.99 on Amazon, for ages 0 to 8.
Buy on Amazon (opens in a new tab)More for train families
- Train museums in every state: search all 50 by town
- Christmas train rides in Alaska: Santa trains and holiday rides
- Halloween train rides in Alaska: pumpkin trains for next October
- Every Amtrak route with kids: find a train by city or station
- Train books for toddlers for the drive home
Alaska train museum questions
What is the best train attraction in Alaska for families?
The White Pass & Yukon Route in Skagway is the standout. It is a Gold Rush narrow gauge railway that climbs almost 3,000 feet in 20 miles, past two tunnels and a 1901 cantilever bridge. Trains run May to September, and the White Pass Summit Excursion, at 2.5 to 2.75 hours, is the easiest fit for young kids.
Are there free train museums in Alaska?
Yes, the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum in Fairbanks is free. It opens from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day inside Pioneer Park, which also has free admission. The Pioneer Park Railroad charges a fare for its ride, and the exterior of the 1917 Seward Depot is free to view at any time.
Where can kids ride a train in Alaska?
The White Pass & Yukon Route in Skagway and the Pioneer Park Railroad in Fairbanks both carry riders in summer. White Pass offers summit, steam and Bennett trips from May to September, while the park train loops around Pioneer Park's edge. The Alaska Railroad also runs summer trains between Anchorage and Seward.
What is the best Alaska train ride for toddlers?
The Pioneer Park Railroad in Fairbanks is the gentlest choice for toddlers. The summer train circles the edge of the park, admission to the park is free, and a carousel and the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum are steps away. Confirm the train's times and fares with Pioneer Park before you go, since the schedule is not posted online.
Is there a train museum in Fairbanks?
Yes, the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum sits inside Fairbanks' Pioneer Park. It is home to Engine No. 1, an 1899 H.K. Porter steam locomotive, along with an early engine called Old 67 and exhibits on the narrow gauge Tanana Valley Railroad. Admission is free, and it opens from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.
Is there a railroad museum in Anchorage?
Anchorage has no stand-alone railroad museum. The Anchorage Museum, Alaska's largest, hosted All Aboard: The Alaska Railroad Centennial from May 2023 to February 2024, but that exhibition has closed. The museum is still open year-round downtown at 625 C Street, with a hands-on Discovery Center and a planetarium for kids.
Train attractions near Seward, Alaska?
The Seward Depot, built in 1917 at the southern end of the Alaska Railroad, is the town's main rail landmark. It survived the 1964 earthquake and joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. Families often arrive on the Alaska Railroad's summer train from Anchorage and pair the depot with the Historical City Tour.
Can you visit train sites in Skagway, Alaska?
Yes, Skagway is home to the White Pass & Yukon Route, a railway built for the Klondike Gold Rush and finished in 1900. Its trains run May to September on the first 67.5 miles of the original line, between Skagway and Carcross. Trips range from the 2.5-hour summit excursion to the eight-hour Bennett Scenic Journey.
How much does the White Pass & Yukon Route train cost?
As of October 2026, the posted 2026 fares are $155 for adults and $77.50 for children on the White Pass Summit Excursion. The Steam Summit Loop is $249 for adults and $180 for children, and the Bennett Scenic Journey is $289 for adults and $144.50 for children. Book ahead, since it is a popular shore excursion.
What is Engine No. 1 at the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum?
Engine No. 1 is an H.K. Porter 0-4-0ST steam locomotive built in 1899. It was the first steam locomotive used in Interior Alaska and is now the oldest operating steam locomotive in Alaska and the Yukon. The Friends of the Tanana Valley Railroad spent about ten years restoring it and still fire it up for special events.
What is the Harding Car in Pioneer Park?
The Harding Car is a Pullman passenger car, also known as Denali and numbered X-336 by the Alaska Railroad. It was one of three cars that carried President Warren G. Harding's delegation in 1923 to mark the railroad's completion. It stands in Fairbanks' Pioneer Park, close to the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum and the park train.
Does the White Pass & Yukon Route have a steam train?
Yes, the Steam Summit Loop runs behind a 1947 steam locomotive and takes about three hours. The railway also keeps historic engines such as No. 52, a Brooks locomotive from 1881 that was its first, and No. 69, delivered by Baldwin in 1908 to help push trains up the steep grade to the summit.
Why is the White Pass & Yukon Route a historic landmark?
The White Pass & Yukon Route is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark because of how it was built. Crews blasted it through the coastal mountains in 26 months using 450 tons of explosives, at a cost of about $10 million. It shares that title with the Panama Canal, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.
Are there Christmas trains at Alaska train museums?
None of the five Alaska rail sites on this page lists a Santa or Christmas train. Their seasons run mostly in summer: the White Pass & Yukon Route runs May to September, and the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum opens from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. The Anchorage Museum stays open year-round for an indoor winter outing.
What Halloween events do Anchorage museums hold?
The Anchorage Museum lists Halloween programs on its fall calendar, along with First Friday events, Museum After Dark and $5 Third Thursdays. Its railroad exhibition has closed, so the draw for families is the hands-on Discovery Center and planetarium. Check the museum calendar for dates as of October 2026.
When was the Alaska Railroad completed?
The Alaska Railroad was completed in 1923, linking the port of Seward with the interior town of Fairbanks. Its Seward depot had opened in 1917, when the town was called the Gateway to Alaska. President Warren G. Harding came north to mark the completion, becoming the first U.S. president to visit Alaska.
What was the Tanana Valley Railroad?
The Tanana Valley Railroad was a 3-foot narrow gauge line that ran in Alaska's Tanana Valley from 1905 until about 1917. It served Fairbanks' first industry, and part of it later became part of the Alaska Railroad. The Tanana Valley Railroad Museum in Pioneer Park tells its story through exhibits, rides and on-site restoration.
When are Alaska train museums open?
Most Alaska rail sites open only in summer. The White Pass & Yukon Route runs May to September, the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum opens Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, and the Pioneer Park Railroad runs in summer. The Anchorage Museum is the exception, open year-round, though its railroad exhibition has closed.
Can you take the Alaska Railroad to Seward with kids?
Yes, the Alaska Railroad runs trains between Anchorage and Seward in summer, and arriving by train is the best way to make the Seward Depot exciting for kids. Tour packages with round-trip rail start at $271 as of the 2026 season. The Seward Deluxe Tour adds Exit Glacier and the Alaska SeaLife Center but does not run Mondays or Tuesdays.
Can you ride the White Pass & Yukon Route from Whitehorse?
Yes, families driving from Whitehorse, Yukon, can book a one-day train and bus combination that lets them leave the car in Whitehorse and ride into Skagway. The railway also runs one-way trains to Fraser and Carcross. Its golden spike was driven at Carcross on July 29, 1900, linking Skagway to Whitehorse.
Keep exploring
More family train guides from Rally
- DirectoryRailway Museum Directory650 train museums in all 50 states, with hours, tickets and train rides.
- HolidayChristmas Train RidesSanta trains and holiday light rides, sorted by state and town.
- OctoberHalloween Train RidesPumpkin trains and not-too-spooky rides for little ones, by state.
- NovemberThanksgiving Train RidesHoliday weekend train trips the whole family can share.
- AmtrakAmtrak With KidsWhich Amtrak routes work best with babies, toddlers and big kids.
- Plan a tripTrain Trips With KidsEvery Amtrak route, stop by stop, planned for families.