A postcard from America’s last frontier for you now. For today’s postcard the New Life Station’s Mike Osborne takes us for a ride on the Alaska Railroad. Mike Writes:

Building and maintaining a railroad under any circumstance is a difficult task. But constructing and operating a railroad deep into the wild, cold heart of Alaska is a challenge that would give even the most diehard railroader pause. Join us for a ride aboard the Alaska Railroad, a line that extends more than 800 kilometers from the ice-free port of Seward to the interior city of Fairbanks.

I’m waiting for the train at Girdwood, Alaska, an hour south of Anchorage. The tiny station is a simple open-air platform and I’m here alone. There’s little chance of getting board, however, because the scenery is breathtaking. At my back, snow capped peaks, and before me the turbulent waters of Turnagain Arm.

The daily train running south from Anchorage to Seward rounds a sharp bend to the north and is soon rolling to a stop in front of the station. A diesel engine decked out in the line’s blue and yellow colors is pulling about a dozen cars. Most are glass toped dome cars filled with tourists.

I’m met onboard by Harry Ross, the Alaska Railroad’s senior conductor. Mr. Ross explains that the wildlife and scenery make the Anchorage to Seward run especially popular with visitors.

"Usually we see bear, moose, wolves – sometimes we see sheep along the mountains just right out of Anchorage. Very spectacular views; glaciers, rivers, beautiful mountains…just everything," Mr. Ross says.

And if you want to get even closer to the scenery and wildlife, Conductor Ross says the Alaska Railroad is happy to help.

"You can tell the conductor on that job wherever you want to stop at. You can see a patch of woods out there that you want to set your tent in – put your tent up and stuff – and you tell him that’s where you wanta’ go to that milepost and when to expect to pick you up. You get out there with your white flag when you see the train comin’ and you wave it at the engineer. He’ll give you a couple of little toots and he’ll stop and pick you up," Conductor Ross explains.

I get a chance to speak to the engineer after we arrive in the coastal community of Seward, the southern terminus of the Alaska Railroad. While sitting in the cab engineer Jerry Parks explains that, while doing scenic tours for Alaska’s visitors is an important part of the line’s business, hauling freight is what really pays the bills.

"Our major is fuel," Engineer Parks tells me. "We haul from the refinery at North Pole, north of Fairbanks that they take oil out of the trans-Alaska pipeline. We refine fuel there. That is our main haul. In the summer time our gravel between Homer and Anchorage we haul is our next biggest commodity. It really is a good revenue for the railroad."

The gravel is used for construction, primarily in Anchorage, the state’s largest and fastest growing city. Most of the refined fuel is high-grade kerosene used by airliners flying the polar route between Europe, Asia and North America. The Anchorage International Airport is often referred to as the world’s busiest gas station. Railroad spokesman Pat Flynn says Alaska’s extreme weather can make handling that fuel difficult.

"One of the challenges we face, for example, is that it could be sixty degrees below zero at the refinery in North Pole where we load up a tank car, and then forty degrees in Anchorage where the tank car is unloaded. Even the best metallurgy in the world is tested under those conditions. But the big one is snow. There are a lot of photos of the track, which looks like a trench basically. And you could literally hop from the snow on the side of the track on to the top of a train and off on the top of the bank on the other side without changing elevation. We still have a rotary plow that gets pulled out every once in a while cause it’s the only way to clear the snow," Mr. Flynn says.

Something else that the Alaska Railroad pulls out from time to time is the dream of reaching the rest of North America by connecting to Canadian rail lines. Pat Flynn says the construction costs would be enormous, but the idea refuses to die.

"We talk about it a lot. Policy makers in Alaska talk about it a lot. We have legislation that has proposed authorizing us to acquire the land necessary from the State of Alaska. There’s been Federal legislation to discuss it. And it’s something that keeps us on our toes and keeps us thinking – you know – ‘What are the possibilities?’" Mr. Flynn asks.

In the meantime, the Alaska Railroad is doing a respectable business hauling freight and a remarkable half a million passengers annually, a number nearly equal to the state’s total population. And that number is likely to grow if every passenger enjoys the experience as much as Australian visitor Barbara Root.

"The glacier was wonderful," Mrs. Root tells me. "And going through the gorge from…around Denali and the other side of Denali. It was absolutely wonderful. Fantastic! [Mike: ‘And of the critters that you’ve seen, what have you enjoyed most?’] Oh well, one black bear. He was fantastic! (laughs) Some Canadian geese. They were pretty nice. Quite a lot of bird life, actually, in different places. It’s all been great. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed it."

To make the experience better still, the Alaska Railroad just completed construction of a new station located right inside the Anchorage International Airport. Traveling aboard the Alaska Railroad…today’s postcard from America’s last frontier.

Enjoy these Alaska Railroad photos: