ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Jan. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Alaska
Railroad is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the
historic serum run, which began Jan. 26,
1925, and became the inspiration for the famed Iditarod
Trail Sled Dog Race.
In 1925, an outbreak of diphtheria in the remote western
Alaska city of Nome spurred the then-territory to commission
300,000 units of diphtheria antitoxin at the Anchorage Railroad
Hospital to be transferred. The life-saving serum was sent
aboard the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Nenana,
Alaska, located just outside of Fairbanks. In Nenana, the serum was transferred to sled dog
mushers, and it was then transported almost 700 miles across the
tundra. The story of this journey, the mushers and their dogs,
became legendary.
"Since time was such an issue, it would have been unlikely that
the serum would have arrived to Nome in time if the Railroad had not taken it
to Nenana," said Dan Seavey, Sr., who helped to coordinate the
first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and is part of a lineage that
includes Iditarod champions Mitch
Seavey and Dallas Seavey.
"This is an important event in the history of the Railroad and
the State of Alaska," said Alaska
Railroad Director of Guest Services and Passenger Marketing
Bruce LaLonde. "We are thrilled to
be able to offer passengers the opportunity to celebrate this
momentous occasion with us."
For travelers wishing to experience this historic and scenic
stretch of the Last Frontier, the Alaska Railroad is expanding on
its usual weekend service by offering special midweek Aurora Winter Train departures starting on
February 24 and continuing weekly
through March 18, with travel north
from Anchorage to Fairbanks on Saturdays and Tuesdays, then
south from Fairbanks to
Anchorage on Sundays and
Wednesdays. In addition to a number of winter activities taking
place February and March, the Aurora Winter Trains coincide with
the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in
Anchorage on Saturday, March 7. Visitors can travel north to
Fairbanks on the train and embark
to Coldfoot, near Gates of the Arctic National Park, to enjoy a dog
sledding experience not to be forgotten.
For more information about the Alaska Railroad and its winter
travel options, visit www.AlaskaRailroad.com. To book, please call
Alaska Railroad reservations at 907-265-2494, or outside
Anchorage at 800-544-0552.
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SOURCE Alaska Railroad