America

 

Both North America and South America have some very beautiful railways. Interesting train journeys can be found from Alaska down to Argentina.

 

Some of the most beautiful railway tracks are up in the north, in Alaska. The popular train between Anchorage and Fairbanks is a must for every railway buff. Here you can learn more about the classic route between Anchorage and Fairbanks. 

 

In South America, the Andean Explorer Train, running between famous railway between Cusco and Puno. It is an interesting way of travelling between Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca, the two main tourist attractions in Peru. Here you can learn more about the Andean Explorer Train.

 

Another fascinating railway  is the famous Argentinian Train to the Clouds. It runs between Salta and La Polvorilla Viaduct, 4220 meters above sea level. The train only runs twice a week, the journey takes 16 hours despite being just 220 kilometers.

 

Both the US and Canada have cross-country railways. In the US you have three main train journeys across continent. The Sunset Limited in the south runs between Orlando and Los Angeles. The two more well-known northern tracks start from Chicago. The California Zephyr takes the classic route, via Denver, running between San Francisco and Chicago. The Empire Builder, between Chicago and Seattle & Portland takes the northern route running close to the Canadian border.

 

Canada has a lot of interesting railways, including the 2,749 miles (4,424km) journey between Toronto and Vancouver. The train, called the Canadian, is a luxury train with glass-roofed panoramic observation cars.

 

The railways played an important role in the economic development of most countries but in the US the railways took it one step further. The railways made it possible to integrate the US into one single market, creating the first mass market in the history of mankind. This made the US the wealthiest country in the history. But the railways in the US have had a rough ride, especially after the introduction of road transport and air transport. Despite the fact that plenty of railways have been closed in North America, the US has by far the largest rail network in the world. The total length of the US rail network is about 210,000 kilometers, well ahead of Russia, around 87,000 km, in second place and China, around 67,000 km, in third place. Canada with a rail network of about 36,000 km has the sixth largest network in the world. In both the US and Canada, the rail network is mostly used for freight, profitable passenger traffic is generally only found around the larger cities.

 

In 1869 the Pacific Railroad was opened, creating a railway connection between the US East Coast and West Coast. Although, it was first with the opening of the UPRR railroad bridge across the Missouri river on the 25th of March in 1873 that a complete track between east and west was established, prior to which transfers were made by ferry.