I have been fond of Alaska reality TV shows for the scenery.However, many shows just complicate the matter with pointless theatrics.I think of all the shows though, this one wins considering so much terrain the train passes through is simply uninhabited. I once saw a documentary on Kamchatka, that was interesting when the host said 'there is not a single human being 400 miles in any direction'.This show has some amazingly beautiful scenery - period.Trains are always a fun ride anyway, but I highly recommend catching this show at least once. If only there were more passenger trains? Who knows maybe with global warming, Alaska becomes the new Texas.

The Alaskan imagery and off-grid way of life is fascinating. I do agree with the notion that each episode is like the next and it's a little over-dramatic to be a "reality" show, but conceptually, it's great. I love watching and I watch this show more than other Alaska- based shows because of the railroad aspect. I'm hoping for another season, and would love to see the show expand on that, including historical looks and scenery that most people would never otherwise see.More Railroad-based programming would be equally as fascinating.

My vote would be a higher if they removed the track issues. it's always the same. Is there really a train coming in 20 minutes when the track is blocked with ice or snow?There needs to me more about the people who need the railroad, more on their reasons for living off the grid, and how the railroad caters to their needs. i would also like to more how much it costs to take the rail into town and where the off grider's get the money to pay for using the railroad. one last thing, the writers need to do a better job with the three in the engine compartment, they are really boring and their awful predictable dialog really is insulting to the program. Good thing I record it so I can skip over those parts.

OK full disclosure here. I like trains, earlier this week I was shopping for a caboose for the back yard. I'm afraid the house management is going to object and we haven't even gotten to the HOA despite my plan to letter it for our subdivision.Anyway on to the show. If it's running on rails it's got my attention so this show caught my attention the first time I caught it channel surfing.This one those myriad reality shows that shows mundane jobs and hypes everything to the point that you would think that life on this planet would cease as we know it if they somehow failed to complete the task that they do five days a week.The Alaska Railroad is a 500 mile line that serves the interior of Alaska, starting in Seward Alaska. It's owned by the State of Alaska and has no land connections to any other railroads. The railroad is unique in that it has both freight and passenger operations.A typical episode breaks down in several smaller stories with the railroad either as a back drop or as the subject itself. Off griders comprise a lot of the stories. Off griders are people that live off the grid roughing it the Alaskan wilderness usually after a trip to Alaska and giving up everything to move there. (No thanks, I'll take a beach, anywhere without icebergs) With the off griders usually some critical item has to come by train. A recent episode had off griders working to put a roof on a house before a snowstorm. Another story was about another group of off griders moving a house about the size of decent tree house out of the path of rising river. All of these depended on the railroad to get them supplies in the most dramatic manner imaginable. I think Thomas does it better but the Island of Sodor cant beat Alaska for scenery.Meanwhile on the railroad, crews were dealing with their own troubles. One crew was pulling a train with supplies vital to a mining operation and was concerned with getting through a tunnel. (tape measures anyone?) and having enough horsepower in their cheeky little locomotives to get over the highest park of the railroad. (There are formulas for this, and that's why they sometimes double head the engines on Thomas the Tank Engine.) One of the more interesting jobs and dramatic is snow clearing. The railroad employs a number of tactics to deal with this. In the last episode they were using a military surplus cannon(I got to get me one of those, although the HOA is not going to like it.) to trigger controlled avalanches.If after years of mind numbing reality TV you hear a narrator when you're going to grocery store or plunging a toilet, then this will keep you staring blankly at your television screen for an hour. If trains are your thing, then you'll enjoy the photography, it very well done. If you suspend reality to some degree you may even enjoy the operations. This might be better with less stories offered and done in a half hour as opposed the one hour format it's in now.