THE ALASKA RAILROAD

In 1904 construction began on a project to build a railroad line, which would run from the sea to Fairbanks in the Interior of Alaska.

This privately funded venture, called the Alaska Central, was the predecessor of the Alaska Railroad.

The railroad would provide the mechanism for delivering much needed supplies to the interior from the ocean ports, and in addition, furnish access to the various mineral resources that had been discovered, yet unearthed along the route.

During this time, a gold rush was transpiring around Fairbanks and hills laden with coal deposits in the Matanuska Valley and near Healy was ready for extraction.

Seward was selected as the beginning of the railroad because of its location on Resurrection Bay, which remains ice-free during the long cold winters of Alaska.

A route for the line was surveyed as far as the Tanana River and track was laid up the Kenai Peninsula towards present-day Anchorage.

However, during this time the company suffered from a series of unfortunate controlling factors the most important of which was the federal government withdrawing all Alaska coal fields from private access.

This proclamation was so devastating to the company because it meant that, even the coal used to fuel the locomotives had to be imported.

Alaska Central filed for bankruptcy in 1909; the company afterwards became reorganized as the Alaska Northern Railroad. Construction continued on the railroad until in 1912, when the company finally closed its operations for good.
By this time, 71 miles of track were laid down from Seward to Kern Creek, which lies between Portage and Girdwood junction.
A short time later in that same year, a government-subsidized commission journeyed to Alaska, and after subsequent surveying of the quandary, concluded that only the government could afford to build and operate a railroad through Alaska.

On March 12, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson was given congressional authority to fund the construction and operation of the Alaska Railroad, which was to run from Seward to Fairbanks.
The intention was to have a railway to connect a seaside port (Seward) with a river that runs in the interior of Alaska (the Tanana or Yukon River), for the purpose of having the ability to access coal fields along the way.
It was projected to be up to 1000 miles long with an estimated construction cost of $35 million.
The Alaska Engineering Commission was thereupon created to accomplish the task.

The eventual route of the railroad from Kern Creek to Fairbanks was surveyed under the guidance of three men on the Alaska Engineering Commission, William Edes, Lt. Frederick Mears and Thomas Riggs.

In 1915, the U.S. Government purchased the 71 miles of Alaska Northern track that ran from Seward to Kern Creek for about $16,000 a mile, 15 cents on the dollar.

The northernmost section of the proposed railway incorporated the part of the forty-five mile long Tanana Valley Railroad that ran from Happy Valley to Fairbanks.

The Tanana Valley Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad line built in 1905 by private enterprise, and was acquired in 1916 by the Alaska Railroad.

The track was then upgraded to standard gauge. Thirty-nine miles of this narrow gauge railroad, which ran from Happy Valley north to gold mining camps, was abandoned in 1930.

Also in 1915, construction of new sections of the railroad began.
In June 1915, the Alaska Engineering Commission laid out the plans for the new township of Anchorage created as a railroad construction town along Ship Creek, where the railroad moves its headquarters from Seward.
New track was laid down from Ship Creek north to the coal fields in the Matanuska Valley and south to link with the track at Kern Creek.
The last rail connecting Anchorage and Seward was laid down between Bird Creek and Girdwood at milepost 78, on September 11, 1918.

Construction continued on the railroad as enormous amounts of earth and rock were displaced to lay the track.
There were many obstacles along the way, such as unstable ground caused by permafrost, avalanches that would bury the track, and landslides, that posed problems for the Alaska Railroad Engineers. In 1916, a coal mine at Moose Creek, about twelve miles up the branch line (northeast of present-day Palmer) was opened to supply fuel for the locomotives. By 1917, the railroad construction crews peaked at 4,500 workers.

Railroad construction crews began laying down track from Happy, an early Alaska Railroad flag stop at the southern end of the Tanana Valley Railroad, south to North Nenana, in 1919.

Finally, on July 15, 1923 the Alaska Railroad was formally finished as President Warren G. Harding ceremoniously drove the golden spike at Nenana commemorating the achievement.
It was a hot and sunny day at North Nenana as Alaska Territorial Governor Scott Bone placed the spike into the rail. President Harding raised the sledgehammer and missed the spike twice before smacking it home to officially complete the construction of the Alaska Railroad.
This historic event occurred at milepost 413.7 at the northern end of the 702-foot Mears Memorial truss bridge. The gold spike is now in the Smithsonian Institution.
The total costs were calculated to be closer to $60 million, rather than the original $35 million that was budgeted for the project.

On his return voyage south President Harding stopped for lunch at the Fairview Inn in Talkeetna. Harding was in poor health at the time and subsequently died in San Francisco upon his return from Alaska of a sudden heart attack on Aug. 2, 1923.

During the early years of its operation, the railroad provided a crucial link for the economic development of the budding towns found up and down the line and a method to access the resources discovered along the route.
By 1924, Fairbanks was booming because coal had become readily available to fuel machinery.
During the late 1920’s and early 1930’s the railroad ran in the red because the combined population of Seward, Anchorage and Fairbanks, only 5,400 people, was unable to generate enough business to make the railroad profitable. This changed in 1938, when the Alaska Railroad had its first profitable year under the management of Col. Otto F. Ohlson.

In 1941, two tunnels were excavated through the Chugach Mountains to permit rail access from the port of Whittier, a military fuel station during the war effort.
Heavy use of the railroad during World War II in transporting construction materials, military and civilian supplies, and troops to fortify the Territory of Alaska left the track in poor condition.

A decision had to be made whether to upgrade or abandon the train tracks.
Considering that coal was crucial to both Fairbanks and Anchorage the U.S. Government began the $100 million project of rehabilitating the Alaska Railroad in the late 1940’s.
This extensive railroad track rehabilitation finally reached completion in 1953.

Diesel locomotives began to replace the antiquated steam engines in 1944; the operation was completed in 1966 when the last steam engine was sold.
On October 18, 1947, the inaugural run of the Aurora, a blue and gold streamliner, denoted improved passenger service between Anchorage and Fairbanks.

Circumstances were rapidly changing during the 1950’s with the introduction of the commercial airplane.
This dramatically had a negative impact on the railroad passenger service between Seward and Anchorage.
During this era, a trip from Seattle to Anchorage involved five and a half days by steamer to Seward and then the train trip to Anchorage.
In contrast, to fly by plane from Seattle to Anchorage, the trip took about 6 hours. In addition, there was an increase in automobile traffic on the Seward Highway, further weakening the railroad’s demand.
As a result in 1954, railway passenger service between Anchorage and Seward was resolved be discontinued.

On March 27, 1964, the Good Friday Earthquake wreaked havoc causing rails to be bent and twisted, while sections of the track between Seward and Anchorage were wiped out in landslides and during ground slumpage.
The railroad facilities in Seward were completely destroyed.
In all, the Alaska Railroad endured more than $27 million in damages.
The task of repairing the railway started immediately and was accomplished on September 13, 1964, with the first freight train since the aftermath reaching Seward.

By the 1980’s, the federal government expressed interest in retiring from the train business, while the State of Alaska recognized the importance of having the railroad.
On January 14, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation authorizing the transfer of the Alaska Railroad to the State of Alaska.
On July 5, 1984, Governor Bill Sheffield signs legislation establishing the Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) and its seven-member board of directors, organized to be a public, profit-making corporation that would run the Alaska Railroad.

On January 5, 1985, an agreement was signed authorizing the federal government to sell the Alaska Railroad to the State of Alaska; transfer ceremonies were held in Nenana and in Seward. Included in the purchase price of $22.3 million, Alaska took possession of 665 miles of track, 38,000 acres of land and 1,545 units of rolling stock.

The railroad has been an evolving entity ever since the transfer of ownership to the State of Alaska.
Hauling freight has been its primary function, but the Alaska Railroad has become more involved is passenger service due to increasing demands from the tourist industry.
A decision was made in 1986 to resume passenger service between Anchorage and Seward.
By 1987, the service was increased to three times per week, and now during the summer there are daily passenger train runs between Anchorage and Seward.
The Alaska Railroad also offers daily service Between Anchorage and Fairbanks, with scheduled stops in Wasilla, Talkeetna and Denali Park.

The Alaska Railroad has always been a user friendly railway offering special services not usually found on other public railroads.
During the winter special excursion trains are run to support cross country skiers, and in March the rail line runs a passenger car to Wasilla for the start of the Iditarod sled dog race.
In August the train runs special train cars to Palmer for the Alaska State Fair.
But most interestingly, not only does it regularly transport freight and passengers between Seward, Anchorage, Denali and Fairbanks, the Alaska Railroad makes flag stops for residents who live in the bush north of Talkeetna.

Between Talkeetna and Hurricane, a distance of about 60 miles, reside Alaskans living in the Bush.
The Alaska Railroad is their only link with civilization, since the Parks Highway is across the Susitna River, several miles to the west.
Bush residents living in isolated cabins in the roadless foothills to the east of the railroad can flag down the local service train at any point along the route.
Passenger transportation and small freight shipments are important public services offered by the state-owned Alaska Railroad to these individuals.
The Talkeetna-Hurricane Turn is a regularly scheduled train run that offers local Flag Stop Service from Talkeetna to Hurricane Flag Stop, then back to Talkeetna again.
The Flag Stops on this run include, Chase, Curry, Sherman, Gold Creek, Canyon, Chulitna, and Hurricane.
Visitors can also ride the local service flag stop train and disembark at any point along the route.
The service is provided four times a week during the summer, but runs only once a month during the winter.

The ARRC outlines specific instructions for flagging the train: ‘Stand 25 feet outside the nearest rail with your gear. Wave a large piece of white cloth over your head until the Engineer acknowledges you by sounding the train whistle. Remain 25 feet away from the track until the conductor opens the door and motions you to board.
Restrain your pets on a leash while the train is approaching or passing.
Please use extreme caution at all times.’


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