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4.3.14.wavRailroads, providing relatively low-cost and rapid transportation, opened the American West in the nineteenth century. It was only natural for Alaskans to look to railroads to open up the territory where they lived and sought their fortunes. Several private companies built railroads after the gold discoveries.
The first major railroad in Alaska was built during the gold rush to provide an alternative to the arduous White Pass and Chilkoot Trails. In May of 1898, construction began on the White Pass and Yukon Railway to connect Skagway with Whitehorse on the Yukon River. By the time the railroad was completed in 1900, the Klondike Gold Rush that sparked its construction was largely over. The railroad continued carrying tourists and ore from Canadian mines to Skagway. In World War II, it was used to haul war supplies to Interior Alaska.
First train headed to White Pass, 1899
228' high bridge over Kuskulana River on the Copper River and Northwest Railroad
The discovery of gold caused the construction of the White Pass and Yukon Railway. The discovery of a different mineral led to the construction of Alaska's next major railroad. When huge quantities of copper were found at the Kennecott Mine, a railroad was needed to transport ore from the mine to a seaport. Cordova, a small cannery community known as Eyak at the time, was chosen as the terminus port.
Construction of the railroad was difficult. Of the total 196 miles of Copper River and Northwestern track, 95 miles were laid on bridges or trestles. In the Cordova to Chitina section alone, 129 bridges were necessary, including the "Million Dollar Bridge" across the Copper River. In 1911, the last spike (copper, not the usual gold) was driven to complete the railway between Cordova and the Kennecott copper mines near McCarthy.
Between 1911 and 1938, when railway service was ended, nearly 600,000 tons of copper ore and 9,000,000 ounces of silver were carried from Kennecott to Cordova. On trips north from Cordova, the railway carried business travelers, miners, and tourists who left the train at Chitina for motor travel to Fairbanks. The completion of the railroad stimulated other activity in the valley of the Copper River and its tributaries. Although built for the Kennecott copper mine, the railroad also made access to gold placers and lode mines in the region easier.
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