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by Helen E. Hegener (Author)
The 500-mile long Alaska Railroad runs from the seaport town of Seward, on the Kenai Peninsula, to Fairbanks, the Golden Heart of Alaska. Along the way it crosses two formidable mountain ranges, several broad and daunting rivers, and numerous deep gorges and canyons. It winds along the tidewater edge of Turnagain Arm, and past Bartlett and Spencer Glaciers, and skirts the highest point on the North American continent, the Great One, Denali. The history of the railroad's construction is a wide-ranging look at Alaska's growth and development, in which the railroad played a major role. From dynamiting the railbed out of the cliffs along Turnagain Arm, to spanning the deep chasm of Hurricane Gulch, and from crossing the endless miles of muskeg swamp to bridging the mighty waters of the Tanana River, the history is told through historic documents, photographs, and publications. This is more than the story of constructing the railroad, however.... This is also the story of how the U. S. Government built towns and cities across the territory, including the city of Anchorage. It's the story of coal mining in Alaska, from the Guggenheim Syndicate's attempted monopoly of Alaska's resources to the government's own private mine to service the U.S. Naval fleet. It's the story of steamboat travel on Alaskan rivers, and how the railroad's own fleet of steamers and gas-powered "tunnel boats" came to dominate the watery transportation corridors. It's the story of the role a fledgling conservation movement played in dividing a major political party. And it's the story of how the steam shovels which dug the Panama Canal ended up clawing at Alaskan hillsides.... From running its own opulent luxury hotel-in literally the middle of nowhere-to developing the water and sewer systems of Anchorage, the history of the railroad is largely the history of Alaska. Take a ride on the northernmost U. S. railroad, and gain an unusual perspective on a richly fascinating period in America's past.
