Copper River and Northwestern Railway

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Copper River and Northwestern Railway
Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
Crnwbridge.jpg
A disused CR&NW bridge along McCarthy Road
USA Alaska location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Chitina, Alaska to Tasnuna River, along western bank of Copper River
Nearest city Chitina, Alaska
Coordinates 61°20′21″N144°47′59″W / 61.33914°N 144.7998°W / 61.33914; -144.7998 Coordinates: 61°20′21″N144°47′59″W / 61.33914°N 144.7998°W / 61.33914; -144.7998
ArchitectMichael J. Heney
NRHP reference No. 73002275 [1]
AHRS No.VAL-047
Added to NRHPApril 24, 1973
Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark historical marker for the CR&NW Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark historical marker for the CR&NW.jpg
Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark historical marker for the CR&NW

The Copper River and Northwestern Railway (CR&NW) consisted of two rail lines, the Copper River line and the Northwestern line. Michael James Heney had secured the right-of-way up the Copper River in 1904. He started building the railway from Cordova, Alaska in 1906. The town of Cordova, Alaska, was actually named by Heney on March 13, 1906, [2] based on the original name given by Salvador Fidalgo. Both these railroads were abandoned and little remains of them. Only a 0-4-0 locomotive, "Ole", located near Goose City on a siding of the Alaska Anthracite Railroad Company is the only equipment left. Many of the holdings of the CR&NW railroad including Ole were acquired for this railroad by Mr. Clark Davis and his partners in 1908 after a major storm destroyed the Katalla area facilities in 1907. The town of Cordova would like to move Ole to a memorial site in Cordova to celebrate its role in these railroads. Ole was declared eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. [3]

Contents

In 1905 Myron K. Rodgers received a four-year contract to assist the Guggenheim family with their interests in Alaska. [4] This work consisted of establishing coal claims in the Bering River coal field and building a railroad (Northwestern) to serve them. Myron Rodgers employed his brother Wesley P. Rodgers to carry out the surveys in 1906 and to build the railroad in 1907.[ citation needed ] The railroad started at Palm Point and extended to the northeast past the town of Katalla towards the coal fields. At Palm Point a loading pier was built into the bay and a branch line for the Copper River railroad was extended west to connect to it. [5] The 1907 winter storm destroyed all of these facilities, including the engine house and support base.

By Oct. 1906, Heney had retired and decided to sell his Copper River right-of-way to the Alaska Syndicate that consisted of M. Guggenheim & Sons and J.P. Morgan & Co. However, he returned to work for Daniel Guggenheim on the Copper River railway in 1907 after the destruction of the winter storm. Guggenheim had decided Cordova was a better starting point. [6] : 87, 91, 100–102  The railroad was built by the Kennecott Corporation (now part of the Alaska Syndicate) between 1908 and 1911 to take copper ore from Kennecott, Alaska to Cordova, Alaska, a distance of 315 km (196 mi). [7]

The Alaska Syndicate included investment by J.P. Morgan. He had earlier bought John Rosene's Northwestern Commercial Company, an empire of mercantile companies, shipping interests, and railroad. The syndicate started construction from Cordova, the Bonanza mine site at Kennecott, and at a point midway where the Nizina River merged with the Copper River. Challenges included bridging the Kuskulana River canyon and the Copper River with the Million Dollar Bridge. "The completion of the Million Dollar Bridge in the summer of 1910 effectively guaranteed the success of the rail project and the shipment of the first load of Kennecott ore in early 1911." [8]

Heney had traveled to New York in 1909 to meet with Daniel Guggenheim and other board members about the railroad progress. On his return journey, he departed Seattle on 23 Aug. 1909 aboard the steamship Ohio. On 25 Aug., the Ohio struck an uncharted rock and sank. Heney finally made it to Cordova on 18 Sept. On 30 Nov. 1909 the railroad reached the Tiekel River, completing the first phase of the contract. Heney made another trip to New York to turn over that portion of the railroad to the Katalla Company. On the return trip he spent the winter in Seattle. His health failing, Heney finally succumbed to pulmonary tuberculosis on 4 Oct. 1910. [6] : 149–151 

The last spike in the construction, a "copper spike", was driven on 29 March 1911, by Chief Engineer E. C. Hawkins and Superintendent Samuel Murchison at Kennicott. [9]

The cost of the railway at $25 million was justified because the mines produced $200 million worth of copper ore during their operation of which at least 50 percent was profit. There were 129 bridges constructed between Cordova and Chitina. [6]

As far as is known, the CR&NW was the only railway in Alaska to employ wigwags at railroad crossings. [10]

The good ore in the mines ran out and the last train ran on 11 Nov. 1938. [11] In 1941, the Kennecott Corporation donated the railroad right-of-way to the United States "for use as a public highway". In 1953 conversion was started. The Alaska Dept. of Highways had extended the Copper River Highway to Mile 59, from Cordova to the Million Dollar Bridge, by 1964. However, the damage to 28 bridges after the Good Friday earthquake delayed further construction. By 1972 the highway extended to Mile 72 and south 20 miles from Chitina. [6] : 130, 176–177 

The bridge has recently (2005) been repaired. Bridge 339 washed out in 2012 and cut the access to the bridge. [12] The roadbed from Chitina to McCarthy now forms the McCarthy Road.[ citation needed ]

Historic designations

Southern portion of the Copper River showing the location of the railway from Cordova to Kennicott Copper River.PNG
Southern portion of the Copper River showing the location of the railway from Cordova to Kennicott

On April 24, 1973, the railway remains, comprising 11 trestles, an abandoned native village with a Russian post and the Tiekel Station, were added as a historic district to the National Register of Historic Places. [13] The railway's bunkhouse and messhouse at Chitina were also added to the register on December 5, 2002. The 0-4-0 tank engine, Number 3, "Ole", was declared eligible for the National Register in 1988.

Rolling stock

By 1936, the company had rostered 13 steam locomotives, 6 passenger cars and 327 freight cars. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miles Glacier Bridge</span> Bridge in Cordova, Alaska

The Miles Glacier Bridge, also known as the Million Dollar Bridge, was built in the early 1900s across the Copper River fifty miles from Cordova in what is now the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a multiple-span Pennsylvania truss bridge which completed a 196-mile (315 km) railroad line for the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, built by J. P. Morgan and the Guggenheim family to haul copper from the old mining town of Kennicott, now located within the Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve, to the port of Cordova. It earned its nickname because of its $1.4 million cost, well recouped by the about $200 million worth of copper ore which was shipped as a result of its construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper River (Alaska)</span> River in Alaska, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennecott, Alaska</span> United States historic place

Kennecott, also known as Kennicott and Kennecott Mines, is an abandoned mining camp in the Copper River Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska that was the center of activity for several copper mines. It is located beside the Kennicott Glacier, northeast of Valdez, inside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The camp and mines are now a National Historic Landmark District administered by the National Park Service.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCarthy Road</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper River Highway</span>

The Copper River Highway extends 49.5 miles (79.7 km) from Cordova along the old railbed of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. Construction began in 1945, and was originally intended to link Cordova with the state highway system at Chitina. The Million Dollar Bridge, which had carried trains until the CR&NW shut down, was converted for highway use. It is one of two discontinuous segments of Alaska Route 10.

Michael James "Moose" Heney was a railroad contractor, best known for his work on the first two railroads built in Alaska, the White Pass and Yukon Route and the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. The son of Irish immigrants, Heney rose to the top of his profession before his death. His life inspired several books and at least one movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaska Steamship Company</span>

The Alaska Steamship Company was formed on August 3, 1894. While it originally set out to ship passengers and fishing products, the Alaska Steamship Company began shipping mining equipment, dog sleds, and cattle at the outbreak of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897. The company was purchased by the Alaska Syndicate and merged with the Northwestern Steamship Company in 1909, but retained its name, and the fleet was expanded to 18 ships. During World War II, the government took over the company's ships. When the war ended, the company struggled to compete with the new Alaska Highway for passengers and freight. It discontinued passenger service altogether in 1954 and shut down operations in 1971.

SS <i>Northwestern</i> (1889)

The SS Northwestern, originally SS Oriziba, was a passenger and freight steamship launched in 1889 by the Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works, Chester, Pennsylvania which spent most of its career in service in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. The ship from early in its career had a reputation for trouble, and was frequently involved in groundings, collisions with other ships, and with port facilities. She first served as a transport in the West Indies as Oriziba, and was acquired by the Northwestern Steamship Company in 1906, sailed around Cape Horn, and renamed Northwestern. For the next thirty years she worked along the Alaska coast, transporting people, mail, and goods, as well as ore from mining operations at Kennecott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chitina Tin Shop</span> United States historic place

The Chitina Tin Shop, also known as Fred's Place and Schaupp's, is a historic retail building on Main Street in Chitina, Alaska. It is a wood-frame structure, two stories in height, with a flat-topped false front in front of a gable roof. The building is 17 feet (5.2 m) wide and 33 feet (10 m) deep. It was built in 1912 by Fred Schaupp, during Chitina's building boom following the arrival of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. The building is one of only a few surviving tin shops in the state. The first floor was occupied by the workshop, while living quarters were above. Following the closing of the railroad in 1938, the building has seen a variety of other uses. The building has been restored, and now houses an art gallery.

The Copper River and Northwestern Railway Bunkhouse and Messhouse are historic railroad worker facilities on Third Street in Chitina, Alaska. The messhouse is a single-story wood-frame structure with a hip roof, measuring 26 by 30 feet. It has a porch on the east side, and a timber-braced entrance on the west side leading to a root cellar under the building. The bunkhouse is also a single-story structure, measuring 43 by 25 feet. It has an enclosed porch on its southern facade, and is divide internally into two large chambers. These facilities were built in 1910 by the Copper River and Northwestern Railway to house its work crews, a service they performed until the railroad shut down in 1938. They are the only surviving elements of what was once a larger CR&NW presence in the community. The buildings are now hosting the Chitina House bed and breakfast.

In an effort to thwart statehood and Alaskan home rule from Washington D.C., the "Alaska Syndicate," was formed in 1906 by J. P. Morgan and Simon Guggenheim. The Syndicate purchased the Kennicott-Bonanza copper mine and had majority control of the Alaskan steamship and rail transportation. The syndicate also was in charge of a large part of the salmon industry.

The Alaska Anthracite Railroad Company was formed about 1907 by several people to exploit the Bering River coal fields after the Alaska Syndicate that consisted of M. Guggenheim & Sons and J.P. Morgan & Co. left the area for the Copper River copper. It was after the 1907 winter storm destroyed their Copper River and Northwestern Railway (CR&NW) in the Katalla - Palm Point area and access to the Bering River coal fields.

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ↑ Tower, 2003
  3. ↑ "Steam Locomotive Moves Cordova Historical Society". Cordova Times. June 15, 2000.
  4. ↑ Myron K. Rodgers' obituary,[ where? ] 1917
  5. ↑ Katalla Company, Copper River & Northwestern Ry., United States Surveys, Terminal & Station Grounds at Katalla, Alaska. (July 1, 1907), ASL-P11-034, http://vilda.alaska.edu
  6. 1 2 3 4 Quinn, Alfredo O. (1995). Iron Rails to Alaskan Copper. D'Aloguin Publishing Co. p. 165.
  7. ↑ Moffit, Fred H.; Capps, Stephen R. (1911). Geology and Mineral Resources of the Nizina District, Alaska, USGS Bulletin 448. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 17–18.
  8. ↑ Hawley, Charles Caldwell (2014). A Kennecott Story. The University of Utah Press. p. 72,132–135.
  9. ↑ Elizabeth A. Tower (1990). Ghosts of Kennecott, The Story of Stephen Birch. p. 66.
  10. ↑ "Magnetic Signal Co. Catalogue C" (PDF). p. 9. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  11. ↑ Janson, Lone (1975). The Copper Spike. Alaska Northwest Publishing Co. p. 158.
  12. ↑ Copper River Highway Bridge 339, Cordova Alaska. 2012.
  13. ↑ "NRHP nomination for Copper River and Northwestern Railway". National Park Service. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  14. ↑ World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. p. 1.
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