Alaska Railroad

The Alaska Railroad traces to 1903, when the Alaska Central Railroad began building north from Seward, completing about 50 miles before going bankrupt in 1907; its successor, the Alaska Northern Railroad, extended the line another 21 miles before itself entering receivership. On March 12, 1914, the U.S. Congress agreed to fund construction and operation of an all-weather railroad from Seward to Fairbanks and bought out the struggling Alaska Northern. The government's construction town along Ship Creek grew into Anchorage, now the state's largest city, and in 1917 the government also purchased the narrow gauge Tanana Valley Railroad, chiefly for its Fairbanks railyard. President Warren G. Harding drove the ceremonial golden spike at Nenana on July 15, 1923, completing the line. Dieselization began in 1944 and the last steam locomotive was retired in 1966; the railroad survived heavy damage from the 1964 Good Friday earthquake around Seward and Turnagain Arm. On January 6, 1985, the State of Alaska bought the railroad from the federal government for $22.3 million and immediately invested over $70 million against years of deferred maintenance. Today the railroad's mainline runs over 470 miles between Seward and Fairbanks through Anchorage and Denali National Park.