| December 16, 2005 All Aboard The Past and Promise of the Alaska Railroad by Brian Yanity, insurgent49  Locomotives moving past the Alaska
Railroad Corporation head office in downtown Anchorage
More than eighty years after its completion, the Alaska Railroad remains our state’s greatest single public work. Not only does the city of Anchorage owe its existence to the railroad, but Alaskan statehood would have been far more difficult in the 1950s had the Iron Horse not tied the central economy of the state together. Today, what is known as the Railbelt region, stretching from Fairbanks to the Kenai Peninsula, is home to the vast majority of Alaskans. Completed in 1923, with construction funded entirely by the federal government, the Alaska Railroad is the nation’s only federally built railway. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Alaska Railroad remains vital to the Great Land’s economy, and will continue to be in the decades ahead. However, much of the railroad’s potential for serving Alaskans remains unrealized.  History of the Alaska
RailroadThe Alaska Railroad was not the first railway built in Alaska. Prior to its completion, several smaller, privately financed railroads had been built in the territory. The 110-mile White Pass and Yukon Route Railway began service between Skagway and Whitehorse in 1900, and is the only one of the four original Alaska railroads still operating. The railway was built for a cost of $10 million, and was privately funded by London financiers. Today, the White Pass and Yukon Route remains privately owned by the Toronto-based Tri-White Corporation. On the Seward Peninsula, a narrow-gauge railroad was built in 1900. The 20-mile line connected the boomtown of Nome to the goldfields of Anvil Creek. Eventually extended to a length of more than 90 miles, the line shut down in 1910 after the principal goldfields had been exhausted. The 15-mile long Yakutat and Southern Line, used for hauling salmon, was also built during this period. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway, completed in 1911, moved copper ore nearly 200 miles from the Kennicott Mine to Cordova. Financed by J.P. Morgan and the Guggenheim brothers for $23 million, the railroad ceased operations in 1938 when the mine closed. As early as 1903, fifty miles of track had been built north from Seward by the Alaska Central Company, which went bankrupt in 1908. Congress formally approved funding for the Alaska Railroad on March 12, 1914. ‘Knik Anchorage’ was chosen at a convenient natural harbor along the route, and the Ship Creek construction camp started in April 1915. Shortly afterward, 13 cottages were built on Government Hill. By July of that year, lots were auctioned off in what is now downtown Anchorage. The railroad was virtually completed by 1918 but was not officially opened until 1923, at a total cost of $65 million. On July 15, 1923, President Warren Harding drove home the golden spike in Nenana. Presumably, the spike was made from real Alaskan gold. On Harding's trip back he stopped for lunch at the Fairview Inn in Talkeetna, and fell ill afterwards. Harding was in poor health at the time and died August 2, 1923 in San Francisco, on his return trip from Alaska. Rumor has it that Harding brought his mistress along on the trip, and some even speculate that Harding's wife poisoned him. Other rumors claim that Harding was poisoned because of his involvement in the Teapot Dome oil scandal, a historical event that has eerie similarity to today’s Alaska politics. However, none of these rumors about Harding’s Alaska-induced death have been proven.  President Warren Harding hammering the
golden spike at Nenana on July 15, 1923
In January 1925, the Alaska Railroad helped save many lives during the famous serum run to Nome. A relay of dogsled teams carried needed medicine almost 700 miles from the Nenana rail depot, during a major diphtheria epidemic on the Seward Peninsula. By 1930, the combined population of the rail-connected communities of Seward, Anchorage, and Fairbanks was 5,400 people. In May 1935, New Deal agricultural colonists were brought to the Matanuska Valley by the Alaska Railroad. The railroad first was profitable in 1938, 15 years after its completion. In 1943, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finished the rail tunnel to Whittier, which remains the longest rail or road tunnel in the nation. During the construction of the state’s WWII and Cold War-era military bases, as well as the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the Alaska Railroad provided vital logistical support. In January 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed into law legislation authorizing transfer of the Alaska Railroad to the State of Alaska. In July 1984, Governor Bill Sheffield signed legislation establishing the quasi-public Alaska Railroad Corporation and its seven-member board of directors. The Alaska Railroad Today With a total of 611 miles of track, 60 locomotives, 1,600 freight cars and 42 passenger cars, in 2004 the Alaska Railroad Corporation earned almost $130 million in revenues, with a profit of nearly $10 million. The Alaska Railroad is vital for hauling Alaska coal and other resource exports to port, as well as petroleum products from the Fairbanks area to the rest of the Railbelt. As described by the Alaska Railroad’s official website: Today, the Alaska Railroad continues its tradition of support for the Alaska community. We are a powerful economic engine, hauling more than 7 million tons of freight per year. We transport building products to construct Alaska homes and businesses and support critical resource industries such as coal, oil and gas. Our trains carry more than 500,000 passengers annually, providing access for Alaskans and visitors from tidewater in Seward and Whittier to the interior of Alaska. In addition, our operation creates jobs for Alaskans employing over 700 people. According to a recent study by UAA’s Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER): 'The Alaska Railroad supports nearly 1,900 Alaska jobs and $38 million in payroll… 42 percent of those jobs are railroad jobs and 58 percent are in other Alaska businesses. Of the payroll, 53 percent goes to railroad employees and 47 percent to employees of other Alaska businesses.' The majority of Alaska Railroad capital funding comes from federal grants, which averaged $56 million a year between 2001 and 2003. Once considered the most affordable transportation option in Alaska, the Alaska Railroad’s passenger division today caters not to the average Alaskan working person, but to wealthy tourists. To make matters worse, private cruise ship companies are allowed to run their own passenger cars on our publicly owned rail system. Consider these facts about fares on the Alaska Railroad: An adult “Value Fare” (running May 14 through June 4, and September 6 through 12) of an Anchorage to Fairbanks roundtrip ticket is $286. The adult “Peak Fare” (running between June 5 through September 5) for the same trip is a stunning $358. During winter service, the Aurora winter train running between September 17, 2005 to May 14, 2006, and costs $260 roundtrip from Anchorage to Fairbanks, or more than a roundtrip airfare between Anchorage and Seattle. In other words, taking the train is more expensive today than flying by jet. However, per passenger-mile, railroads are among the most energy efficient forms of powered transportation, while airplanes are the least efficient. This is a serious fact to consider in a world of ever increasing fuel prices. Commuter Rail For decades, there has been discussion of commuter rail system in south central Alaska, using existing Alaska Railroad track. The South Central Rail Network Commuter Study and Operation Plan, published in 2002, can be downloaded from the Alaska Railroad website (www.alaskarailroad.com/arrc31.html). The study recommends a multi-jurisdictional sponsoring agency, which would include the State of Alaska, the Municipality of Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and the cities of Wasilla and Palmer. A grassroots movement of people living in all of these areas is needed to push for commuter rail service as soon as possible. For the price of the proposed Don Young’s Way, Alaska could build a world-class commuter rail system extending from Wasilla to Whittier. For commuter rail service to begin, special new trains need to be purchased, in addition to track and signal upgrades. The railroad is discussing new passenger depots at the Dimond Center, as well as in Girdwood and Eagle River. The official estimate of expected commuter rail traffic in the year 2024 is 40,000 passengers per week. However, this number could be pushed to much higher levels with proper long-range planning. Fortunately, the Alaska Railroad already has ambitious plans for transit-oriented development in the urban core. At its station in downtown Anchorage, the railroad is planning a new Ship Creek Intermodal Center, which would host not only commuter and other passenger rail service, but also a public transit hub, taxi and tour bus stations, and improved parking and pedestrian facilities. The existing train station, built in the early 1940s, will be remodeled, and will be connected to the planned E Street pedestrian corridor via sky bridge. Construction is expected to begin in 2006, with the four major phases of the project to be completed by 2011. The total cost of the project is expected to be around $70 million, with most of the money coming from federal sources.  Ship Creek Intermodal Center site plan
model showing planned Ship Creek Intermodal Center
Future Prospects Recently, the military has expressed interest in expansion from the line’s present terminus at Eielson AFB to Delta Junction (Fort Greely). Also being discussed is a future rail connection to Canada and the lower 48, along the same corridor as the Alaska Highway and the proposed gas pipeline, connecting the Alaska Railroad to the Canadian National railroad system in British Columbia. Cost estimates of this project range from two to three billion dollars, and would require the construction of more than 1100 miles of new railroad track. In a world of depleted oil reserves, a premium will be placed on forms of transportation that do not require petroleum fuel. In the past, coal-powered locomotives on the Alaska Railroad used coal found along the line at Usibelli (Healy), and near Chickaloon. However, coal is the dirtiest type of fuel to power locomotives. A much cleaner possibility, and one worth exploring, is the electrification of the Alaska Railroad. All-electric railroads are by far the cleanest, quietest, and most energy efficient form of land transport. It is entirely possible that an all-electric Alaska Railroad be directly powered by electricity generated from renewable sources know to exist in the Railbelt, such as hydropower, wind energy, tidal power, or geothermal energy. The projects section of the ARR website features a link to the website of the Alaska Rail Connection, a group that wants to build a tunnel underneath the Bering Strait (www.repjames.org/index2.htm). A rail tunnel between Alaska and Chukotka has been dreamt of for over a century, and was even proposed by members of the 1899 Harriman expedition. Of course, Alaska would make a ton of money by hosting the only direct rail link between the Eurasian landmass and the Americas. A beautiful idea perhaps, but one that would take far more money and time than either electrification or starting commuter rail service on existing track. The most important thing for Alaskans to remember about the Alaska Railroad is that it is our railroad system. We own it. The tourists, cruise ship and coal companies using the railroad are our guests. We have the responsibility to take good care of the Alaska Railroad, as well as the right to demand that it be used to benefit the majority of Alaskans. For more information: www.alaskarailroad.com www.whitepassrailroad.com www.alaskarails.org Brian Yanity is a graduate student at UAA, where he is president of the Palestine Club and the Sustainable Energy Society. Brian resides in an undisclosed location in Southcentral Alaska. He can be reached at byanity@insurgent49.com. |
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2005
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Reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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