The Tanana Valley Railroad (TVRR) was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad that operated in the Tanana Valley of Alaska from 1905 to about 1917. A portion of the railroad later became part of the Alaska Railroad.
 Train of the Tanana Valley Railroad at the station in Chatanika, Alaska, 1916. | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Fairbanks |
| Locale | Fairbanks to Chatanika |
| Dates of operation | 1904/1905–1917 AEC purchased TVRR assets and operated the Chatanika Branch line until decommissioning it in 1930 |
| Predecessor | Tanana Mines Railway |
| Successor | Alaskan Engineering Commission Railroad, a.k.a. Alaska Railroad |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) |
| Length | 45 miles (72 km) [1] |
History
editThe TVRR was incorporated as the Tanana Mines Railway in 1904, construction on the first section started and completed in 1905. The main speaker at the gala golden spike ceremony was Judge Wickersham and Mrs. Isabelle Barnett accepted the golden spike.[2]: 217 The builder was Falcon Joslin who was called the "Harriman of the North".[2]: 260 It was renamed the Tanana Valley Railroad in 1907. The company declared bankruptcy and was liquidated c. 1917. The U.S. government purchased the railroad in June 1917.[1] The section between Fairbanks and Happy was converted to dual gauge by the Alaskan Engineering Commission, in order to complete a 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge railroad line from Seward to Fairbanks. This line became the Alaska Railroad (Alaska RR) in 1923. The Alaska RR continued to operate the former TVRR narrow-gauge line as the Chatanika Branch, until decommissioning it in 1930.
Preservation
editIn 1922, the railroad's Engine No. 1, the first steam locomotive in Fairbanks and the Yukon, was retired. Its restoration was begun in 1997 and completed in 2000. As of 2011 it is still being steamed up several times a year. A small museum for the engine was built in 2005 in Pioneer Park. On July 20, 2019, Engine #1 was a star attraction when it operated on its 120th birthday at a reenactment of the TVRR's Golden Spike ceremony.
References
edit- ^ a b Alaska Railroad Corporation. "Alaska Railroad History". Archived from the original on 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
- ^ a b Borneman, Walter R. (2003). Alaska : saga of a bold land (1st ed.). New York, NY: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-050306-8.
- Friends of the Tanana Valley Railroad. "History of the Tanana Valley Railroad." Archived 2016-01-17 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2011-11-14.
- Friends of the Tanana Valley Railroad news archive
- "Tanana Valley Railroad". (independent) Alaska Railroad historical organization. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
External links
edit
Media related to Tanana Valley Railroad at Wikimedia Commons
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Falcon Joslin -
A train of the Tanana Valley Railroad crossing a trestle bridge over Fox Gulch in 1916. -
Tanana Valley Steam Locomotive No. 1 in Pioneer Park, Fairbanks, 2011 -
Replica of Tanana Valley Steam Locomotive, running trains in Pioneer Park, Fairbanks, 2011
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