Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-05-14
IClh SEE GLACIERS FROM
COPPER RIVER RAILWAY
Passengers May Examine Great Won
dcrs OF Nature While tho
;Si Trains Stop.
HIvALs UNCLE SANS ROUTE
taps Rich Kennicott Copper Mines
and Crosses Over Bridge That
Cost More Than S1,6OO,OO0 to
q Build.
ny FRANK G. CARPENTER.

ny FRANK G. CARPENTER.
have crossed Prince William Sound
rom Seward to Cordova. Seward is
he terminus of Uncle SANS railway
80 Fairbanks. and Cordova is the ter
minus of the Copper River Railway.
Which, was built by the MorSarGug-
genheim Syndicate to open up their
great copper mines, which are az Ken
nicott, about 200 miles In the interior
The two ports lie almost opposite each
other at tho western and eastern ends
Of the great bay known as Prince Will
liam Sound. Their distance apart is
{ the width of the bay, which is coo
!. Iuiles. Both ports have excellent har-
hors, free from ice all the year round.
Both are close TO valuable coal fields,
+ and each forms natura! gateway for
railroad to the interior OF the coun
try.
The railroad commission appointed
by President Taft to plan out the best
lines OF transportation for the devel-
opment OF Alaska chose Cordova and
the Copper River road for extension 10
Fairbanks In preference 20 Seward and
the AlAska Northern. but it advised
that second road be built from Sew
ard around Cook Inlet and across to the
gion. It also proposed a branch line TO
tho Matanuska coal fields. The pres
emit administration has decided that tho
Seward-EaIrbanks line is tho better,
and tho road along that route IS now
being built. 1t is not improbable that
tho Copper River Road may be cx
tended at some time In the future.
During my stay in Cordova l have
taken a trip over this railroad. It's
technical nane is the Copper River and
Northwestern Railway. The cars 60
smoothly. The passenger coaches are
like those Of tho States. Their finish
In wicker. Tho road is we'll built and
well hallasted. 1t has tho standard
gauge track, with eeventy-pound rails
similar to those on the new govern
lnent railway. Tho road crosses the
mountains by easy grades. having a
maximum Of not over $40 or $40 per
cent, and II IS so made that train
load of about 700 tons can be carried
each way over it. The construction of
the road began in 1911. It's cost 1t is
said, ia somewhere between S15.000,0oo
and s2o,oOo,000. and some Of Its build
ing shows great skill and scientific on
cheering. There are 1876 miles Of road
now In operation. and upon this thcre
are daily freight trans on the Kennt-
colt branch. and three trains q week
between Cordova and Chitina. the sta
ton from where it was proposed to
extend the road on to Fairbanks.
COMPANY HAS BUILT
LARGE OCEAN WHARF,
The company has office buildings and
machine and car shops 1T Cordova-
1t has also built n large ocean wharf
accessible to steamers at all stages OF
tho tide. Tho cars bring their freight
right to tho steamers, and are un-
loaded with the minimum of handling
There arc ample warehouses and faoili-
ties for furnishing the steamers with
fresh waters and fuel oil. There is
an automobile service between tho
wharf and tho town, which Is about
three quarters of a mile away. AS soon
az our chip came to anchor the
hatchets were raised and we began tc
load copper ore. The ore cars were
automatically dumped and the bags OF
copper. each holding about half
bushel. were shot from the cars right
into tho hold OF the steamer. The
londinE went on for almost a day, anc
during That time We took in h cargo
valued AZ about 100000
Among tho arguRents advanced IL
favor OF tho government buying the
Copper River and Northwestern Rail
road waa that the traffic already do
Veloped would have made the railroad
n"e-working proposition from tn,
very start. The route taps tho Wrangel
Range. the richest known mineral sec
ton or Alaska. This range has gold
copper and silver. 1t has tho riches
copper mines in the world, and som,
which are now producing 10000 OOl
pounds OF copper r. year at a cost O
less than cente q pound The roa,
is now bringing down from the Ken
= nicott mines 200 carload. Of such orr
4 per month, and its yearly reyenu,
& from that source IL something Tx,
$Z,ooo,ooo. The orc is charged freigh
according TO its value. and that nov
coming down averages over 70 no
CENT pure copper and pays at the rat
OF thousand dollars a carload. Som
or the lower grade ores pay only &
or 90 ton.
Another argument made for III
s Copper River Railroad was IT'S arcos
sibiiity TO the Boring River coal so,c
which 10 only th!rty-two miles from IN
present tracks and ahou. scycn,y-ev
miles from Cordova. This in the coz
that was SO widely discussed WIZ.
dinord Pinchot and others made ,bo;
great Campaign for Conservation 7
% or excellent character, and i, con,
ne brought here 70 Cordova for smcl.
4 ing and reducing tho ores There n,
AT present being mined sbou, Primo
S4 "'ihaHl SOUND and in the Inountair
nearby ores amounting 10 30 ono ~,
per month Much Of this goes oys
~ the railway 10 Cordova, the eos, ,
reduction would be greatly dec,esea
and new mineral regione co,1. y
opened up. Al the same time tho 90.
from the Bering River field won,
have a local market, and both tho o..
and the ore would furnish a s,noa
and valuable traffic 10 the rai1ya,
The copper River and Nor.hwest.r
Road now reache. the town g, cht,
ma, and the extension from ,b.,.
Fairbanks would require 3I2 mn,
81 moro to be built The cne, -, 49, ,