Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1922-08-15
RAILROAD PUTS ALASKA
SECURELY On The MAP
Regular rralns Now Steam
Aoroes the American
q Dorado.

AAeAosAes, Alaska, July IA BY
Mail. )-"Nl aboard, through train for
The interior" Thur sines out The white
coated porter, standing with step in
hand At the rear Of tho "Sourdough"
limited. Glancing along The train it ie
found to b made up Of express ana
baegAee car, day coach, Pullman slespcr
and an observation chair car.
IL sooms incongruoua that this equip
nsnt 10 ready 70 dash through tho heart
Of Alaska and bring up on the bankA OF
The Tanana river, that mighty stream
whoec mere name oonjured up visions OF
argouauts, dog teams, myrisds OF carl
bou end the old days when only strong
nsn reached the TAnana.
On July Is tho through freight took
the place of tho mixed train operated
heretofore and . regular bi-weekly paaen
ger and freight service has been in
stalled
Travellers recall . trip over this route
two ysass ago. 1t entailcd . mixed train
that began to crawl along - it entered
tho Broad Pass country where opera
ton extended almost TO the last rail laid.
Then came the horse-drawn sleigh or
dog team to the next road house at
outuHllt, otceks OCcoaeVc ckos ~ WiutCA
hcmmcd in by icy mountains and swept
by wintry blasts. Overnight at the crude
roadhouse and the trip WAS continued
20 Ncnana. on the banks Of the Tanana,
down dangerous canyon where the dog
slcd chung TO the bcctling cllds by the
teeth Of the brake. Maybe it was 40 de-
grccs below scro and only tho hardy
or those compelled TO take the trip
bravcd Il.
Today this same county is unfolded
IN scenic grandeur from the window OF
tho Pullman or the rear platform OF the
observation parlor car, or mayhap while
dining in the buffet car ahead. The bleak
icy mountains are bathed in tho mys.
FERROUS light that arrays the entire spec.
trum and paradcs it before the vision
little rivulcts rush down from the noun.
tn,ns 20 Join the noble Susitna carrying
IT. turbulent food into Cook inlet.
Tho system Of crossing the Tanana in
winter on rails laid upon the ice soon
will be supplauted by 700-foot single
steel srAn bridge with approaches well
above the food OF the stream, the narrow
gauge TsnanA Valley "dinky'llin will
retreat before III on-coming Of the
moC.l engine and its serpcnt-likc string
Of modern equipment.
Fairbanks" shouts the porter anc
Old Alaska hes vanished, the great land
OF mystery along the Yukon, becomes but
p banal echo OF something that has been
but Ia no more.
The change has been 70 sudden and x
complete that the old-timers arc fndinj
4 hard to rcadiust their lives to thu
hew conditions. The railroad has wiped
hwAy tho dogtcam - . means OF trans
nortAtion TO the interior, the horse
Arswn sleigh over the Richardson high
WAY from Valdes is but tourist adven.
Itufe; automobiles take tho place OF the
3tAes in summer and the railroad nov
kervvs . country extending to Nome on
northwest and the Arctic slope to the
borth, down the Tanana ftom Fairbanks
No tho Yukon and up the Yukon{tc
Oawson---a vcritable adventure for the
tourist who has absorbed the romanc<
OF the DAYS OF '0S,
Tho old-timer says tho Dawson day
will como again; where, he 10 unable L
state; but the lure Of the "shovel-in'
ervund bsckons and a. tho railroad
Threaded north the prospector brok
new trails. What the future holds 70
the drcamerts A problcmatic A the frs
venture into the forbiddine country tina
has % suddenly been transformed int
region wherein the most delicate ma
live and prosper.