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Alaska Midland Railway photograph album, 1909

Overview of the Collection

Title
Alaska Midland Railway photograph album
Dates
1909 (inclusive)
Quantity
66 photographic prints in 1 album (1 box) ; various sizes
Collection Number
PH0230
Summary
Photographs of survey of proposed railway line
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries’ Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English
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Historical Background

The Alaska Midland Railway was a venture of John Rosene, a Seattle entrepreneur who also organized mineral operations in Siberia and ran a number of other businesses in the early twentieth century. The Alaska Midland Railway was planned and surveyed to run from the port town of Haines (near Skagway), north through what is now Yukon Territory, ending at Fairbanks, Alaska. Rosene and his team of engineers chose this route because they believed its flat grade and connection of rich mineral, timber, and agricultural lands to the sea would make it a lucrative site. The company's original ambitions included connecting to other railways at Fairbanks and continuing the line westward into Siberia by bridge or tunnel across the Bering Strait.

While engineers set out to survey the line late in 1909, Rosene worked to make other preparations. He courted stockholders and attempted to raise capital and secure permission to use the route, to build the line across international borders, and to fund it with capital raised abroad. The railway was never completed, however. During World War I, the U.S. government completed a similar railway line from Fairbanks to Seward, Alaska, and the momentum for Rosene's project evaporated.

This album contains photos from the survey expedition for the first section of the railway line from Haines to the White River, Yukon Territory. It may be a copy of one of the albums Rosene sent with route maps to a French financier in December of 1909. The photographer is unknown, but the 1909 survey team may have included H.R. Robbins, H.P.M. Birkinbine, Steve Sheldon, and Gus Klaney, all of whom were involved in a later survey of the route.

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Content Description

Photograph album depicting the first portion of the railway route (Haines, Alaska to White River, Yukon Territory) made by members of the railroad survey team. Other albums from different portions of the route may have existed. Some photos were removed from this album sometime prior to 2009.

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Other Descriptive Information

The photographer numbered many photos in the album and these numbers are in the photo captions. They appear in the description as (number).

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View the digital version of the collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Donor: William T. Perkins, July 1948

Processing Note

Processed by Renae Youngs, 2009.

Bibliography

Ward, Doris. "Alaska Midland Railroad." Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center, Haines, Alaska, 1987. (http://www.sheldonmuseum.org/alaskamidlandrailroad.htm)

John Rosene papers, 1901-1910. University of Washington Libraries Special Collections acc. 4206.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

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Subject Terms

  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photograph albums


2008 (Last modified: 11/27/2017)

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