WAUHeggCopperRiverPHColl375.xml Guide to the Eric A. Hegg Copper River Railway Photograph Album 1908-1910 Hegg (Eric A.) Copper River Railway Photograph Album Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries © 2004 (Last modified: 4/13/2018)
Seattle, WA 98195
Finding aid written in English. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard). University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections PH0375 Hegg, Eric A., 1867-1948 Eric A. Hegg Copper River Railway Photograph Album 1908-1910 1 album (circa 100 photographic prints) : black and white Collection materials are in English. Collection of photographs by pioneer Alaska photographer Eric A. Hegg of the construction of the first 50 miles of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, Alaska, 1908-1910.

Eric A. Hegg was born in Sweden in 1867 and moved to Wisconsin with his family in 1870. He opened his first studio in Washburn, Wisconsin, in 1882 at the age of fifteen. After moving in 1888 to New Whatcom on Bellingham Bay, Washington (present day Bellingham), he established additional studios. During this time, Hegg photographed the Lummi Indians and the local industries of fishing and logging. At news of the Klondike gold strike in 1897, he headed for Alaska. He and a partner photographed the gold stampede on the Chilkoot Pass and ran a studio in Dawson, Alaska. Hegg eventually made his way to Cordova, where he was taken on as company photographer for the Guggenheims' construction of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. Hegg left Alaska in 1918 and worked in Hawaii, San Francisco, and Bellingham. He died in San Diego in 1948.

The Alaska Syndicate was formed by the Guggenheims, J.P. Morgan, and two other banking firms to develop the copper resources in the Wrangell Mountain range of southeastern Alaska. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway was constructed along the Copper River from 1906-1911 to provide access to the Kennecott copper mine, owned by the Kennecott Mines Company, the predecessor of the Kennecott Copper Corporation. Originally, the railway construction terminus was to be at the seaside town of Katalla because of its proximity to the Bering River coal fields, which could provide fuel for smeltering the ore. Katalla, though, had no wharf, and difficult seas prohibited the construction of an effective breakwater for ships' moorage. As a result, the construction effort was often in short supply as tugboats could not meet the off-shore steamers' deliveries. The Alaska Syndicate headquarters moved to Cordova in 1908, 75 miles away by water. Cordova saw the regular arrival of steamships from the lower 48 states to its docks. Several miles of railway already existed to Eyak Lake, built by railroad contractor Michael Heney. Heney was subsequently hired by the Alaska Syndicate to complete the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, and his first contract required the completion of the first fifty miles of track to Ambercrombie Landing by the end of 1908.

The railway stretched 200 miles inland to the Kennecott coal deposits. Often the severity of seasonal elements challenged construction. Building the bridge across the Copper River from the Miles to the Childs Glaciers required rapid construction to take advantage of the winter months, before chunks of ice floated downstream during heavy spring run-off. At times the elements proved too difficult to conquer, as in the case of the trestle built across the river at milepost 133. The plans showed that a high, permanent bridge was to be constructed, but lengthy time and high cost persuaded the engineers to design a lower, disposable trestle that was allowed to wash out yearly and then be rebuilt. The Miles Glacier Bridge, with four spans and five million tons of steel, was touted as the "million-dollar" bridge, completed in 1910 at the price of $1.4 million.

The final spike of the railway was driven into the ground at the town of Kennicott on March 29, 1911 (the mine and company are spelled "Kennecott," while the town is spelled "Kennicott"). The final cost of the railway, which took a peak crew of 6,000 men nearly five years to construct, was $23,500,000. A week after its completion, the first train of ore moved toward Cordova. The deposit was so rich that the ore averaged 70 percent pure copper. The Alaska Syndicate enjoyed handsome profits for copper during the World War I years, but by 1938, the mine was depleted and the Copper River and Northwestern Railway abandoned.

The collection consists of one album of photographs taken by Eric A.Hegg of the construction of the first fifty-plus miles of railway laid by the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, 1908. Construction images show bridges, concrete piers, trestles, track laying, camps, freight trains, steam shovel, and river boats. The album begins with images of the beginning of the railway, at the construction headquarters at Cordova, Alaska, and continues along Eyak Lake. Photographs document the progress of construction to the Abercrombie Rapids and Abercrombie Canyon of the Copper River, and the Miles and Childs Glaciers. The last photograph in the album depicts the Miles Glacier Bridge, completed in 1910.

The collection is open to the public.

Request at UW

The photograph album was aquired from Michael Maslan, Seattle, Washington, September 1992.

Processed by Sarah Nelson and Noella Natalino ; processing completed in 2004

Other images of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway can be found in the Eric A. Hegg Photographs, PHColl 274.

View selections from Photograph Collection 274 in digital format

Hegg, Eric A., 1867-1948 Copper River and Northwestern Railway American Locomotive Company Miles Glacier Bridge (Alaska)--Photographs Cordova (Alaska)--Photographs Cordova Bay (Alaska)--Photographs Copper River (Alaska)--Photographs Railroad construction workers--Alaska--Photographs Railroads--Alaska--Photographs Railroads--Alaska--Design and construction--Photographs Railroad bridges--Alaska--Design and construction--Photographs Photography of railroads--Alaska Railroad tracks--Alaska Photograph albums Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington) Alaska Business, Industry, and Labor Railroads Transportation Photographs

 

1 1 Wharf on Copper River at Cordova, Alaska, with beginning of railroad tracks October 13, 1908 2 2 Railroad tracks winding left through rock formations, Mile 1 1908-1910 3 3 Railroad tracks winding right through rock formations, Mile 1 1908-1910 4 4 Team of rowboats on Copper River laying cable August 12, 1908 5 5 Scene of Cordova with wharf on left, town buildings and team of horses on right 1908-1910 6 6 Wharf scene 1908-1910 7 7 Engine on railroad tracks, Mile 1-2 1908-1910 8 8 Aerial view of Cordova with railway crossings and steamboat October 12, 1908 9 9 Buildings and wharf that served as headquarters of the Copper River Railway at Cordova 1908-1910 10 10 Engine on railway tracks over Odiak Bay, Mile 2 1908-1910 11 11 Steamboat entering coastal town with mountain range in distance 1908-1910 12 12 Group of railroad workers posed on wrecking crane and railroad tracks 1908-1910 13 13 Railroad worker and two American Locomotive Co. (ALCO) locomotives, no. 3 and 20 1908-1910 14 14 Interior of the temporary machine shop at Cordova 1908-1910 15 15a Frieght train with ALCO locomotive no. 20 on tracks, Mile 2 1908-1910 15 15b Stacks of timber alongside body of water with railroad tracks platform in distance 1908-1910 16 16 Murchison Falls on Copper River 1908-1910 17 17 Midnight scene at Eyak Lake in Cordova with men on railroad tracks and mountains in distance 1908-1910 18 18 Railroad tracks leading through trees toward mountains 1908-1910 19 19 Railroad tracks, Mile 4 1908-1910 20 20 Railroad tracks winding by Eyak Lake 1908-1910 21 21 Group of women and child posing by Rainbow Falls at Cordova Bay 1908-1910 22 22 Whitewater river surrounded by forest 1908-1910 23 23 Eyak Lake with snow-covered mountains rising in background 1908-1910 24 24 Railroad worker posing with machine on tracks, Mile 4 1908-1910 25 25 Railroad worker posed on tracks with Mt. Eccle in distance 1908-1910 26 26 Railroad tracks, Mile 5 1908-1910 27 27 Railroad track platform built alongside buildings 1908-1910 28 28 Railroad tracks winding through rocky embankments, Mile 5 1908-1910 29 29 Eyak Lake with mountains in distance 1908-1910 30 30 Gravel pit at Eyak Lake 1908-1910 31 31 Man in canoe along coast of Eyak Lake 1908-1910 32 32 Railroad tracks traveling near gravel pit, Mile 6 1908-1910 33 33 Railroad tracks with gravel pit identified in background, Mile 7 1908-1910 34 34 Railroad tracks crossing bridge at Mile 6, looking toward the flats showing 11 mile tangent 1908-1910 35 35 Railroad tracks crossing over water, Mile 8 1908-1910 36 36 Man in railroad car on tracks passing United Wireless Telegraph Company station, Mile 8 1908-1910 37 37 Railroad tracks crossing flats with snow-capped mountains in distance, Mile 12-11 1908-1910 38 38 Railroad tracks crossing flats as seen from sandy coast, Mile 10-11 1908-1910 39 39 Railroad tracks stretching into distance alongside telegraph lines 1908-1910 40 40 Railroad workers hauling supplies next to camp April 17, 1908 41 41 Group of men on platform next to stacks of logs, Camp 4 1908-1910 42 42 Sheridan Glacier photographed from Copper River Railway 1908-1910 43 43 Railroad crossing over water, Mile 16 1908-1910 44 44 Railroad tracks covered in snow, Mile 17 October 22, 1908 45 45 Railroad tracks and telegraph poles, Mile 18 1908-1910 46 46 Railroad tracks covered in snow, Mile 16 1908-1910 47 47 Gravel train being loaded by railroad workers 1908-1910 48 48 Workers pile driving on the flats to Mile 20 March 17, 1908 49 49 Tracklayers and locomotive at Mile 20 March 17, 1908 50 50 River scene with ducks in water 1908-1910 51 51 River scene with camp and railroad platform in background 1908-1910 52 52 Railroad tracks winding through forest, Mile 20 1908-1910 53 53 Railroad tracks bordered by creeks of melting snow, Mile 19-20 1908-1910 54 54 Snow-covered tracks, Mile 20 1908-1910 55 55 Railroad workers posing on loaded freight train June 24, 1908

Labeled: "To the Front."

 56 56 Railroad tracks passing through Alaganik Flats, Mile 20-21 1908-1910 57 57 Snow-covered tracks, Mile 21-22 1908-1910 58 58 Railroad workers laying track with locomotive in background 1908-1910 59 59 Group of workers posing on a steam shovel at Camp 6, Mile 22 1908-1910 60 60 Railroad tracks traveling through rock cut at Alaganik 1908-1910 61 61 View of Camp 6 through trees and brush 1908-1910 62 62 Railroad junction at Alaganik 1908-1910 63 63 Railroad tracks passing by rock quarry 1908-1910 64 64 Railroad workers freighting construction supplies up Copper River 1908-1910 65 65 Group of workers near rowboat in Alaganik photographed from boat 1908-1910 66 66 Mountain and river scene on the Copper River Railway 1908-1910 67 67 Railroad tracks crossing water alongside telegraph poles, Mile 24 1908-1910 68 68 Railroad tracks stretching into distance alongside telegraph poles, Mile 26 1908-1910 69 69 Man posing on railroad tracks beneath large mountains 1908-1910 70 70 Group of men posing in front of tents with railroad tracks in distance, Camp 7 1908-1910 71 71 Copper River Railway bridge stretching across the Copper River 1908-1910 72 72 Workers constructing concrete piers for Flag Point bridge August 26, 1908 73 73 Alternate view of workers constructing concrete piers for Flag Point bridge 1908-1910 74 74 Railroad tracks platform at Round Island Channel, Mile 28 October 26, 1908 75 75a Scattered workers near the beginning of Flag Point Bridge 1908-1910 75 75b Continued view of Flag Point Bridge 1908-1910 75 75c Abutment No. 1 of Flag Point Bridge, Mile 27 1908-1910 76 76 Bridge construction at Round Island Channel, Mile 28 October 26, 1908 77 77 Bridge construction at Round Island Channel, Mile 28 October 26, 1908 78 78 Group portrait of the officers of the cableship Burnside and the Copper River Railway at the end of tracks August 21, 1908 79 79a Group of men standing near railroad car and rowboats at beginning of a bridge across the Copper River August 20, 1908 79 79b Continued view of bridge across the Copper River August 20, 1908 80 80 Officials of Copper River Railway at Miles Glacier October 5, 1908 81 81a View of railroad tracks, wagons, and brush 1908-1910 81 81b Copper River & Northwestern locomotive no. 013 at the end of the tracks at Miles Glacier October 5, 1908

Handwritten note on back of photographic print: "First locomotive of the C.R. and N.W. Railway. Purchased from the Alaska Northern Railway, Seward, Alaska."

 82 82 Childs Glacier 1908-1910 83 83a Childs Glacier 1908-1910 83 83b Childs Glacier with group of men pulling a rowboat 1906-1910

Written on photographic print: "Copyright 1906."

 84 84 Sunset at Childs Glacier 1908-1910 85 85a-c Miles Glacier 1908-1910 86 86 Railway trestle at the lower end of Abercrombie Canyon, Mile 50-51 October 24, 1908 87 87 Michael James Heney's Camp 18 surrounded by mountain range, Mile 52 September 29, 1908 88 88 Group of men working in the kitchen of Camp 18 1908-1910 89 89 Railroad workers stopping to break camp, Mile 52 October 31, 1908 90 90 Abercrombie Canyon with railroad tracks in background, Mile 52 October 31, 1908 91 91 Construction workers at Abercrombie Canyon September 5, 1908 92 92 Small rapids at Abercrombie Canyon September 28, 1908 93 93 Tents on the bank of Abercrombie Canyon September 28, 1908 94 94 Workers digging and dumping rock at Abercrombie Canyon, Mile 53 September 29, 1908 95 95 Rock workers posing at Abercrombie Canyon, Mile 53 1908-1910 96 96 Workers and machine on tracks at Abercrombie Canyon, Mile 53 October 31, 1908 97 97 Unfinished railroad tracks nearing the head of the Abercrombie Rapids, Mile 54 1908-1910 98 98 Copper River above Abercrombie Canyon with the steamer Chitina in winter quarters in the distance 1908-1910 99 99 Unidentified body of water with mountains in background 1908-1910 100 100 Miles Glacier Bridge [Million Dollar Bridge] of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway circa 1910