Alaska Anthracite

Company History: Built between 1916 and 1918, AARR ran from anthracite mines along the Bering River to the docks at Goose City on Controller Bay, Alaska. Although anthracite (a clean burning, high BTU form of coal) was sought after particularly for home heating, the railroad could not find a market for it in this thinly populated region. The railroad was abandoned in 1923. The one photo we have of this line was taken after it was abandoned. It was common for Alaskan shortlines to abandon their locomotives, rolling stock and track in place because their distance to the nearest steel mill made the scrap worthless.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.