Guide to the Eric A. Hegg Copper River Railway Photograph Album
1908-1910

Biographical Note

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.

Scope and Content

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.

Restrictions on Access

The collection is open to the public.

Related Material

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

Historical Background

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.

Acquisition Info

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

Processing Info

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

Inventory

Page	Item															Date
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
	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
	75b		Continued view of Flag Point Bridge													1908-1910
	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
	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
	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
	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
Subject Terms
	Personal Names:
		Hegg, Eric A., 1867-1948.
	Organizations:
		American Locomotive Company.
		Copper River and Northwestern Railway.
	Geographic Names:
		Copper River (Alaska)--Photographs.
		Cordova (Alaska)--Photographs.
		Cordova Bay (Alaska)--Photographs.
		Miles Glacier Bridge (Alaska)--Photographs.
	Subjects:
		Photography of railroads--Alaska.
		Railroad bridges--Alaska--Design and construction--Photographs.
		Railroad construction workers--Alaska--Photographs.
		Railroad tracks--Alaska.
		Railroads--Alaska--Design and construction--Photographs.
		Railroads--Alaska--Photographs.
	Genre Headings:
		Photograph albums.