| Copper River And Northwestern Railway |
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The last spike in the construction, a copper spike, was driven on Wednesday, March 29, 1911, by Chief Engineer E. C. Hawkins and Superintendent Samuel Murchison at Kennicott. The railway was completed in 1911 so that the company could obtain some of the land beside the railroad tracks. In order to obtain the land, the railway had to be completed within four years. The cost of the railway was well spent, because the mines produced $200 million worth of copper ore during their operation. The good ore in the mines ran out and the last train ran on September 11, 1938. In 1941, the Kennecott Corporation donated the bridges and the land they owned around the tracks to the United States government as a highway route. 48 miles of the Copper River Highway were completed, from Cordova to the Million Dollar Bridge, but the damage to the bridge in the Good Friday Earthquake (1964) blocked further construction. The bridge has recently (2005) been repaired. The roadbed from Chitina to McCarthy now forms the McCarthy Road . The Railroad's Nickname was "Can't Run and Never Will". HISTORIC DESIGNATIONS On April 24 1973 , the railway was added to the National Register Of Historic Places . The railway's bunkhouse was also added to the register on December 5 2002 . |
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