Copper River & Northwestern

Company History: The CR&NW opened in 1911 with a 195 mile line linking copper mines at Kennecott to the port of Cordova at the mouth of the Copper River in southeast Alaska. The copper mining boom peaked in 1916 and then began a long, slow decline. In the later years, CR&NW ran with 15 locomotives, half a dozen coaches and 220 cars. The Great Depression had little effect since the copper deposits were already playing out. The last train ran in 1938. A short segment at Cordova was reactivated during the Second World War to assist in the construction of an airfield. Many of the bridges on this line still stand today, including most of the Million Dollar Bridge over the Copper River.

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.