In 1953, Charles Reader of Nome organized the Curly Q Line RR, a tourist-oriented rail line over a portion of the former Wild Goose/Seward Peninsula RR between Nome and Salmon Lake. A gasoline-powered railbus and trailer car took visitors a trip north of Nome where they will see the many varieties of wild flowers that grow profusely on the tundra. It was sold to Thomas Martin a few years later, and operations continued only for a brief time. Please let me know if any of you can expand on this description: - Stops made between Nome and Salmon Lake. - How much longer in time it operated its service. - What the highlights, any specially occasional run, and so on were.
Because I am pretty old I recollect that some time in the 1950s Railroad Magazine did an article on the Wild Goose RR complete with pictures. It was pointed out that it was the only railroad ever taken over by the state and run as a highway. Anybody who had something to run on it were free to do so. Most ran speeders but there was a really neat powered flatcar complete with canvas carbody. If I remember correctly the Copper River & Western after abandonment was also used as a road with rails in place for anybody to use. I hope my memories are somewhat correct. Odd-d
Thanks for your reply. I think it's the Copper River & Northwestern Ry. that you had in mind. Construction began in Cordova in southeast Alaska in 1907 to the Kennicott Copper Mine, 196 miles. It operated until 1938. If ever you have anything further about the Curly Q Line RR at Nome, please let me know.
No, I'm thinking about the Railroad Magazine article entitled "From NomeTo Nowhere" published in the mid fifties. Hope you find it. Odd-d
