Alaska Railroad construction, ca. 1915-1918.
Title:
Alaska Railroad construction, ca. 1915-1918.
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
152 photoprints : black and white ; 8 x 10 in. or smaller.
General Note:
The majority of the prints are 8 x 14 cm. (3 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.); includes one panorama.
In the Alaska State Library, Historical Collections, P.O. Box 110571, Juneau, AK 99811-0571.
Abstract:
This collection documents the preliminary route exploration, surveying, and early construction of the Alaska Railroad, ca. 1915-1917. Views include railroad survey and construction work, bridges, and the towns of Fort Seward, Anchorage, Seward and Cordova. Also included is a portrait of Thomas Guy Wansbury and one panorama of the original railroad survey crew. Includes views by Louis H. Pedersen, Paul Beran, John E. Thwaites, and Straughan.
Corporate Subject:
Ownership:
Originally collected by Thomas G. Wansbury; discovered in the attic of the family home and donated to the Alaska Historical Library in 1989 by Wansbury's son, D.E. Wansbury.
Biographical/Historical Data:
Thomas Guy Wansbury was born in England in 1889 and emigrated to the United States in 1912. First employed as a civil engineering surveyor by Southern Pacific RR in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Arrived in Alaska around 1915 to work as a surveyor on the Alaska Railroad construction. Enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Seward, Alaska in 1918. After discharge from the Army, he returned to California and continued working in surveying. He died in San Mateo, California on February 22, 1972.