Re: Climax locomotives on the 3 foot gauge Nome Arctic Railway

Sir:

My only source of information regarding the operational history of Climax A-#313 is from Clifford's "Alaska / Yukon Rialroads, An Illistrated History", Oso Publishing, 1999. It corroborates your comment that Climax A-#313 only operated on the Wild Goose Railroad (Golofin Bay Railway), Council City, Alaska between 1902 to 1910.

Mr. Christenson acquired Climax A-#313 in 1979 from Mr. Charles Reader, Nome, Alaska. If I understand correctly, it was Mr. Reader who had the foresight to save #313 originally.

Climax A-#212, #315 and #399 operated on the Wild Goose Railroad and the later Nome Arctic Railroad and Seward Peninsula Railroad. Unfortunately, #212 and #315 were uses as fill and rip-rap material in the construction of the Nome Seawall. I haven't determined the outcome of #399 but I suspect it too is part of the Nome Seawall.

The Alaska Road Commission acquired the assets of the Railroad in 1922 and rehabilitated the line in 1924. During World War 2, the line was operated with locomotives. Mr. Reader operated tourist trips on the railroad during 1953. Public use of the railroad ended in 1955 with the rails being removed and the alignment was converted to a road.

Lastly, there is a fairly famous photograph titled "Train to Nowhere" that shows the remains of the Forney Locomotives that came from the New York City Elevated Railroad that were also used near Nome, Alaska. If you search the title, the picture will be shown and it is still available for purchase.

Thank you for posting those great pictures too.

Dougwood1954
Anchorage, AK