It was on March 12th, 1914, after passage of the Alaska Railroad Bill by Congress, that President Woodrow Wilson signed the  bill into law creating the federally-owned railroad system in Alaska.

The bill gave the president the authority to choose the lands needed for construction under public use. he also had the authority to pick the entire route of the railroad.

Wilson chose a commission and soon after chose a route going from Seward to Fairbanks. The railroad would run through the area that is now Anchorage and was in fact instrumental in establishing that city.

The railroad would remain the property of the federal government until 1985 when it was purchased by the state of Alaska. Alaska Railroad Corporation receives no funding from either the state of Alaska or the federal government and is self-sustaining.

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