But he's getting a little impatient about plans for Ship Creek.

"The bottom line is I wanna turn some dirt," Gamble said. "I'll be darned if I'm going to let another summer go by without doing something. We're at a point, one way or another, we're going to do something."

Exactly what he's going to do has yet to be defined. "Don't know, but I told my contractors to find me something so we can move some dirt," he said.

This summer's dirt-churning work will likely include land clearing, preparing for roadwork or fixing up a parking lot, he said.

Since Gamble took his job as president in 2001, he's heard talk about revitalizing the Ship Creek area. Environmental studies and initial designs have all been done. There have been meetings, discussions and more meetings.

Now is the time to get moving, he said. He's not alone in his itch to get going. Gamble is working closely with the city, the Port of Anchorage and several private developers to dust off the plans for Ship Creek and make things happen (see related story, front page).

Ship Creek is the nexus of Anchorage, the converging point for the city, he said. Work in progress includes expansions at the Port of Anchorage, as well as the rail yard. There's continuing talk about a possible Knik Arm bridge and a ferry terminal connecting the Matanuska Valley to Anchorage.

There's also potential for near-future use of commuter rail services to the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, the Dimond Center and to Girdwood, Gamble said. He wants to be ready for it, and it will all begin at Ship Creek.

"Every good thing has its time and it looks like Ship Creek is about to wake up," Gamble said.

Railroad history

The Alaska Railroad has operated in Ship Creek for 90 years, after moving its headquarters there from Seward.

In 1903, the Alaska Central Railway built the first railroad in the territory, starting in Seward and extending 50 miles to the north. In 1914, Congress approved funding for the construction and operation of a railroad from Seward to Fairbanks, at a cost of $35 million. In 1915, Anchorage was created as a railroad construction town along Ship Creek. The railroad's headquarters was moved to the area.

At the peak of construction, the railroad construction project employed 4,500 workers. In 1923, President Warren Harding marked the completion of the Alaska Railroad by driving the golden spike in ceremonies held at Nenana.

World War II brought tremendous profits to the fledgling company as the military began to build its presence in the territory. In 1940, two tunnels were built through the Chugach Mountains to allow rail access to Whittier, a military port and fuel depot used to support the war effort.

President Ronald Reagan signed legislation in 1983 authorizing the transfer of the Alaska Railroad to the state of Alaska. Within two years, then-Gov. Bill Sheffield had negotiated a deal with the federal government and had signed legislation establishing a quasi-public Alaska Railroad Corp. and its seven-member board.

The state paid the federal government $22.3 million for the corporation and invested another $11.9 million in start-up costs and other capital.

The railroad is state-owned, but operates as an independent corporation. It is required to be self-sustaining. The governor appoints its board.

Today, the railroad has assets of more than $400 million, has more than 600 miles of track and employs around 700 Alaskans. It owns about 36,000 acres of land, about half of which is devoted to right-of-way usage and railroad operations. The rest is available for lease.

Throughout the years, the railroad has focused operations on moving cargo and coal, as well as passengers. Agreements with cruise ship companies allow tourists from across the world to visit some of Alaska's most popular destinations.

Future plans

Alaska Railroad wrote its Ship Creek master plan in 1998. In conjunction with the city of Anchorage, the plan provides for broad redevelopment of the area over the next 20 years. It includes proposals for housing, hotels, retail, restaurants, trails and an outdoor plaza.

The railroad plans to build the Ship Creek Intermodal Transportation Center, which will serve as a hub for bus and rail facilities, pedestrian walkways, a new rail platform, retail development, airport accommodations and visitor information. Development may include a parking garage with elevated walkways connecting the facility to downtown. The total estimate for construction is $54 million.

Long-term projects take into consideration increased train activity through a shuttle service from downtown Anchorage to the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, where the railroad's new rail station opened in May 2003.

By 2030, the railroad estimates that up to 60 trains a day could depart and arrive from the Ship Creek center. This includes the shuttle service between the airport and downtown Anchorage and Seward, and trains running between Anchorage and Whittier. It does not include a much talked-about Mat-Su commuter rail service.

The track is already laid to these areas; it's just a matter of getting some commuter railcars and scheduling them in, Gamble said.

Gamble said the railroad could build a depot at the Dimond Center within the next couple of years, offering Alaskans a ride from the airport to Anchorage's major shopping district. Get off the train at the mall, hop on a bus to cross the street over to Sam's Club or down the road to Costco.

"That's what I see," Gamble said. "We have the demand now and the developers are ready with the money. And I think Alaskans are ready. It's happened in other cities: Once you build it and open it, the fence sitters go for it, once you can demonstrate how convenient it is. If you make it attractive and cheap enough, I think a lot of people will go for it."

If a commuter rail service from the Mat-Su were to travel to the downtown center, the railroad estimates that by 2024, that service could expected to handle 40,000 passengers a week.

Trains to the fair - and the newly opened Palmer depot - this summer were booked solid, Gamble said. Normally, the fair only offers one train a day during the fair. This year, it sent out three. All were sold out.

"But that wasn't transportation, that was recreation," Gamble said. "In the mind of the public, people don't recognize the difference."

A regular transportation service has to make money to keep it going, while recreation is often a one-shot deal that riders are willing to pay more money to access.

To be successful at transportation, the railroad must offer a cycle that runs often enough and is cheap enough for people to see it as a good alternative.

For the commuter service to work, the city and the railroad must also consider the full transportation cycle, Gamble said. How do 40,000 people get to their final destinations after the train ride?

That's why the railroad is planning the parking garage. Commuters could park their cars in the garage to drive the last few miles to work. But the city must also consider implementing improved and extended bus service to stops throughout the city. The Municipality of Anchorage has addressed some of these issues in its own long-term development plans.

Meantime, the railroad is working to straighten the lines along the route to the Valley. "We want to be ready if we do start a commuter train, but we're not aggressively going after it," Gamble said.