The TVRR was incorporated as the Tanana Mines Railway in 1904, construction on the first section started and completed in 1905.

[1] The section between Fairbanks and Happy was converted to dual gauge by the Alaskan Engineering Commission, in order to complete a 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge railroad line from Seward to Fairbanks.

The Alaska RR continued to operate the former TVRR narrow-gauge line as the Chatanika Branch, until decommissioning it in 1930.

On July 20, 2019, Engine #1 was a star attraction when it operated on its 120th birthday at a reenactment of the TVRR's Golden Spike ceremony.

Media related to Tanana Valley Railroad at Wikimedia Commons