Looking for design inspiration?   Browse our curated collections!

White Pass and Yukon Railroad

Alaska Stock

Blog #6 of 21

Previous

|

Next

January 19th, 2015 - 05:43 PM

Blog Main Image
White Pass and Yukon Railroad

The White Pass & Yukon line was created out of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897. Previously, the most popular route taken by prospectors to the gold fields in Dawson City was a treacherous route from the port in Skagway or Dyea, Alaska, across the mountains to the Canadian border at the summit of the Chilkoot Pass or the White Pass. There, the prospectors were not allowed across by Canadian authorities unless they had one ton of supplies. This usually required several trips across the passes. There was a need for better transportation than pack horses used over the White Pass or human portage over the Chilkoot Pass.

Construction reached the 2,885-foot (879.3 m) summit of White Pass, 20 miles (32 km) away from Skagway, by mid-February 1899. The railway reached Bennett, British Columbia, on July 6, 1899. The last spike was driven on July 29, 1900 and regular service started on August 1, 1900. Ironically, by then much of the Gold Rush fever had died down.

Today, the WP &Y railroad is largely a tourist draw. The scenery of the White Pass route is second to none and the rails of the White Pass & Yukon Route are laid right down to the docks proving very convenient for the many cruise ship passengers that visit Skagway every summer. The railway still uses vintage parlor cars, the oldest four built in 1881 and predating WP&YR by 17 years, and four new cars built in 2007 follow the same 19th century design.

Comments

Post a Comment

There are no comments on this blog.   Click here to post the first comment.