White Pass and Yukon Route Railway collection, approximately 1930s

The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway is a 67.5-mile tourist segment of an original 110-mile train route starting in Skagway, Alaska that originally transported ore and concentrates during the Yukon Gold Rush, then became a fully integrated transportation company following World War II. The White Pass & Yukon Railroad Company was conceived by Sir Thomas Tancrede and Michael Heney in April 1898 with construction beginning May 28, 1898. Originally the road would be operated as three separate entities: The Pacific & Arctic Railway & Navigation Company in Alaska (20.4 miles), the British Columbia Yukon Railway Company in British Columbia (32.2 miles), and the British Yukon Railway Company in the Yukon Territory in the Yukon Territory.

There were significant obstacles to the project and at least 35 workers were killed in construction accidents before the line was completed. Construction took 26 months, finishing in 1900. Before 1954 the railway was the chief supplier to the US Army Alaska Highway construction project. In 1954, as diesel and electric power came into popular use the company became a “fully integrated transportation company operating docks, trains, stagecoaches, sleighs, buses, paddle wheelers, trucks, ships, airplanes, hotels and pipelines." Operations were suspended in 1982 after the collapse of the Yukon mining industry due to low mineral prices. In 1988 the WP&NY railway route was reopened as a seasonal tourist attraction.

Source: White Pass & Yukon Route https://wpyr.com// Accessed July 2023