White Pass and Yukon Railway - Whitehorse, YT
Posted by: 
linkys
N 60° 43.204 W 135° 03.003
8V E 497269 N 6731609
Plaque on the side of the Whitehorse railway station that commemorates one of the great railway engineering feats.
Waymark Code: WMCRPD
Location: Yukon Territory, Canada
Date Posted: 10/08/2011
Views: 11
Built in just over 26 months between 1898 and 1900, the 110 mile long Yukon White Pass Railway connected the port town of Skagway, Alaska with the inland town of Whitehorse, Yukon. With a climb of nearly 4000 feet in the first 20 miles, the task of engineering and building the railway was marvel for its time. Using hand tools and black powder, the crews formed roadbeds out of mountainsides, blasted tunnels and built gargantuan trestles. It opened up the Yukon gold fields and operated commercially until the 1982. Since 1988 a portion of the original railway has operated as a very successful seasonal tourist line, allowing visitors to get a close up look at this engineering landmark.
The plaque reads:
Completed in 1900
A tribute to the American and Canadian engineers who concieved, designed and constructed the 110 mile narrow gauge railway to develop the Yukon gold fields. The railway has since provided a major transportation link with the Yukon.
September 1994
Location:
Canadian terminus at the Whitehorse railway station, end of Main Street in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Type of structure/site: Railway
Date of Construction: 1898-1900
Engineering Organization Listing: American Society of Civil Engineers
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Web Site: [Web Link]
Engineer/Architect/Builder etc.: Not listed
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