White Pass and Yukon Route

The White Pass & Yukon Route Railway is a narrow gauge railroad built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush, described by its operator as "The Scenic Railway of the World". It is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, a designation shared with the Panama Canal, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. The railway climbs almost 3000 feet in just 20 miles and features steep grades of up to 3.9%, cliff-hanging turns of 16 degrees, two tunnels and numerous bridges and trestles. Today it offers scenic excursions such as the White Pass Summit Excursion and the Bennett Scenic Journey.

The White Pass & Yukon Route was born in the Klondike Gold Rush. Gold was discovered in 1896 by George Carmack and two First Nations companions, Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie, in Bonanza Creek in the Klondike. Skagway founder Captain William Moore, who had been hired by a Canadian survey party headed by William Ogilvie, and Skookum Jim headed north over uncharted ground and reached Lake Bennett, naming the new potential route White Pass for the Canadian Minister of the Interior, Sir Thomas White. The WP&YR railway was built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush and was literally blasted through coastal mountains in only 26 months. The $10 million project was the product of British financing, American engineering and Canadian contracting. Tens of thousands of men and 450 tons of explosives overcame harsh and challenging climate and geography to create "the railway built of gold." The 110 mile WP&YR Railroad was completed with the driving of the golden spike on July 29, 1900 in Carcross, Yukon, connecting the deep water port of Skagway, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Yukon, and beyond to northwest Canada and interior Alaska. The steel cantilever bridge was the tallest of its kind in the world when it was constructed in 1901. The White Pass & Yukon Route was designated an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1994. Today the railway offers scenic excursions including the White Pass Summit Excursion and the Bennett Scenic Journey.

The Scenic Railway of the World

• White Pass Summit Excursion

  2.5 - 2.75 Hours, 40 miles round trip, $155/Adult $77.50/Child.

• Bennett Scenic Journey

  A scenic journey offered by the railway.

1. 1White Pass & Yukon Route Railway – Scenic Railway of the Worldwpyr.com
2. 2WP&YR Facts – White Pass & Yukon Route Railwaywpyr.com
3. 3The White Pass Story – White Pass & Yukon Route Railwaywpyr.com
4. 4COMPANY INFO – White Pass & Yukon Route Railwaywpyr.com