Back Rheilffordd White Pass a Yukon Welsh White Pass and Yukon Railway German White Pass and Yukon Route Finnish White Pass and Yukon Route French ホワイト・パス・アンド・ユーコン・ルート Japanese White Pass & Yukon Route Dutch White Pass and Yukon Route NB White Pass and Yukon Railway Russian White Pass and Yukon Route Serbian White Pass and Yukon Railway Ukrainian

White Pass and Yukon Route

White Pass & Yukon Route
Commercial operations
Original gauge3 ft (914 mm)
Preserved operations
Reporting markWP&YR, WPY
Length107 miles (172 km) (Skagway to Whitehorse); 67.5 miles (108.6 km) (Skagway to Carcross)
Preserved gauge3 ft (914 mm)
Commercial history
OpenedAugust 1, 1900
ClosedOctober 8, 1982
Preservation history
May 24, 1988Reopened
HeadquartersSkagway, Alaska
Website
wpyr.com Edit this at Wikidata
White Pass and Yukon Route
Legend
110.5 mi
177.8 km
 Whitehorse [1]
104.5 mi
168.2 km
 Wigan [2]
104.0 mi
167.4 km
 MacRae [3]
99.9 mi
160.8 km
 Dugdale [4]
95.1 mi
153 km
 Cowley [5]
88.9 mi
143.1 km
 Robinson [6]
84.0 mi
135.2 km
 De Wette [7]
83.7 mi
134.7 km
 Wette Lea
[7]
81.6 mi
131.3 km
 Minto [8]
79.4 mi
127.8 km
 Lorne [9]
74.9 mi
120.5 km
 Lansdowne [10]
70.0 mi
112.7 km
end of active track
as of 2022
north Carcross switch
Carcross house track
siding
north Carcross wye
south Carcross switch
south Carcross wye
67.5 mi
108.6 km
 Carcross [11]
67.4 mi
108.5 km
Nares River [12]
62.9 mi
101.2 km
 McDonald Creek
59.8 mi
96.2 km
north Watson switch
59.6 mi
95.9 km
 Watson [13]
59.4 mi
95.6 km
south Watson switch
55.5 mi
89.3 km
 Pit
55.5 mi
89.3 km
55 Pit switch
52.6 mi
84.7 km
Yukon
British Columbia
border
51.6 mi
83 km
 Pennington
[14]
49.6 mi
79.8 km
north Scheffler switch
49.4 mi
79.5 km
 Scheffler
49.1 mi
79 km
south Scheffler switch
46.4 mi
74.7 km
 Pavey [15]
43.5 mi
70 km
 Guardrail
41.1 mi
66.1 km
north Bennett switch
40.8 mi
65.7 km
north Lake siding switch
40.7 mi
65.5 km
Bennett crossover
 Bennett Yard
40.6 mi
65.3 km
 Bennett [16]
40.5 mi
65.2 km
north Bennett loop switch
40.5 mi
65.2 km
south Lake siding switch
40.2 mi
64.7 km
south Bennett switch
36.2 mi
58.3 km
 Vista
33.1 mi
53.3 km
north Log Cabin switch
33.0 mi
53.1 km
 Log Cabin
32.7 mi
52.6 km
south Log Cabin switch
32.6 mi
52.5 km
Yukon Highway 2.svg
Hwy 2
Klondike Highway
29.8 mi
48 km
 Ptarmigan Point
28.1 mi
45.2 km
Fraser north switch
Fraser crossover
27.7 mi
44.6 km
 Fraser [17]
27.6 mi
44.4 km
south Fraser switch
27.5 mi
44.3 km
Fraser loop
Fraser River
25.4 mi
40.9 km
 Meadows
23.8 mi
38.3 km
 Gateway
21.4 mi
34.4 km
 Divide
Divide loop
20.4 mi
32.8 km
White
Pass
[18]
Canada (BC)
U.S. (AK)
border
20.3 mi
32.7 km
south White Pass switch
19.1 mi
30.7 km
American shed [19]
18.8 mi
30.3 km
north Portal
18.7 mi
30.1 km
south Portal
18.6 mi
29.9 km
south end of line change
18.4 mi
29.6 km
steel cantilever bridge
18.3 mi
29.5 km
 Gulch
18.0 mi
29 km
 Dead Horse Gulch
17.6 mi
28.3 km
 Hawkins
16.8 mi
27 km
 Inspiration Point
16.0 mi
25.7 km
north portal
15.9 mi
25.6 km
south portal
15.9 mi
25.6 km
wood trestle
15.6 mi
25.1 km
 Slippery Rock
14.2 mi
22.9 km
Skagway River (Middle Fork)
14.1 mi
22.7 km
north Glacier switch
14.1 mi
22.7 km
 Glacier [20]
12.7 mi
20.4 km
south Glacier switch
12.6 mi
20.3 km
12.3 mi
19.8 km
 Heney [21]
11.6 mi
18.7 km
 Bridal Veil Falls
11.4 mi
18.3 km
 Foy
10.2 mi
16.4 km
 Black Cross
[22]
9.5 mi
15.3 km
Pitchfork Falls
8.8 mi
14.2 km
 Buchanan
Rock
8.7 mi
14 km
north Clifton switch
8.6 mi
13.8 km
 Clifton [23]
8.4 mi
13.5 km
south Clifton switch
7.3 mi
11.7 km
 Brackett's Road
6.9 mi
11.1 km
 Rocky Point
5.9 mi
9.5 km
Skagway River (East Fork)
5.8 mi
9.3 km
 Denver [24]
4.8 mi
7.7 km
north Boulder switch
4.5 mi
7.2 km
 Boulder [25]
3.2 mi
5.1 km
south Boulder switch
2.4 mi
3.9 km
 Gold Rush
Cemetery
north Extension
Skagway loop
2.3 mi
3.7 km
 Shops
Skagway yard switch
 Coach Yard
Skagway yard switch
 City Hall
0.6 mi
1 km
 Skagway Junction
0.00
 Skagway
Broadway
long siding
Skagway Wharves
Skagway Harbor

The White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&Y, WP&YR) (reporting mark WPY) is a Canadian and U.S. Class III 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway, Alaska, with Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. An isolated system, it has no direct connection to any other railroad. Equipment, freight and passengers are ferried by ship through the Port of Skagway, and via road through a few of the stops along its route.

The railroad began construction in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush as a means of reaching the gold fields. With its completion in 1900, it became the primary route to the interior of the Yukon, supplanting the Chilkoot Trail and other routes. The route continued operation until 1982, and in 1988 was partially revived as a heritage railway. In July 2018, the railway was purchased by Carnival Corporation & plc.

Passing trains on the White Pass and Yukon Route

For many years the railroad was a subsidiary of Tri White Corporation, also the parent of Clublink, and operated by the Pacific and Arctic Railway and Navigation Company (in Alaska), the British Columbia Yukon Railway Company (in British Columbia) and the British Yukon Railway Company, originally known as the British Yukon Mining, Trading and Transportation Company (in Yukon), which used the trade name White Pass and Yukon Route. The railroad was sold by Clublink to a joint venture controlled by Survey Point Holdings, with a minority holding by the Carnival Corporation & plc parent company of the Carnival Cruise Line.[26][27]

White Pass and Yukon Route train entering a tunnel

The railway was designated as an international historic civil engineering landmark by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering[28] and the American Society of Civil Engineers[29] in 1994.

  1. ^ Named after the appearance of rapids in Yukon River. Coutts, R. C. (2003). Yukon Places and Names. Moose Creek Publishing. ISBN 978-0968844038.; Phillips, James W. (1973). Alaska-Yukon Place Names. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-95259-8.
  2. ^ Named for Edward A. Wigan (1868-1942), early shareholder of the White Pass. Minter, Roy (1987). The White Pass: Gateway to the Klondike. University of Alaska Press. ISBN 0-912006-26-9., at page 175 (Edward A. Wigan).
  3. ^ Named for Charles C. MacRae (1843-1922), early shareholder of the White Pass. Minter (1987). The White Pass., at page 175 (Colin Macrae).
  4. ^ Named for James Dugdale (1842-1903), cotton manufacturer and early shareholder of the White Pass. Minter (1987). The White Pass., at page 175 (James Dugdale).
  5. ^ Named for Isaac Cowley Lambert (1850-1909), chairman of the Pacific Contract Co., the construction company that built the White Pass railroad. Minter (1987). The White Pass., at pp. 175, 318 (Cowley Lambert); Coutts (2003). Yukon Places and Names.
  6. ^ Named for William C. “Stikine Bill” Robinson (1857-1926), general foreman of construction of the White Pass railroad. Minter (1987). The White Pass., at page 275 (William “Stikine Bill” Robinson); Coutts (2003). Yukon Places and Names.
  7. ^ a b Named for Auguste Christoph Rudolph de Wette (1845-1912), banker and early shareholder of the White Pass. Minter (1987). The White Pass., at page 175 (Auguste de Wette); Coutts (2003). Yukon Places and Names.
  8. ^ Named for John Elliott-Murray-Kynmound, 4th Earl of Minto (1845-1914), Governor-General of Canada. Coutts (2003). Yukon Places and Names.; Phillips (1973). Alaska-Yukon Place Names.
  9. ^ Named for John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, Marquess of Lorne (1845-1914), Governor-General of Canada. Coutts (2003). Yukon Places and Names.
  10. ^ Named for Henry Charles Keith Petty Fitz-Maurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne (1845-1927), Governor-General of Canada. Coutts (2003). Yukon Places and Names.
  11. ^ Originally named Caribou Crossing; renamed in 1904 because of frequent confusion in mail services. Coutts (2003). Yukon Places and Names.; Mulvihill, Carl E. (2000). White Pass & Yukon Route Handbook. R. Robb, Ltd., at page 58.
  12. ^ Named for Adm. Sir George Strong Nares (1831-1915), British Navy, Arctic explorer. Coutts (2003). Yukon Places and Names.; Phillips (1973). Alaska-Yukon Place Names.
  13. ^ Named for the Watson (fl. 1898) of Watson & Church, Skagway real estate agents.
  14. ^ Named for Frederick Pennington (1819-1914), early shareholder of the White Pass. Minter (1987). The White Pass., at page 175 (Frederick Pennington); Mulvihill (2000). White Pass & Yukon Route Handbook., at page 57.
  15. ^ Named after "Pavy, London", telegraph address of Charles Colin MacRae.
  16. ^ Named for James G. Bennett, Jr. (1841-1918), son of the founder of the New York Herald, and patron of American geographical research. Phillips (1973). Alaska-Yukon Place Names.; Mulvihill (2000). White Pass & Yukon Route Handbook., at page 53.
  17. ^ Named for Duncan C. Fraser (1845-1910), Member of Parliament from Nova Scotia. Minter (1987). The White Pass., at page 63 (Duncan C. Fraser).
  18. ^ Named for Thomas W. White (1830-1888), Canadian Interior Minister. Minter (1987). The White Pass., at page 26; Orth, Donald J. (1967). Dictionary of Alaska Place Names. U.S. Government Printing Office., at page 1044 (White Pass: pass); Phillips (1973). Alaska-Yukon Place Names.; Mulvihill (2000). White Pass & Yukon Route Handbook., at page 45.
  19. ^ Formerly, site of snowshed.
  20. ^ Named for Laughton Glacier, which lies about 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the southeast of this station. Orth (1967). Dictionary of Alaska Place Names., at page 368 (Glacier … 1.4 mi. NW of terminus of Laughton Glacier).
  21. ^ Named for Michael J. Heney (1864-1910), labor contractor who built the White Pass railroad. Minter (1987). The White Pass., at page pp. 358-59.
  22. ^ Site of construction accident on August 3, 1898, in which two men were crushed and buried under the falling rock that now rests there. Mulvihill (2000). White Pass & Yukon Route Handbook., at page 33.
  23. ^ Named for rocks overhanging tracks. Mulvihill (2000). White Pass & Yukon Route Handbook., at page 32.
  24. ^ Named for Denver Glacier, which lies about 3 miles (4.8 km) to the east of this station. Mulvihill (2000). White Pass & Yukon Route Handbook., at page 27.
  25. ^ Named after boulders located in the Skagway River here. Mulvihill (2000). White Pass & Yukon Route Handbook., at page 26.
  26. ^ "Carnival Corporation & PLC Acquires Port, Railroad and Retail Operations in Alaska" (Press release).
  27. ^ The Globe: September 7, 2018: "TWC Enterprises Limited Announces Divestiture of White Pass Yukon Route to Joint Venture"
  28. ^ Anon. "White Pass and Yukon Railway". Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  29. ^ "White Pass and Yukon Railroad | ASCE". www.asce.org. Archived from the original on 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
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