Six hundred miles over treacherous and dangerous trails and waterways lay before them. Tens of thousands of gold crazed men and women steamed up the Inside Passage waterway and arrived in Dyea and Skagway to begin the overland trek to the Klondike. The news spread like wildfire and the country, in the midst of a depression, went gold crazy. Under headlines “Gold! Gold! Gold!” the newspaper reported that “Sixty Eight Rich Men on the Steamer Portland” arrived in Seattle with “Stacks of Yellow Metal”. The headline of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Jbroadcast the news of the discovery of gold in the Canadian Klondike. Moore even suggested to his son that eventually there would be a railroad through to the lakes and to prepare for the coming gold rush. He built a sawmill, a wharf and blazed the trail to the summit of the White Pass. Search for gold in northwest Canada and Alaska had been underway for the past two decades and Moore believed that it was only a question of time before gold would be discovered. He returned to his home and began to think about the changes he felt would soon come. Moore had a 160-acre homestead claim in Skagway. They reached Lake Bennett, near the headwaters of the Yukon, and named the new potential route, White Pass, for the Canadian Minister of the Interior, Sir Thomas White. Because the known route, Chilkoot Pass, was so rough and rugged, Moore and Skookum Jim decided to head north over unchartered ground and seek an easier route to the interior. He was hired by a Canadian survey party, headed by William Ogilvie who had been commissioned to map the 141st meridian, the boundary between the United States and Canada. The rush for riches was actually predicted by Skagway founder, Captain William Moore. But it was enough to trigger an incredible stampede for riches: the Klondike Gold Rush. The few flakes they found in Bonanza Creek in the Klondike barely filled the spent cartridge of a Winchester rifle. For the White Pass & Yukon Route, it was gold, discovered in 1896 by George Carmack and two Indian companions, Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie. Our history is on display in and around the Skagway depot and celebrates 106 years of WP&YR people, equipment, activities and art.īorn in the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898, the White Pass & Yukon Route is a rare story in the history of railroad building.Įvery railroad has its own colorful beginnings. Photo: The Steel Cantilever Bridge Depot Displays The courage and brave acts of the workers under the leadership of dedicated builders are recognized by this prestigious designation. The WP&YR is recognized for the many difficult and hazardous obstacles that construction overcame: design challenges, granite mountains, steep grades, cliff hanging turns and unimaginable weather conditions. This is an honor shared by only 36 world civil engineering marvels such as the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty and the Panama Canal. The White Pass & Yukon Route was designated an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1994. 73 pulls special steam excursions Civil Engineering Landmark True filled two books with his adventure tales, now available at the WP&YR Train Shoppe in the Skagway Depot.Įngine No. He recalls charging moose, runaway trains and snows higher than a train’s caboose. True, spent 40 years riding the rails and telling stories of his adventures.
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