Searching for Gold - White Pass & Yukon Route, Skagway, Alaska

This may be a strange title for this photo, but is actually quite appropriate. The White Pass and Yukon Railway (WP&YR) was built in 1898 as a result of the Klondike Gold Rush. The gold rush itself started in 1896 and attracted over 100,000 prospectors to the Yukon. The building of the railway was quite impressive, taking a little over two years to complete. This is especially so when you take into account that the railway is 110 miles long, climbs 3,000 feet through rugged mountains with grades of almost 4%, and has numerous tunnels, trestles and bridges. 

Maybe the most interesting thing about the railway is that it served prospectors for a little over a year. By 1899, gold had been found in Nome, Alaska, and most of the prospectors packed up and headed there to strike it rich. Today the train runs as a seasonal tourist attraction, beginning and ending in Skagway, Alaska.