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| 2105 White Pass and Yukon Route - A diesel locomotive and the steam locomotive No. 73. |
The White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&Y, WP&YR) is a Canadian and U.S. Class II 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway, Alaska, with Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon (Canada). It is an isolated system, which 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 goldfields. With its completion in 1900, it became the primary route to the interior of the Yukon, supplanting the Chilkoot Trail and other routes. The WP&YR suspended operations in 1982, when Yukon’s mining industry collapsed due to low mineral prices. The White Pass Route was reopened between Skagway and White Pass in 1988 purely for seasonal tourism operation.
The line in use now, between Skagway and Carcross, has 109km, which means about 63% of the original line. The railway still uses vintage parlor cars, the oldest four built in 1881, and four new cars built in 2007 follow the same 19th century design. Most trains are hauled by the line's diesel locomotives (ALCO 251A6 and 251D6), painted in green (lower) and yellow (upper), but one of the line's steam locomotives is still in operation too, No. 73, a 2-8-2 Mikado-type locomotive, built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1947.
About the stamps
About one of the stamp, which pays tribute to the majestic emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), I wrote here. Another one is part of the commemorative series Go Green, about which I wrote here.The last two are part of the series Classic American Aircraft, about which I wrote here.
References
White Pass and Yukon Route - Wikipedia
White Pass and Yukon Route - Official website
Sender: Denise
Sent from Greenvale (New York / United States), on 10.11.2015
Photo: Dedman's Photo Shop
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