WPYR north half
The White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad (WPYR) was completed in 1900 between Skagway, AK and Whitehorse, YT, a distance of approx 179 km (111 mi). It is narrow gauge: 0.91 m (36 in).
This project focuses on the north half: that section between Carcross and Whitehorse. No revenue train has travelled this section since fall 1982. When will trains be back? See Future below.
See also the Copper Mines Branch that joined the WPYR at Macrae.
Distances
Distances on WPYR are measured in miles. This is normal for railways in North America, and even those in Canada after metrification. Tracks speeds are in miles per hour.
Mileposts appear every whole mile along the WPYR to indicate the distance from Skagway, which was mile point 0 (MP 0.0). North of Carcross, many of the mileposts made of one vertical rail are still in place although the number sign at the top has disappeared from some of them.
The track distance between Skagway and Carcross varied due to some track changes south of Carcross in the early 1900s. For this reason, some early documents give locations that differ from later descriptions of the same place. And distances between mileposts north of Carcross were disturbed on at least two occasions:
- In 1940, WPYR abandoned two large timber bridges south of Lewes Lake and bypassed them with a longer section of track. The distance between MP 82 and MP 83 is now slightly longer than one mile. See more details on the 1940 bypass.
- In the late 1960s, WPYR created Utah Yard south of Whitehorse to serve as a loading area for copper ore from the Whitehorse Copper mill. In doing so, they abandoned a section of track farther to the east that contained the milepost for MP 106. The distance between MP 105 and MP 107 is now slightly farther than two miles.
There was no urgent reason to move the physical mileposts along the track to cater to these changes in track length. The mile posts remained at their original positions to serve as reference points for referring to specific locations along the track.
The MP numbers and station mileages listed below and in the interactive map correspond to the physical mileposts that you will find along the track. These also correspond to the MPs given in railway timetables after 1940 and shown in a series of legal surveys of the actual right of way conducted in 1952.
Stations
The stations on this part of the line came and went over time. See more details about station names, locations, and histories.
The station locations are on the map below.
Lewes Lake Bypass
In 1940, WPYR created a bypass around two timber bridges at the south end of Lewes Lake. See more details about the Lewes Lake Bypass.
Map
The interactive map below shows locations of mileposts and stations. You might want view the map full screen.
Downloads
GPS maps for this project that you can download
Photos
Photos are keyed to mile points, which also appear on the map above.
| MP | Details |
|---|---|
| 110.6 |  The Roundhouse straddles the track and was used to store the tourist trolley car when it was running. The Roundhouse is not round or even partially round like a conventional railway roundhouse, and did not serve the function of a railway roundhouse. It was moved to its present position from farther north on the track near the current location of the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre. Photo 2022 |
| 110.5 |    The first photo is looking north with the Old Fire Hall and the station in the distance on the left. Note the good condition of the ties at this location. The track was rebuilt for the tourist trolley just before it ceased operation. The second and third photos are looking north and south at the station, respectively. Photos 2022 |
| 110.4 |    These 2022 photos are of the crossing of the waterfront multiuse trail near the tourist information centre. First photo is looking north. Second photo shows how flange gaps in the boardwalk have been filled with cement to reduce catching bicycle tires. Third photo is looking south. |
| 110.1 |   The first photo is looking southwest across the 2nd Street crossing toward MP 109.9. The second photo is looking the other way from the same point. The big box in the middle of the track was the end of the line for the tourist trolley, which operated from here farther north along the waterfront. Photos 2022 |
| 109.9 |    First and second photos are looking southwest toward MP 109.8. Third photo is looking northeast. Photos 2022 |
| 109.8 |  Looking southwest toward MP 109.7. The rail visible in the photo is the right rail. The left rail is covered by the gravel bank parallel to the road. Photo 2022 |
| 109.7 |  Looking southwest along the clay cliffs toward MP 109.5 and the area of the 2022 slide. The left rail is barely visible in the vegetatation just to the right of the gravel bank parallel to the road. Photo 2022 |
| 109.5 |   Keeping the track clear in this area was always a problem even when the railway was operational. The first photo (by Yukon Geological Survey, used here with permission) shows the immediate aftermath of a slide that occurred in the spring of 2022. The second photo (2022) shows the "iron curtain" installed after the cleanup to prevent any more blockage of the road. The WPYR tracks are now well and completely covered over in this area. Landslide closes Robert Service Way and Millennium Trail in Whitehorse. More slides occurred in 2023 a short distance farther northeast. Whitehorse had its 3rd landslide of 2023 over the long May weekend. Concrete barriers placed along the base of the cliffs in 2024 stopped a small May slide but made any thought of rebuilding the railway in the area even more impractical. |
| 108.7 |   Looking north, south at the crossing of the road to the floatplane base just south of Yukon Energy. Photos 2022 |
| 107.85 |  In this hidden location just west of Schwatka Lake, the line passes through a short, deep cut that must have been difficult to keep clear of sliding mud and clay. Photo 2021 |
| 107.2 |  The Ear Lake spur was probably abandoned before 1920 and steel taken up then. It was used for loading ore from early copper mines. The photo was taken summer 2023 from the approximate location of the switch on the main line. The spur was in the gap in the trees to the left of centre; the main is in the pine trees to the right of centre. |
| 107.0 |    First and second photos are looking north and south. An improvised bench sits beside the track near the milepost. From that bench, one can contemplate the view of Grey Mountain, third photo. Photos summer 2023 |
| 106.6 |  Looking south summer 2023 |
| 105.0 |   Looking north, south summer 2023 |
| 104.8 |   Looking north, south at the crossing of the American laundry road just south of Wigan, north of Macrae. Photos 2022 |
| 104.5 |    The track crosses a small creek between Wigan and Macrae. When the culvert for the creek in that location was replaced fairly recently, the rails were removed and left on the right of way. Photos 2022 |
| 103.9 |   Looking north, south near the crossing of the Alaska Highway close to Macrae. Photos 2022 |
| 103.1 |   Looking north, south at the crossing of Moraine Drive. Photos 2022 |
| 101.9 |   The bridge in this area just west of Phelps Place was washed out by a flood in the nearby beaver pond. The rail from the bridge has been removed and dragged back along the in-place rail on the north side. Photos 2021 |
| 101.0 |   Looking north, south summer 2023 |
| 100.6 |     When half of this bridge over Wolf Creek fell in, local residents added skeletal decking so people on foot or skis could cross on the bridge instead of at the adjacent creek crossing. Photos summer 2023 |
| 100.3 |   Looking north, south summer 2023 at the Keewenaw Road crossing. |
| 100.0 |   Looking north, south summer 2023. The track here is heavily overgrown by sizable trees that make walking along it impossible in places. |
| 99.4 |      The right of way is very overgrown along the south shore of Mary Lake. It is flooded in places. Telegraph poles and wires are still in location here. Photos 2020, 2022 |
| 99.0 |   Looking north, south summer 2023 |
| 98.9 |      The 120 m causeway over the south end of Mary Lake is badly eroded and overgrown. First photo looks north at the complete causeway. Second photo looks south from the north end of the causeway. Third photo shows gap in centre looking south. Fourth photo looks north from the centre gap. Fifth photo shows state of overgrowth. First photo is 2022, remainder 2023 |
| 95.1 |  Equipment storage shed near the location of Cowley Station, 2022. There is lots of water in this area; this building is sitting in water. |
| 95.0 |     First and second photos: looking north, south summer 2022. Between this point, which is just south of Cowley Station, and Cowley Lake many ties are broken, roadbed is in poor condition, tie plates have spontaneously detached, and spikes have popped out: third and fourth photos. |
| 94.5 |    The track crosses two lobes of shallow Cowley Lake on causeways. This is the north one, about 500 m long. First photo looks south toward the centre of the causeway. Third photo looks north to the same point. The second photo shows how close the water was to the track in summer 2022 partway along the causeway from the north. Farther toward the centre, the track is pretty much submerged. |
| 94.0 |     This is the track crossing the south lobe of Cowley Lake on a causeway about 500 m long. First photo summer 2022. Second and third photos are looking north and south, respectively, from mid-causeway spring 2023. The water is currently much higher than when the railway was in operation. Causeway is significantly washed away near the north end as the video shows. Telegraph poles are cut away south of this point. |
| 93.7 |   Ties have rotted sufficiently to release one rail completely, which has spring out, possibly encouraged by heat expansion, spring 2023. |
| 93.0 |   Looking north, south spring 2023. |
| 92.0 |   Looking north, south spring 2023. |
| 91.0 |   Looking north, south summer 2022. Many ties in this area are not just rotten, they are broken. |
| 90.9 |    From about MP 90 to MP 92.5, the railway crosses a natural channel for water draining north into Cowley Lake. Between MP 92 and MP 92.5, the railway embankment cuts off the north end of this channel and forms a barrier to water flowing north. This has not been a problem for most of the railway`s life. However, in the last decade+, the level of McConnell Lake (straight west of Robinson MP 88.9) has risen to cover areas around the south end of that lake that have traditionally been dry. As water levels rose, the excess water has flowed east and then north of the Annie Lake Golf Course along the natural channel. In spring of 2021 and again in 2022, the water level rose on the west side of the railway and finally burst through here at MP 90.9, flooding a residence and property just to the east. The first photo (summer 2022) shows the area of the washout looking north. The second photo (summer 2022) is looking east across the washout to a large area of vegatation on the other side that was killed by the water. The third photo (spring 2023) shows the same spot with plenty of water. |
| 89.0 |   Looking north, south summer 2022. This point is just north of the crossing from the parking lot on the highway to Robinson Roadhouse. Robinson station was a short distance south. |
| 88.33 |     Bridge over Bear Creek. First photo is taken from the west (highway is on the other side). Second photo is looking north across the bridge. Third and fourth photos are of erosion on southeast corner of the bridge. Photos 2022, 2023 |
| 88.23 |    Looking north, south summer 2022. Third photo is of possible section house by the track. There are several Casey car setouts just to the south of the house. |
| 88.0 |   Looking north, south spring 2023 |
| 87.0 |    Looking north, south spring 2023. Building on the west side of the track is very solid, made out of railway ties with a sod roof. |
| 86.7 |      The track has been flooded in this area and suffered several washouts as the first three photos show. Beaver have incorporated the roadbed into their damming efforts; the rail is almost completely hidden in the dam, barely visible in left third of the fouth photo. In the fifth photo (J. Ourom), the southbound walker is navigating the beaver dam pushed up against the rails, which are in the leaves to his left. Photos spring 2023 |
| 86.4 |  Not a monorail. The other rail is in the grass closer to the water. Spring 2023 |
| 86.0 |   Looking north, south spring 2023 |
| 85.0 |   Looking north, south summer 2022. Track is fairly clear but ties are in bad condition. |
| 84.0 |   Looking north, south summer 2022. Station de Wette (Wette Lea) was in this area. |
| 83.6 |   Right of way is fairly clear here but the ties are in very bad condition. Any locomotive along this section would turn the rails. This is north of where the Lewes Lake Road crosses the track. Photos 2022 |
| 83.0 |   Looking north, south summer 2022. This location is just south of where the Lewes Lake Road crosses the track. |
| 82.7 original |
 Looking south, summer 2022, at the north end of the bypass, which emerges from the "big cut" on the left of the photo. The original alignment went to the right of the mound in the centre and down to the second bridge abandoned in 1940. See more details on the bypass. |
| 82.6 original |
  On the original alignment bypassed in 1940 just northeast of the second of two timber bridges. The first photo is looking southwest over the location of the second bridge. The second photo is looking the other way to the point where the bypass joined the original alignment. The telegraph poles are on or near the original alignment. See more details on the bypass. Photos 2022 |
| 82.5 original |
 This is the approximate centre of the second timber bridge bypassed in 1940 and is currently the second (north-most) water crossing on the bypassed section. Perhaps the attempt to drain the lake was made through a sand bank in this area so the water flowed initially into the low area immediately to the east and eventually to the south along the route where the lake currently drains. There are many bridge timbers in the area. This photo shows some interesting pieces in the water just north of the beaver dam. See more details on the bypass. Photos 2022 |
| 82.4 bypass |
 This is about the centre of the "big fill" required when building the bypass in 1940. The west side of the high embankment is slipping away with lots of change in the time leading up to the summer 2022 photo. Not sure how long the track will still even be walkable. |
| 82.13 original |
   This is the approximate centre of the first timber bridge bypassed in 1940 and is currently the first (south-most) water crossing on the bypassed section. Many bridge timbers and the north abutment of the bridge remain in the area. There is also some sort of camp complete with skeletal outhouse in the area just north and east of the north abutment. See more details on the bypass. Photos 2022 |
| 82.1 |   The south abutment of the first timber bridge bypassed in 1940 was about here. The bypass tracks are visible; the original alignment and first bridge were about where the telegraph pole is in the first photo. Just over down the hill near the base of the pole is the remains of a footing for the first timber bridge, shown in the second photo. See more details on the bypass. Photos 2022 |
| 82.0 |   Looking north and south, summer 2022. |
| 81.0 |   Looking north and south, summer 2022. |
| 80.0 |   Looking north and south, summer 2022. |
| 79.75 |       Bridge washout, summer 2022. First two photos taken from the north end. Third photo taken from the east. Remainder taken from the south end. Note how the west rail has actually cracked and broken (last photo). |
| 79.0 |   Looking north toward the south switch of Lorne siding and south, summer 2022. |
| 75.0 |   Looking north spring 2023. Also south toward the location of Landsdowne (long gone) at MP 74.9. |
| 74.9 |   Looking north, south spring 2023 at the location of Landsdowne. There are some old ties west of the main that supported the siding here, which was torn up before 1965. Other scraps of infrastructure are visible including what are possibly supports for a loading platform east of the main. |
| 74.0 |   Looking north, south spring 2023. |
| 73.0 |   Looking north, south spring 2023. |
| 72.3 |      Washout at Dry Creek, which apparently is not always dry. Photos spring 2023. |
| 70.2 |   Looking north, south summer 2023 at the crossing of the road to the sewage lagoon north of Carcross. |
| 70.0 |   Looking north, south summer 2023. |
| 69.6 |   Looking north, south summer 2023 at the crossing of the Watson River Subdivision road. |
| 69.0 |   Looking north, south summer 2023. |
| 68.2 |   First photo is the north switch of what appears to be the start of a balloon (loop) track to turn a train without using the wye, similar to those at Bennett and Fraser. This is relatively new construction east of the main. The bush has been cleared around the loop for a south switch somewhere about MP 68.0. The rail has been roughly laid out on new unballasted ties. About one-third of the way around the loop, construction ends as shown in the second photo. This switch is about the north extent of usable track. Photos summer 2023. |
| 68.0 |   North end of the Carcross yard area looking north and south, summer 2023. |
| 67.6 |   First photo is looking north. This is the yard area on the north edge of Carcross. Main line is in the centre. Second photo is looking south. The switch to the north arm of the wye is just to the left of the white tank on the flat. Photos summer 2023. |
| 67.5 |    Carcross. First photo shows (L-R) station, Matthew Watson General Store, Carcross Hotel. Rail from left to centre is the south leg of the wye. Second photo is looking north from in front of the station. Main is in the centre curving left; south leg of the wye curves right. Third photo is looking south at the bridge from in front of the station. Photos summer 2023. |
Websites:
- White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad — company site
- Copper Mines Branch — THEN
- Next Train to Whitehorse — Tim Green, Whitehorse Daily Star, March 3, 2023
- White Pass & Yukon Route original and borrowed pictures — Bruce Pryor
- WhitePassFan — Boerries Burkhardt
- The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad — RailsNorth
- The White Pass & Yukon Railroad — Benoit Poulin
- White Pass and Yukon Route — Wikipedia
Books:
- White Pass: Gateway to the Klondike — Roy Mintner. This is the definitive history of building the WPYR.
- The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway — Graham B. Wilson
- On the White Pass Payroll — S.H. Graves
Survey plans:
The WPYR right of way was resurveyed in 1952. These are the surveys north from Carcross:
- plan 42257 — MP 66.1–73.1
- plan 42258 — MP 73.1–81.8
- plan 42259 — MP 81.8–90.8
- plan 42260 — MP 90.8–100.0
- plan 42261 — MP 100.0–109.5
The new alignment through Utah Yard was surveyed in 1969: plan 56438
Although not in the area of this project, these are the surveys between the YT/BC border and Carcross:
- plan 42254 — MP 52.5–57.1
- plan 42255 — MP 57.1–61.6
- plan 42256 — MP 61.6–66.1
Future:
The last revenue train over this section of WPYR was fall 1982. A work train travelled to Whitehorse in 1997.
The current condition of the track and right of way mean there will be no train back to Whitehorse anytime soon without a very expensive rebuild, on the order of $100M... see Next Train to Whitehorse (Whitehorse Daily Star, 3 March 2023).
The week after that article appeared, the Yukon government announced its intention to invest $17M in upgrading the ore loading dock in Skagway... see Deal over access to ore dock in Skagway, Alaska, 'critical' to Yukon, premier says. That announcement is not tied to the future of the railway because the dock is still required for loading ships with ore arriving by truck. However, it resolves one of the uncertainties mentioned in the Next Train article above.
TimmiT History Exploration Notebook