Where is the station?

That might sound like a trivial question given that all the stations below have MPs specfied to within 0.1 mi. But consider that a "station" is actually a location upon which certain facilities (maybe including buildings) and activities are centred. So, what is actually at that specific MP for each station below?

Some stations might not have had much of an actual station building. Some were just flag stops where one would be lucky to find even a small shelter. Others had sidings. A 30-car siding with space for locomotives would have been at least 400 m (0.25 mi) long so the specified MP for that station might have been anywhere in a certain range. And in at least one station location, the centre of activity moved as the station function changed.

For these reasons, there was not necessarily a station building exactly at the MP specified for the station.

Stations and mileposts appear on the map.

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Whitehorse, MP 110.7

• listed as "White Horse" in early (e.g., 1902) railway documents
• selected as northern terminus of the WPYR because it was north of the White Horse Rapids (flooded by Schwatka Lake when the power dam was built in the late 1950s) and also because of the promise of rich copper and coal deposits in the area
• yard facilities evolved over time; included a wye for turning locomotives up until the late 1950s (early 1960s?) when it was replaced by a loop
• coaling and watering point until the 1950s, (oil) fueling point starting in the 1960s
• daytime telegraph office until at least the 1960s

Ear Lake, MP 107.2

• not on the railway map in 1909
• location of a short spur for loading ore from copper mines farther west; abandoned by about 1920
• appears as a flag station on the 1941 timetable but gone by 1950

Canyon, MP 106.0

• on the section of track abandoned late 1960s when Utah Yard was created, south-west of the southern end of Miles Canyon high above the river
• appears as a flag station on the 1941 timetable but gone by 1950
• probably a place where tourist passengers could access Miles Canyon before the road was built. This is the closest point to the canyon on the railway, about 400 m. Today a footpath leads from Canyon (station) down to the Miles Canyon parking lot. That path may have been there since at least the 1940s.

Utah Siding, MP 105.4, original alignment

• on the original 1900 alignment bypassed about 1969
• siding and several spurs to serve the Utah Construction Company facility when the company was engaged in building the Alaska Highway
• 1940s era

Utah Yard, MP 105.4 new alignment

• on the new alignment built about 1969 just east of current junction of Alaska Highway and Mt. Sima Road
• multiple tracks used for loading copper ore from Whitehorse Copper mill

Wigan, MP 104.8

• original station with siding in 1900
• 312 m (1023 ft) siding in 1909
• siding used for loading ore from copper mines farther west in early 1900s (before 1920)
• 25-car siding in 1941
• gone by 1949

Macrae, MP 104.0

• not a station during the original construction due to proximity of Wigan
• junction with the Copper Mines Branch via a wye at about MP 103.5 near where the railway currently crosses the highway
• first Macrae station at approximately MP 103.5, probably about 1910
• simply a flag station with a wye in 1941
• grew quickly in importance during WW II for construction of the Alaska Highway
• 110-car siding in 1949 centred at MP 104
• 69-car siding in 1965
• 48-car siding in 1975
• currently no siding

Dugdale, MP 99.9

• original station with siding in 1900
• no longer on the railway map in 1909
• definitely gone by 1941

Cowley, MP 95.1

• original station with siding in 1900
• 230 m (754 ft) siding in 1909
• 17-car siding in 1941 when it was a coaling and water point
• 44-car siding in 1949; all southbound trains required to stop here
• 26-car siding in 1965 when it was a fuelling point
• 23-car siding in 1975
• siding length 390 m (1280 ft) east of the main, 2022

Robinson, MP 88.9

• original station with siding in 1900
• 349 m (1144 ft) siding in 1909
• 30-car siding in 1941
• 47-car siding in 1949
• no siding in 1965
• not considered to be a station in 1975

Wette Lea / de Wette, MP 84.0

• original station but there was some confusion about its name; referred to by both names in the early 1900s
• may have had a siding in 1900 or siding(s) may have been farther south
• 275 m (902 ft) siding in 1909
• appears as a flag stop (de Wette) in 1941, no siding
• not a station or siding during period 1949–1975
• current appearance suggests that may have had a siding at one time; cleared, straight area on right of way and extra rail in the vicinity but no switches

Lewis (Minto), MP 81.5

• sometimes referred to as "Minto" in early 1900s (before 1940), or was Minto farther north?
• flag station, no siding in 1941
• gone by 1949

Lorne, MP 79.4

• original station with siding in 1900
• 358 m (1175 ft) siding in 1909
• 30-car siding in 1941 when it was a flag station
• 26-car siding in 1949
• 24-car siding in 1965
• 51-car siding in 1975
• siding length 700 m (2300 ft), west of the main in 2022

Landsdowne, MP 74.9

• original station with siding in 1900
• 275 m (901 ft) siding in 1909
• 22-car siding in 1941 when it was a flag station
• 19-car siding in 1949
• no siding in 1965
• gone by 1975
• in 2023, space for a siding of roughly 260 m (850 ft) extending south from MP 75.0, west of the main; approximate capacity 19 cars plus 2 locomotives; remains of old ties

Carcross, MP 67.5

• appears as "Caribou" in early (e.g., 1902) railway documents
• important location during original construction
• always had a wye, yard; 143 m (468 ft) siding in 1909
• coaling and watering point in 1941 through late 1950s or early 1960s
• daytime telegraph office until at least the 1960s

TimmiT History Exploration Notebook