Golden Spike Ceremony Alaska's White Pass & Yukon Route railroad

(PRWEB) July 12, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 5, 2000 For Information Contact:

Gary Danielson, Vice President

907-983-2214 or via

email at gary@whitepass.net

                                    Tina Cyr, Director of Marketing

907-983-2217 or via

email at tina@whitepass.net

AMERICA’S GOLD RUSH RAILROAD CELEBRATES ITS 100TH BIRTHDAY

    SKAGWAY, AK – One of the country’s most notable and historic railroads will close another chapter in its great history on July 29th when it celebrates the completion of its construction 100 years ago. The White Pass & Yukon Route railroad’s centennial event will include the re-enactment the traditional end of construction with the driving of the ceremonial golden spike into the rails.

The celebration will take place at Carcross, Yukon Territory beginning at 11 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) on July 29, 2000.

    On hand to help the railroad celebrate will be 1,500 people from across Alaska, Canada and the United States including more than a dozen descendants of the railroad’s three original founders. The party also will be joined by a group of private rail car owners who plan to haul their casey cars up the Alaska Highway to Skagway, and operate them on the unused portion of the line between Whitehorse and Carcross, YT.

    The White Pass & Yukon Route is based in Skagway, Alaska. Its parent company is the Tri-White Corporation, a holding company that specializes in transportation services. Tri-White’s stock is traded on the Toronto and Winnipeg stock exchanges.

    The White Pass railroad offers scenic train excursions to more than 275,000 passengers a year from Skagway, in Southeast Alaska. Skagway is a restored gold rush town and headquarters of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.

Construction of the WP&YR began in 1898 during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush, and was completed in July 1900. At the time, construction was considered to be one of the greatest feats of modern history, and provided a vital link between the tidewater port of Skagway to the gold fields of the Yukon. The WP&YR was designated an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1994.

Today, the railway provides passenger service on the first 40 miles of the original 110-mile line. Passengers ride in restored parlor cars and new train cars, climbing 2,865-feet in just 20 miles. The WP&YR now serves more than 275,000 passengers and is one of the most popular visitor attractions in Alaska.

Joining the July 29th celebration will be 12 descendents of the railroad’s founder, Michael J. Heney, who will travel from points as far away as Singapore and will include his great nephew Brendan Heney who now works as a tour guide on the White Pass & Yukon Route in Skagway. Also on hand will be Jessie Hislop, great niece of the WP&YR’s chief engineer and surveyor, John Hislop.

The "Narrow Gauge Gang," a group of private rail casey car owners, will drive across the country and up the Alaska Highway hauling their railcars on flatbed trailers. This unique group of "tourists" will join others who will congregate in the Yukon for the historic re-entactment of the golden spike centennial.

"We’ve been planning this day for some time and are grateful for all those who will join us to make this day truly unique in White Pass history," said Gary Danielson, WP&YR vice president of marketing and corporate planning.

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