July 29, 1900
An inaugural ceremony was held for the White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&YR), a narrow-gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway in what was then the U.S. territory of Alaska with the community of White Horse (later officially changed to Whitehorse and incorporated as a city) in the Canadian territory of Yukon.
The ceremony took place in the community of Carcross. These Sunday festivities included having Samuel H. Graves (1852-1911), president of the WP&YR, drive a golden spike into the rails to formally mark the formal completion of the line between Skagway and White Horse.
Construction on the WP&YR began in May 1898. The Klondike Gold Rush in that part of the world was at its height at the time and the railroad was seen as a pivotal means for reaching those goldfields. After it was completed, the WP&YR became the primary way of getting to the interior of Yukon. Consequently, this railroad replaced in large part the Chilkoot Trail and other routes that had previously been used in the region.
The WP&YR remained in regular service until 1982. About six years later, it was revived to some extent as a heritage railway. (The accompanying photo of passengers standing outside a WP&YR train car was taken sometime around 1907 by Frank H. Nowell [1864-1950]).
Photo Credit: Public Domain
For more information on the White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&YR), please check out https://wpyr.com/history/
A map of the WP&YR is available at https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4371p.mfr00031/
Transportation History 
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