This early photo of the Brackett Road or Trail of ’98 is the path that the White Pass railroad used later.
The Tutshi and the Duchess at Carcross
Here are three alternative White Pass & Yukon Route modes of travel. The paddlewheel steamer Tutshi is seen here whole before it burned many years ago. On the left is an old White Pass horse drawn wagon. The little Duchess engine which was used over on Lake Atlin is looking alot spiffier here too. These days you are not allowed to climb on top of it and try to pry the pieces off. Kids.
The Duchess was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1878 and John Irving purchased her from the Collieries on Vancouver Island in 1899. She was shipped north on the S.S. Danube and hauled by train to Carcross and then barged to Taku Landing. In 1900 White Pass acquired the interests of the John Irving Navigation Company and the Atlin Short Line Railway. On July 18, 1900 the Duchess pulled the first load across the portage. At $2 fo 4 kilometers it was the most expensive trip in the world. Passengers rode amidst packages and cargo, stamping out cinders and sometimes asked to help push the train the last part over the hill where the grade was 7%. For many years White Pass owned the transportation route from Vancouver all the way to Atlin. The Duchess ran until 1919 when she was replaced by engine no. 51 (one of the two original Baldwin engines built for White Pass.) In 1932 the other engine, no. 52 was brought there.
What the #*?!@% ! is he thinking?
This guy looks really familiar, I know I have seen him in other photos. But obviously a little too casual around this bear. Case & Draper photo taken in Skagway area around the turn of the century.
The Steamer Union at Skagway 1904
The Steamer Union was built by Albert J. Apperson and his brother in the 1880’s for $16,000. Apperson had gone to the Fraser River gold strike and earned enough money to build this little steamship. Obviously it was still in service some 25 years later still chugging up the Inside Passage. “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can……”
Ancestry message boards for Apperson; ebay.
Steamer Romonia at Railroad Dock 1904
Another Case & Draper photo at the Railroad dock.
Railroad dock full
So who says you can’t put more than 2 cruise ships at the Railroad dock? Here in 1904 Case & Draper photographed 5 steamers tied up.
Skookum Jim, Mary his wife, and Daisy 1900
Skookum Jim or Keish, Mason (1856-1916) was the brother to Kate Carmack who was married to George Carmack. Keish could carry 156 pounds of bacon over the Chilkoot Pass in one trip. Mary (1874-1927) was his wife. Daisy, his daughter, or Saayna aat, (1895-1938) studied Drama in San Francisco but had to sell her Dad’s house to pay for his funeral.
George Carmack by Johnson; Life Lived Like a Story.
Shipwreck
E. Hazard Wells took this photo of a ship sinking in Lynn Canal on August 6, 1897. He was aboard the Rosalie when he took this photo. But which ship was it?
Laplanders
Alpine Village in Skagway
For the last time, this year we will set up the amazing Alpine Village and Train Display at AB hall for Yuletide. The Open House here is scheduled for November 30, 2012 after the tree lighting at 5th and Broadway.
Hundreds of hours were spent designing and building these lodges, cabins and stores out of Legos. The largest and most complex structure is the Lodge, designed after the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone. To build this, Arlen had to build it from the top down, but upside down, so that the roof sat on the floor as he built it from a small photo of the OF Inn. Truly a remarkable accomplishment. For more details you can visit the sites where they are featured.
http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/25227
http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/25315
As some of you already know, we will be retiring and moving back to California this spring. I am beginning to sell off my collection of gold rush books on Ebay. I will continue to write blogs when I can until then. I’m sorry for the sporadic postings of late, as I had some medical issues due to mis- and over-prescribed drugs and medications. The experience has made me very wary of the medical field in general and certainly more conscious of my own health.