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Let's Go Cruising!Please feel free to check out our cruise chronicles. |
Welcome Aboard Bob's Garden Railway! |
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Welcome Aboard my webpage where I will chronicle the construction of my version of the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway. This is a (slow) work in progress story of my new garden railway ... stay tuned! |
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I would like you to meet Ed
Ed (so named after Sir Edmond Hillary by Rob and Katie)
was born on April 28, 1990 in Lincoln, CA to his mother,
Samantha, and his father, Suds.
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In 1996, Barbara and I took a 13-day tour and cruise of Alaska. The first nine days were spent touring the Alaskan inland and the Yukon territory. The highlight was riding the WP&YR along the Chilkoot Trail down to Skagway. When I decided to build a garden railway, I discovered the LGB manufacturer had produced a line of engines and rolling stock with the WP&YR roadname. Thus, welcome to my version of the WP&YR! |
My first engine
The Real Thing
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The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway
From sea level at Skagway, the White Pass and Yukon
Route Railway climbs 2,885 feet to White Pass summit in only 20 miles of
track, one of the steepest railroads in the world. Of its entire 110 miles
of track, 20 miles are in Alaska, 32 miles in British Columbia and 58 miles
in Yukon Territory. This great engineering feat was completed in the 26
months between May 28, 1898 and July 29, 1900. The railroad construction
employed approximately 35,000 workers, 2000 being the most employed at any
one time. The total cost was approximately $10 million, with not a single
dollar coming from any government aid. The operation of the new railroad
rendered the Chillkoot Trail and its aerial tramways obsolete. The railroad
carried thousands of prospectors to the Klondike gold fields in relative
comfort, despite the fact that by the time it was completed the great
stampede was already over and the immediate need for a railroad had passed. |
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The above 'rough' sketch is what I envision my layout will look like when completed. The layout consists of two main lines of approximately 350 feet of track. The color is an attempt to indicate a change in elevation. At one point three tracks cross over each other, which requires a twelve-inch clearance between them. I am planning two water features that will include water falls and possibly a running stream between the two features. There are tunnels and trestles not depicted on the sketch. I am also considering running the trains into a new shed (lower-left corner) for storage, and out the other side for future expansion. |
This is the revised plan that I am going to try to construct. There are two independent lines approaching 500 feet of track that I have managed to optionally connect (see lower left). Both lines do go through the 'depot' which will contain a switch yard for storage of up to six trains. |
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After undergoing major back surgery in July 2003, I had to curtail my project during my recovery period which lasted the better part of two years. With the aid of a walker due to my loss of balance, I was able to cut out and build the remaining windows. My sincere thanks go out to my son for taping the sheet rock and painting the interior of the depot; to my neighbor who helped with the windows and did the glazing of the glass; and to my brother in helping build and install the cabinets. |
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