White Pass and Yukon Route 69

White Pass and Yukon Route 69
No. 69 being filled with water, June 11, 2011
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderBaldwin Locomotive Works
Serial number32962
Model10-36E
Build dateJune 1908
Rebuild dateAugust 1932
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-8-0
Gauge3 ft (914 mm)
Driver dia.42 in (1.1 m)
Wheelbase42 ft 8+1⁄2 in (13.02 m)
Height13 ft 14 in (4.32 m)
Adhesive weight124,000 lb (56.2 t)
Loco weight134,369 lb (60.9 t)
Total weight134,000 lb (60.8 t)
Fuel type
Fuel capacity
  • Coal: 7.5 t (7.4 long tons; 8.3 short tons)
  • Oil: 2,500 US gal (9,500 L; 2,100 imp gal)
Water cap.4,000 US gal (15,000 L; 3,300 imp gal)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area36 sq ft (3.3 m2)
Boiler66 in (1.7 m) diameter
Boiler pressure160 psi (1.1 MPa)
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox100 sq ft (9.3 m2)
 • Tubes182 sq ft (16.9 m2)
 • Flues16.67 sq ft (1.549 m2)
 • Total surface1,676 sq ft (155.7 m2)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size21 in × 22 in (533 mm × 559 mm)
Valve gearWalschaerts
Valve typePiston valves
Loco brakeAir
Train brakesAir
CouplersKnuckle
Performance figures
Tractive effort31,400 lbf (139.7 kN)
Career
Operators
Class10-36E
Number in class1st of 1
Numbers
  • WPY 69
  • USATC 69
  • BHCR 69
  • NMR 69
Nicknames
  • Bull of The Woods
  • Gila Monster
  • Klondike Casey
Retired
  • 1954 (revenue service)
  • 1990 (1st excursion service)
Restored
  • August 18, 1957 (1st excursion service)
  • September 2006 (2nd excursion service)
Current ownerWhite Pass and Yukon Route
DispositionUndergoing 1,472-day inspection and overhaul
References:[1][2][3]

White Pass and Yukon Route 69 is a narrow-gauge 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive, built in 1908 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW). It is preserved and operated by the White Pass and Yukon Route (WPY).

History

No. 69 was built in June 1908 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) for the White Pass and Yukon Route (WPY), where it worked hauling both freight and passenger trains for thirty years, it was originally given the nickname Bull of The Woods by late engineer J.D. True.[a] The locomotive was later assigned to the United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) to help assist its sister WPY locomotives of transporting materials, troops and other equipment to build the ALCAN highway during World War II, there, it was given the nickname Gila Monster.[3][9]

On February 12, 1932, the Skagway roundhouse suffered a major fire, No. 69 along with three other steam locomotives were inside the roundhouse and were badly damaged.[3] However, the damage to No. 69 was minor and the railroad was able to rebuild No. 69 and return it to service in August of that same year.[3] It was originally built as a coal burner, but was later converted to burn oil in 1951.[10]

The locomotive was reassigned to the WPY were it continued hauling freight and passengers until it was retired from revenue service in 1954.[1][10][2][8] It was later sold to the Black Hills Central Railroad (BHCR) in 1956 for use of their tourist excursions, It hauled the railroad's very first excursion train on August 18, 1957 and was given the nickname Klondike Casey.[b]

In 1973, it was sold to the Nebraska Midland Railroad (NMR) in North Platte, Nebraska, were it only operated there for a year when operations was later relocated to the Stuhr Museum in Grand Island, Nebraska.[c] No. 69 continued in service until 1990, when it was retired once again and put on static display.[2]

In June 2001, Stuhr traded No. 69 to WPY for a pair of three passenger trucks.[16][17][15] Three years later, the WPY officially began restoration work on No. 69 to return it to operating condition to help assist No. 73 with passenger excursions.[15][18] It underwent a successful test fired in 2005 and eventually returned to service the following year in September 2006.[d]

In September 2009, No. 69 ran a rare doubleheader excursion special with No. 73, running from Skagway to Fraser, British Columbia and return.[9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Attributed to multiple sources:[1][4][5][6][2][3][7][8]
  2. ↑ Attributed to multiple sources:[10][11][2][8][1][12]
  3. ↑ Attributed to multiple sources:[10][13][14][15][1]
  4. ↑ Attributed to multiple sources:[10][19][15][5][18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Clifford (1981), p. 46
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Canadian Rail" (PDF). Canadian Rail (543): 15, 21. March 2007. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Locomotives of the White Pass & Yukon Route: Part 11". ngslgazette.com. Retrieved 2026-04-03.
  4. ↑ "Steam Locomotives". White Pass & Yukon Route. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  5. 1 2 "White Pass & Yukon In Transition". passengertrainjournal.com. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  6. ↑ Gray (1955), p. 46
  7. ↑ Justin Franz (August 21, 2018). "New White & Pass Yukon owner looks to expand locomotive fleet NEWSWIRE". Trains.com. Retrieved 2026-04-04.
  8. 1 2 3 Smith, Douglas N. W. (November 1957). "News Report - 1957" (PDF). Canadian Rail (83): 7, 9. Retrieved April 11, 2026 – via Exporail.
  9. 1 2 "Railroad Historical Almanac" (PDF). dcnrhs.org. p. 143. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway" (PDF). wpyr.com. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  11. ↑ "The Black Hills Central – HeritageRail Alliance". Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  12. ↑ "The 1880 Train • The Past, The Present, and Future of Black Hills Railroading Preservation". explore.digitalsd.org. p. 4-10. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  13. ↑ Reisdorff (1984), p. 3, 6, 11
  14. ↑ "Stuhr Museum, RR Town & the Nebraska Midland R.R." Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Record Year 2005". wpyr.com. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Stuhr to trade Old 69". The Independent. June 18, 2001. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  17. ↑ Mike Bockoven (June 19, 2001). "Stuhr votes to trade Old No. 69". The Independent. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  18. 1 2 "Engine 69 Rebuild". wpyr.com. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Record Year 2006". wpyr.com. Retrieved April 1, 2026.

Bibliography

  • Gray, Carl R. (1955). Railroading in Eighteen Countries: The Story of American Railroad Men Serving in the Military Railway Service from 1862 to 1953. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 46.
  • Clifford, Howard (1981). Rails North: The Railroads of Alaska and the Yukon. Superior Publishing Company. p. 46. ISBN 978-0875645360.
  • Reisdorff, James J. (1984). Locomotive 69 From Alaska to Nebraska. South Platte Press. ISBN 0-9609568-2-4.
  • J. D. True (1994). It Happened on the White Pass: The Life and Times of a Narrow-Gauge Railway Engineer. Northbush Publications. ISBN 1-896079-02-4.
  • Wilson, Graham (1998). The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway. Wolf Creek Books. ISBN 978-0-96-819552-9.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to White Pass and Yukon Route 69.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.