The vision of a railroad from Skagway into
the Klondike Gold Fields was shared by four men considered
to be the builders of the White Pass & Yukon Route. They
were able to persuade others to finance, to labor, and to
share in the dream of opening up the north. The builders
faced huge obstacles which included weather, terrain, distance
and competition from other sources. But Samuel Graves, John
Hislop, E.C. Hawkins and Michael J. Heney (left to right)
were able to provide the leadership to push the project through
to completion.
Samuel Graves was president of the railroad
from 1898 until 1911. He worked with the Close Brothers
Bank of London to
finance construction. John Hislop and E.C. Hawkins were
surveyors and design engineers for the construction. Michael
J. Heney
was the labor contractor and manager of the workers who
placed the dynamite, laid the rails, built bridges and tunnels
and
made the dream into reality.
Photo: Samuel Graves, John
Hislop, E.C. Hawkins and Michael J. Heney (left to right)
