Diesel-electric trains for the yukon

C U R R E N T TOPICS Diesel-Electric Trains for the Yukon.--Surprised teams of huskies and perplexed herds of caribou may stop in their respective snow tracks this winter at first sight of what should be the fastest moving ground objects in the Yukon--two diesel-electric locomotives. Built by the General Electric Company to cope with the most punishing conditions on the continent, the new locomotives will be operated by the White Pass and Yukon Route between Skagway where temperatures reach 80 degrees above zero in the summer to Whitehorse, Canada where they drop to 65 degrees below zero in the winter. In just 20 miles, the locomotives must pull their loads from sea level at Skagway to an elevation of 2,885 feet at the summit of White Pass. They are the first diesel-electric locomotives to be used in the Yukon. For purposes of heating and crew comfort, each locomotive has a boxtype cab. With this structure, apparatus in the engine compartment has a larger air cushion between it and the engine hood than would be found in a regular road switcher. The extra air permits heating by radiation from the engine and accessories. A box cab also enables the fireman to reach all power plant and control apparatus without having to encounter the outside elements. Each 80-ton diesel-electric is expected to pull 260 tons compared with 160 tons by the steam engines now in service. Average grade for the first 20 miles from Skagway is 2.6 per cent, with a maximum grade of 3.9 per cent.

Winterization of the locomotives includes insulating all outside piping, applying additional operating cab insulation, pre-heating fuel, re-circulating engine radiator air, additional heating of engine cooling water during periods of engine idling, and extra protection of storage batteries by heating the battery box air. Although the locomotives are equipped with double-thick plows, capable of tossing aside several feet of accumulated snow, a rotary snow plow must precede the train. At that, the rotary must be run close enough to be visible or the track is apt to be reburied in certain places along the route. Snow depth on top of the mountains above Skagway measures 40 feet and the two-story station at White Pass Summit has been known to literally become part of a snow drift. Originally constructed in 1900 to implement the Klondike gold rush, and relied upon in the early 1940's to haul equipment for the Alaska Highway, the White Pass and Yukon today serves the 10,000 inhabitants of the Yukon (a population which has doubled since World War II) and is the prime carrier of base metals out of the region. Many supplies needed for gold mining are shipped by rail, although most of the gold mined in the territory is flown out. The road also hauls much of the asbestos fibre, lead, zinc, silver, and cadium ore for shipment to the United States and Canada for processing. In addition, military construction materials and supplies form an appreciable part of the haulage. 79