SS Klondike National Historic Site of Canada

We paddled past the remains of the Klondike I on our recent Teslin / Yukon Rivers canoe trip. 

_________________

Even at very low water there is not much to see. In 2012 when we paddled by the hull was completely submerged. 

Klondike I, August 02, 2018

Klondike I was built in 1929 and had the distinction of having 50% more capacity than a regular stern-wheeler, while still having the shallow draft and meeting the size requirements in order to travel down the Yukon River. Klondike I had a cargo capacity of 270 metric tonnes without having to push a barge.




Klondike I ran aground in June 1936 in 'The Thirty Mile' section of the Yukon River (at 61.6713°N 134.8728°W). The British-Yukon Navigation Company (a subsidiary of the White Pass and Yukon Route railway company) salvaged much of the ship and cannibalized the wreckage to build Klondike II the following year.

Klondike II carried freight until 1950. Due to the construction of a highway connecting Dawson City and Whitehorse, many sternwheelers were decommissioned. In an attempt to save Klondike II, she was converted into a cruise ship. The venture shut down in 1955 due to lack of interest, and Klondike II was beached in the Whitehorse shipyards.

The ship was donated to Parks Canada and was gradually restored until 1966, when city authorities agreed to move the ship to its present location, at that time part of a squatters' area. The task required three bulldozers, eight tons of Palmolive soap, a crew of twelve men, and three weeks to complete. Greased log rollers eased the process.

Looking upstream on the Yukon River

A large tank of Foamite could be wheeled to the site of a fire on deck

Keeping the firebox fueled was hot and heavy work. The Klondike burned, on average, 1 cord (4'x4'x'8') of wood per hour. 

CREW QUARTERS

... were near the stern. The deckhands who worked under the mates, loaded and unloaded freight and kept the firemen supplied with wood. They bunked in the starboard cabin. The firemen slept in the port cabin. Officers, mates and engineers enjoyed more comfortable accommodations on the boat (top) deck. The day we visited, the boat deck was closed for renovations and the sun deck because of slippery and wet conditions.

The speed and direction of the engines was controlled by the engineer as directed from the wheelhouse via the ships's telegraph, augmented by bells and a voice tube.

This is where the steam was put to work. Large steam pipes on the ceiling lead from the boiler to the engines, one on each side of the engine room, which worked in tandem to rotate the paddlewheel. The engines were rated at 525 hp. 

Yukon sternwheelers were powered by wood-fired boilers. The Klondike's was a locomotive styled fir-tube boiler. It held 25,000 litres (4000 gallons) of water and operated at a pressure of 129.4 kg/cm sqd (184 lb/in sqd)

Interesting detail on the belt buckle

FREIGHT

Before the advent of roads, the settlements and mining camps in the Yukon were totally dependent on the sternwheelers to bring in the food and equipment needed to work and survive. Supplies would have to be sufficient to last through the winter and spring, as the Yukon River is frozen for 7 1/2 months of the year.

__________________________________________________________

We're LOAFin Around 

... follow along, if you like.

Our latest route is included on TRAVELMAP 2018.   

For all posts from this latest adventures
click Trip 145 

All photography is by LOAFin Around, unless otherwise noted. 

 Thanks to Parks Canada for much of the historical detail.

TEAM: LOAF, Crumby,Wry and Crusty ... 

__________________________________________________________