The Gila Monster. The beefy-looking, outside frame locomotive you see here is White Pass Consolidation #69, a Baldwin product built for this line back in 1908. When purchased, she was one of the most powerful engines on the line, built for pushing heavy trains up the 3.9% grades from Skagway to White Pass. During her service life, she acquired the nickname "Gila Monster", likely due to her size and cantankerous appearance. When she was finally retired in 1954 after nearly a half century of service, she was sold to the Black Hills Central Railroad in South Dakota. She worked at the Black Hills and at a couple of operations in Nebraska into the 1980s before becoming a static display. In 2001, she was re-acquired by the White Pass & Yukon. No longer a freight-hauler, the WP&YR was by that time a booming tourist railroad and was searching for a second engine to bolster its steam program. After a protracted restoration effort, the old "Gila Monster" once again began plying her home rails in 2008. The rather odd consist she's heading up in this photo is actually the back half of the line's steam-powered rotary plow train. It includes cupola-equipped Combine 211, and one of the railroad's 90-Class Diesels, with the latter having been added to the train for braking assistance, just before starting the descent from White Pass. As the rotary train returned to the Skagway Shops each day, it was split into two sections to facilitate servicing and overnight storage.
