Yukon Transportation Museum
Early Methods of Transportation in the Yukon
Most of my blog posts are about wildlife and travel in the great outdoors, but sometimes I make an exception. For example, the Yukon Transportation Museum is not your average old car museum and is worth visiting.
1942 U.S. Army Dodge Carryall
A very interesting vehicle is a 1950 Oshkosh W700 Water Truck made by the Oshkosh Corporation. I had never heard of it before. It was founded in 1917 and is still in business in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. They make tow trucks, fire and emergency vehicles, special-order military vehicles, and other special-order vehicles such as trucks for the U.S. Post Office.
The Yukon Transportation Museum is located next to the Beringia Museum on the Alaska Highway in Whitehorse. They have a couple of old cars, but this is not an antique car museum. Instead, it is about all forms of transportation used in the early days of the Yukon, including aircraft, trains, trucks, horse-drawn sleds, dog sleds, and boats. There were trucks in Whitehorse before the building of the Alaska highway, but they could not drive to any other town and were confined to Whitehorse. So they were brought here by boat. There were no auto dealerships, no spare parts and very few mechanics. On one old Ford truck in the museum, when the doors and the floor wore out, they were replaced with wooden ones.
left: 1965 International Harvester Ambulance, right: old riverboat
The most interesting vehicle is a monster-size U.S. Army transporter. This vehicle could pull several huge trailers loaded with cargo. There are also military vehicles from the building of the Alaska highway.
Take some time out on your trip to Alaska and see the Yukon Transportation Museum. It is very interesting and not just for car enthusiasts. You will be glad you did.