Press Release
August 7, 2003
White Pass & Yukon Route Donates Emergency Equipment to Skagway’s Public School and City Hall
SKAGWAY, AK – The White Pass & Yukon Route announced today the donation of three Medtronic portable defibrillator units to Skagway City Hall and one defibrillator unit to the Skagway Public School.
Gary C. Danielson, President, said, “The White Pass ordered the new automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for each of its passenger train sets, becoming the first railroad to have all passenger trains equipped with the new units.”
Danielson added, “While all of our trains crews have undergone CPR training, the new AEDs give our employees the opportunity to perform emergency resuscitation should the need arise, helping to stabilize the patient until medical service can be provided.”
Danielson said that John Mielke, Vice President of Rail Operations, was able to obtain the additional units based on our initial order and suggested the donation to the Skagway community. Mielke said, “I would like to thank Martin Beckner of the Skagway Fire Department for his assistance in accessing a grant to partially fund these units to help provide additional emergency response equipment to the community and our visitors.”
The White Pass & Yukon Route narrow gauge railway was built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush and is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark – a designation shared with the Panama Canal, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.
The WP&YR railroad has carried more than 300,000 passengers per year in its last 3 years making it Alaska’s most popular shore excursion.
White Pass & Yukon Route is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tri-White Corporation based in Toronto, Ontario.
The Tri-White Corporation is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange as TWH.