Train Crew's House 2 is designated for its historic and architectural values.

This small one-storey frame building is typical of historic, 1940s period, WP&YR staff housing in size and materials. The building represents the common use of prefabricated housing by corporations in post World War II Whitehorse. The stave-lock construction with exterior interlocking corners, was patented in 1943 and the Train Crew's House 2 provides a good example of this innovative construction method. The building's simple plan, modest size, steeply pitched gable roof and wooden windows and doors are characteristic elements of Whitehorse vernacular residential buildings constructed in the mid-twentieth century. The minimal eaves with cornice returns, the brackets supporting the closed porch roof, the ornamental window shutters and the scalloped trim under the gable eave on the street facade provide decoration to this corporate staff house.

WP&YR was instrumental in the birth and growth of Whitehorse. It owned the original townsite, and planned and surveyed the street grid and properties. In 1900, the WP&YR railway connected the port at Skagway, Alaska with Whitehorse at the head of navigation for the Yukon River. By 1901 Whitehorse had become an important staging point for passengers and freight entering Yukon. In addition to operational facilities, WP&YR provided accommodations for key personnel. The company's holdings on the waterfront at one time included offices, residences, warehouses, workshops, wharves, shipyards and the railway operations. The nature of the city as a company town and vital transportation centre is represented by Train Crew's House 2 and nearby historic structures.

Train Crew's House 2 was originally one of four WP&YR houses built on Jarvis Street. It was moved to its present location in the 1960s. It provided accommodation for railway staff including traffic manager, section foremen, and general agent. The last WP&YR employee to live in the house moved out in 1993. The building was rehabilitated as office space by the Government of Yukon in 1998 and continues to contribute the historic character and vitality of the Whitehorse waterfront.

Sources

"The White Pass and Yukon Railway Depot, Whitehorse, and Associated Structures: A Structural History". Midnight Arts, Heritage Branch, Yukon Government, 1998.

Historic Sites Unit, Cultural Services Branch, Yukon Government file 3736 50 18

Character Defining Elements

The character-defining elements include:

- the siting on the waterfront and its orientation towards First Avenue with railway tracks immediately behind

- the simple plan and modest size

- architectural elements such as the interlocking plank walls, wood-shingled gable roof, returned eave cornices, door and window pattern, wooden windows, and trims

Description of Boundaries

Six meter buffer of land surrounding the footprint of the house on Lot 1 Block 310, plan 73672 LTO

Historical Sources Location

Dobrowolsky, H. and R. Ingram. "Edge of the River, Heart of the City". Lost Moose. Whitehorse:1994. pp 25, 61.

Yukon Archives 98/135 Box 39 f.5 Plan of original location of Ernie Theed house

YHMA:

--Photo. by R. Moyen 1985-07-19

--Photo. by J. Hatch 1992

Renovation Information

Scalloped verge boards.

1998 -1999

New roof, new foundation, exterior painted, new windows, doors (originals repaired where possible) and trim, wheelchair ramp. Landscaping in front yard.

Plumbing, heating and ventilation systems replaced.

Construction Style

Similar style/layout to other pan abode style structures constructed in Whitehorse near the end of WW II by CP Air and Taylor

Cultural History

This is sometimes referred to as the Ernie Theed House after the White Pass traffic manager who lived in the house in the 1950s and 60s. At that time, the house was one of four similar small houses on Jarvis Street between Second Avenue and Front Street. It was moved to the waterfront between 1963 and 1968 when the Jarvis Street property was sold and redeveloped as a hotel.

The general agent for White Pass, Bob Elliot, occupied the house in the late 1960s. Two section foreman lived here after that; Steve Boris and his wife, then Cash Maczka in 1969. The last occupant was Willie Scheffler, a longtime trainman who lived here with his family for many years before moving out in 1993.[58]

The house was purchased by the Yukon Government and converted for office space. To provide improved accessibility, a wheelchair ramp was installed on the street side of the house in 1999.[59]

Citations:

58: Midnight Arts, The White Pass and Yukon Railway Depot, Whitehorse and associated buildings, p. 60.

59: Riley, personal communication, March 2023.

Documentation Location

Historic Sites Unit, Cultural Services Branch, Yukon Government file 3736 50 18