The Klondike Gold Rush, the greatest gold rush the world has ever known,brought thousands of gold seekers north to the Yukon. Some visionary entrepreneurs saw other opportunities, and fuelled by the railway fever infecting North America, they brought the Iron Horse here also. The first tracks and trains serviced the needs of the miners, providing much needed coal for heating the long cold winter nights. And another entrepreneur saw the railway as a way to extract the gold faster. But the exhilaration of the gold rush faded as fast as it boomed. These little railways, despite their promise, were short-lived, although many reminders are left behind. Of the eight locomotives purchased for the railways, six are preserved in museums and collections from Alaska to Ontario. The sites of all three railways are now National Historic Sites.