the volume of supplies increased to skagway. ♪ rainy skagway was built up as a gateway to the klondikeway. then it became a ghost town, dividing only the small port and railroad terminals and attracting a few hundred tourists in the summer. ♪ suddenly it came to life again as a transfer point for troops and supplies for the alaska highway. facilities were improved and enlarged. the port was extended. ♪ now freighters coming up the inside passage from british columbia can be unloaded quickly and easily. ♪ they could be beached and unloaded at low tide. ♪ from skagway, supplies moved across the mountain on the yukon railway. this winding railway is one of the steepest in the world. it follows closely the famous trail of 1898, on which many a man lost his life. to make sure the railway would continue to operate during the emergency, the army installed a railroad operating battalion to run it. all winter long, despite cold and treacherous rocks slides, these men in uniform kept supplies and equipment rolling steadily into whitehorse. ♪ as an example of the railroad troops' devotion to duty