Yukon's SS Klondike gets facelift, but hopefully you can't tell

The engine room of Yukon's SS Klondike room has just been repainted, but if the conservators did their job well, the public shouldn't notice any difference.

The historic sternwheeler is one of Whitehorse's most iconic attractions, and once shuttled cargo and passengers along the Yukon River between Whitehorse and Dawson City.

Two Parks Canada metal conservators — people who are trained to preserve cultural collections and artifacts using scientific methods — visited the National Historic Site this past week to help slow corrosion of the engine room's metal parts while keeping it looking almost exactly as it did in the 1930s.

"It really tells a story of a technology we don't see anymore," said conservator Liz Croome.

"Everything's digital these days and this is the nuts and bolts. It's very simple technology but it did amazing things."

'It's always a challenge'

Croome said the logistics involved for the project may have been complex, but they're part of the appeal to her.

It involved taking samples of the paint from the engine room, analyzing them for colour, using the analysis to get matching custom tints in paint with a corrosion-inhibiter, and then getting the paints shipped up to Yukon in time for when the conservators arrived.

Aside from matching colours, the paint itself isn't authentic to the era. It's a modern type of direct-to-metal paint that dries quickly, so the work could get done efficiently, one colour per day, starting with the lightest hues.

The engine room was closed to the public during the painting, but people could watch the work being done through a Plexiglas barrier. The conservators wore protective equipment because of the solvents.

Croome described her work as "task-oriented" and "very focused on the precision," but she also gets to travel and experience all sorts of different parks and sites.

"No two projects are the same; it's always a challenge," she said.

"I love my job."

More work will be done on the boat later this summer, as the bow deck needs re-planking. The visitor entrance will be temporarily moved to the back of the boat.

Parts of the upper decks remain off limits to the public while conservation architects determine how to strengthen them to withstand the level of visitor traffic.