In 1897, three separate companies were organized to build a rail link from Skagway to Fort Selkirk, Yukon, away. Largely financed by British investors organized by Close Brothers merchant bank, a railroad was soon under construction. A gauge was chosen by the railway contract builder Michael James Heney. The narrow roadbed required by narrow gauge greatly reduced costs when the roadbed was blasted in solid rock. Even so, 450 tons of explosives were used to reach White Pass summit. The narrow gauge also permitted tighter radii to be used on curves, making the task easier by allowing the railroad to follow the landscape more, rather than having to be blasted through it.