Another tourist season, another addition to the Copperbelt Railway and Mining Museum Theme Park.

In its eight years of operation, the park has gone from a vision of a few to an established spring and summer attraction for children and adults alike, particularly those taken by the territory's history of mining and railways.

With an $11,205.46 grant from the Whitehorse Lions Club, the Miles Canyon Historic Railway Society has extended what was a short tunnel with an aim of giving visitors the feeling that they are entering a real mine as they ride along the line.

The initial construction of the new 30-metre structure using six-by-six pillars and two-by-eight lumber is complete, and the tin roof is in place.

What's left to do next year is paint the interior black, close in the openings to increase the impression of tight tunnel entrance, finish the log-slab siding on the exterior and cover the roof with dirt and wild flowers.

"It looks awesome," Andrew Brickner, past president of the Whitehorse Lions Club, said while at the theme park Wednesday afternoon for an official cheque presentation hosted by the railway society to recognize the club's contribution.

"It was a wise investment."

Dave Layzell, a director with the historic society, approached the Lions Club last spring for financial support.

The club sent a team of two to the theme park to research the proposal.

Cal Murdoch, one of the pair, said it wasn't an easy sell, with two competing proposals the club was considering at the same time.

The membership did decide in the end to fund the project, as it fit the club's mandate to promote learning opportunities for youth.

"What impressed me about the entire thing is looking into the future, and they had a vision of where they wanted to go," Murdoch said in an interview while riding along the 1.8 kilometres of rail.

"And that vision included some of the things we focus on with kids. Kids can come here and learn more about where they live."

Providing entertainment and education for youth strengthens the future for society as a whole, Murdoch said.

The Copperbelt Railway Station serves as a museum. It features the history of mining in the Whitehorse Copperbelt, along with the history of rail in the territory, including the White Pass and Yukon Route railway, and the Klondike Railway.

Not to be forgotten, of course, is the Yukon's first railway; the wooden rail system built in 1898 - the horse-drawn tramway - to move people and cargo through Miles Canyon at the height of the Klondike Rush. Hence, the Miles Canyon Historic Railway Society.

Visitation to the theme park this year is estimated at 2,400.

The society also manages the waterfront trolley, which carried 11,020 passengers over the 2008 tourist season.