LITTLE RAILROAD - BIG SHIPS

The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad was a product of the Klondike Gold Rush, with construction starting in May of 1898.  By Feb of 1899, the narrow gauge tracks had reached the top of the White Pass summit, a distance of 20 miles, with a rise from sea level up to 2,865 feet.  By July of 1900, the tracks reached Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, a distance of 110 miles.  By the time the railroad was completed to Whitehorse, the Klondike Gold Rush was all but over, and future plans to extend the railroad farther into the Yukon never materialized.

During WWII, the White Pass Railroad played a major role in the building of the Alaska Hwy, carrying men, equipment and materials up to Whitehorse, which was geographically located just about in the middle of the project.  The White Pass continued to operate year round until 1982, when world wide mineral prices fell, and the little railroad found itself with very few revenue customers.  In the late 1980's, more and more cruise ships were making their way to Skagway, and the railroad decided to reopen as a summer tourist railroad.  In 1988, the first year of reinventing itself, the railroad carried 37,000 passengers, and today, the White Pass is the #1 tourist railroad in North America, carrying 365,000 passengers in 2010.

 The original railroad depot is now the visitor center for the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park.

This train is backed down alongside the Ore Dock.

 

When 4 large cruise ships are tied up at the 3 docks, over 10,000 passengers are in town for the better part of the day.  None of the ships stay overnight, so by 10pm, they are all sailing south toward Juneau.  In the mornings on those busy days (about 4 per week), there is one train backed down to the Ore Dock, one train backed down to the Broadway Dock, and 2 trains backed down to the Railroad Dock.  The 5th train is loading passengers in front of the depot.  Starting at 7:45am, the first train leaves town, and the rest follow at about 15 minute intervals.   This process is repeated in the afternoon.  I don't remember the exact number, but the most passengers carried in a single day is somewhere close to 6,000.  With each ticket starting at over $100, it doesn't take a math genius to see that cash flow is pretty significant.

 The very back of the train is visible directly in front of the ship tied up at the Broadway Dock.

 A different view of the Broadway Dock train.

 There are two trains waiting alongside the Railroad Dock.

 This is the second train loading passengers from one of two large cruise ships at the Railroad Dock.

When the trains leave the Skagway Valley, they start to climb the White Pass opposite the South Klondike Hwy.   I took these photos from across the canyon, at a highway turnout.  The train side of the canyon is in the shadows, so the lighting wasn't very good.  This area is one of several where the railbed was blasted out of solid granite.

When we retired in 2001, we drove our motor home to Alaska, and Skagway was one of our many stops.  Patty and I both talked to the Human Resouces department head, and we probably could have been hired by the railroad as seasonal employees.  Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda.............  Instead, we hooked up with the N.H.R.A. Drag Racing circuit, following the nitro monsters for 2 years.  We did make it back to Skagway in 2004, but circumstances led us to different jobs for the next 4 summers.

As much as we love this place, our priorities have evolved, and it's doubtful that we'll ever return for an entire summer to this small Alaskan town that feels like home.  But......I never say never!