White Pass Scenic Railway - Skagway, Alaska

We took a cruise to Alaska in 2001 and went on this trip. Well worth it! Below is a description of the journey you take. Enjoy the video, but try to see it for yourself.

No trip to Alaska is complete without a ride on the White Pass & Yukon Route narrow-gauge railroad that served the mad rush to the Klondike in 1898. It became the supply line for the Yukon gold fields, the Alaska Highway and postwar mining development. Today, the railway is operated exclusively for visitors to this magnificent land. You'll board one of the vintage "parlor cars" which departs from the ship dock. Watch a panorama of wilderness unfold as you leave Skagway and pass through two tunnels, sky-high trestles, and remote valleys as you make the dramatic climb to the top. Outside your window see Bridal Veil Falls, Inspiration Point and Dead Horse Gulch. There, across the gulch, you'll see the original Klondike "Trail of '98" etched in rock. Your guide will announce all points of interest and tell the unique story of this railway. After reaching White Pass Summit, the international boundary between Canada and the US, you'll return to Skagway.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Alaska
• Skagway
• White
• Pass
• Railway
• Yukon
• Railroad
• Klondike
• Gold
• Train
• Cruise

[whatihave2do]

Whats up with the bridge at 2:23? Just saw a thing on PBS about this line and the showed that bridge but didn't say much about it and why it's no longer used and where it went.

[XcelEnterprises]

Someone else below commented that "They built a tunnel to avoid the expensive maintenance on the bridge." Sounds plausible to me.. I don't remember if they actually said anything about it on the trip. It's been 7 years too long!

[xmgfx101]

Ive been there, we saw mountain goat and a grizzly, August 2005

[XcelEnterprises]

How very cool! We did see a mountain goat, and we were wishing to see a grizzly (from a distance that is). We will just have to go back and try again!

[TeBrink4]

Great Video...If this was Summer of 2007...it was beautiful almost the whole time!

[XcelEnterprises]

Thanks! It was in June of 2001, and we were blessed with really nice weather that day.

[benulka2]

widoczki są zajefajne pozdrawiam

[paulhallart]

@whatihave2do this is an example of early 20th century cantilevered metal engineering, of which there are some problems involving structural fatigue and so on, the weight on the tracks being transferred to points below the structure unlike an arch bridge that transfer the load to points where the load originates and terminates on the structure. The cantilevered bridge's supports are extremely long, at right angles to the edges, as well as the valley's "glacial rebound" of 1in.per.yr, and age.

[paulhallart]

That train on the siding at 23 seconds into ur vid is a time-line of the thing that changed the history of the world: The steam engine was mass produced for the government back in WW II and they were used extensively during the war to move oil in Iran to the war effort in the African theater. The wheels were adjustable to accommodate both normal and narrow gauge tracks. Behind the engine on flat cars are examples of the first shipping containers in history, invented in '55 here in Skagway.

[lennymac2]

We rode this train back in 2002.  Check out our video.

[devinhesterbears23]

saw this summer of 2009

[Kathy0851]

Great video! Great memories. I rode this train from Whitehorse to Skagway back in 1978. Sat in the rear parlour carriage with two guys strumming a guitar. It was a real highlight of my 18 month overland trip from South America to Alaska.

[Kathy0851]

Back in 1978, I left Australia and spent 18 months travelling overland from South to Alaska. I got the train from Whitehorse to Skagway. There were a lot of highlights on this trip and the Whitehorse to Skagway rail trip was one of them. I remember I was with a few other backpackers in the last "parlour" carriage and there were two guys strumming a guitar and we were all singing Bob Dylan songs. We stayed at a Bunkhouse in Skagway. It was great!

[TrinaPup96]

I went on the White Pass Railroad this summer. I liked how you were rable to stand outside!

[depell1]

The Bridge is the original route that was taken by the train, It was built and around 1898 and maintained until the late '60's then an alternate route was established that bypassed it. Just before it was decommissioned the train had to slow to a walking pace while crossing it as the bridge was very treacherous to navigate. You could feel the train swaying as it rolled across it. The bypass added about another mile or so in a big horseshoe bend that ended up on the other side of the bridge.