THE WHITE PASS TRAIN

Trains are a big thing in Skagway.  The town is  headquarters for the White Pass-Yukon route.  That's the same route that the Klondike goldrush stampeders followed in 1898.

 

We traveled that 67 mile route — from Skagway to Carcross (Yukon Territory Canada) — much more comfortably than those intrepid adventurers.  Our trip was on a train like the yellow and green one in the photo above.  The red train has a huge snowplow on the front (scary to think about the tracks that would need that) and the black one is a steam train that also makes the same trip we took.)

 

 

Above, some samples of the beautiful scenery along the route.  

Although the day started off overcast, the skies turned blue about the time we reached the US/Canada border.    

  

  

I really like looking out the train window as the train goes around a curve and seeing the engine up ahead.  So here is my obligatory photo of that event.    We went through several tunnels and over several bridges which I am sure were safer than they looked.   (There actually had been a derailment earlier in the season … and we knew about that, but still took the chance.  Call us crazy!)

 

More scenery and me standing on the platform between cars.  It was a great spot to take pictures  (if you could do that with one hand on the rail — it was a little wobbly).  

The journey was narrated by an excellent guide, but you couldn't hear him when standing on the platform.  So it was a hard choice to make.  Shortly after Bill took this picture and went back to our seat, the train entered another rather long tunnel.  Of course I didn't hear the announcement (and nobody remembered to come get me.  How quickly they forget!).  That was a little spooky.

 

 

 

The train entered Canada at Fraser BC and stopped for a welcome rest stop.  The actual border (in the first picture above) is several miles from Fraser, but it gets so snowy at that particular spot that both countries have their stations in a lower location.

(This is Part One of the rail trip — more on Tuesday)

I am linking this post to SKYWATCH FRIDAY (thanks to Yogi, Sylvia, and Sandy) to Gemma's SCENIC WEEKENDS and to Judith's MOSAIC MONDAY.  Thank you to all the hosts for these great memes.