| When my wife and I recently stepped off a
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| | capital of the Yukon. It is the most
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| cruise ship in Skagway Alaska, we were
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| | heavily used tourist railroad in
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| excited to be revisiting some her
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| | existence today and carries over 400,000
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| family's history. In 1897 her grandfather
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| | passengers each year during the May until
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| Jim and her great uncle Albert, joined
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| | October season. The railroad is isolated
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| almost 100,000 gold-rush prospectors who
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| | and not connected to any other system.
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| were going to the Klondike to search for
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| | The original line was over 110 miles in
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| gold. They were among the 30,000 or so
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| | length but the most commonly used section
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| prospectors who actually reached the
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| | today is the first 40 miles between
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| Yukon. The journey was long and arduous
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| | Skagway and Bennett Station, although
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| and they walked most of the way as their
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| | plans are to add some excursions to
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| pack horse was used to carry their
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| | Carcross, Yukon. Originally the intention
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| supplies. The Canadian Northwest Mounted
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| | was to link Skagway at the northernmost
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| Police insisted that each Klondiker must
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| | end of the Inside Passage to the gold
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| bring a year worth of supplies with them
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| | mining districts of the Klondike. British
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| before they were allowed to go to the
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| | investment was secured and construction
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| Yukon. There were two routes through the
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| | was started in 1898 and finished in July
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| mountains to Whitehorse on the Yukon
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| | 1900. Three companies managed the
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| River: The first route was the Chilkoot
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| | railroad known as the WP&YR:
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| Pass trail which was too steep for pack
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| | 1. The Pacific & Arctic Railway from
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| animals. Klondikers had to stage their
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| | Skagway to the British Columbia border
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| supplies and leapfrog back to carry their
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| | near White Pass.
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| year's worth of supplies up the steep icy
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| | 2. The BC-Yukon Railway from White Pass
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| trail. Many prospectors abandoned their
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| | to the BC Yukon border near Pennington.
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| quest here or perished in the extremely
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| | 3. The British Yukon Railroad to
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| cold weather. Jim and Albert chose the
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| | Whitehorse.
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| second route called the White Pass Trail,
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| | Traffic on the WP&YR dropped
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| which climbed to almost 3,000 feet in
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| | significantly after the gold rush with
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| elevation out of Skagway and was just as
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| | the severe decline in the population of
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| steep and treacherous, but could
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| | the Yukon Territories. Tourist trade
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| accommodate pack horses. This information
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| | saved the WP&YR as they began promoting
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| was of doubtful value as over 3,000 pack
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| | recreational travel off the steamships
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| animals were killed on this trail which
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| | that stopped in Skagway. The Second World
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| was nicknamed "dead horse trail". Jim and
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| | War brought about the need to build the
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| Albert lost their packhorse during the
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| | Alaska Highway linking Alaska through the
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| climb but eventually made it to Bennett
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| | Yukon and BC to the lower 48 states. The
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| Lake with their supplies. They rafted
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| | WP&YR was the best way to move supplies
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| down the Lake and onto the Yukon River
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| | to the highway site. The US Army leased
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| while undergoing many difficulties and
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| | the railroad from 1942 to 1946 and ran
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| adventures, but reached Whitehorse and
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| | multiple daily supply trains during that
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| then Dawson City and the goldfields.
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| | period. After the war, increased mining
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| Unfortunately most of the gold claims had
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| | activities in the Yukon maintained the
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| been staked by locals and early
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| | rail traffic to 1982. Numerous spur lines
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| prospectors and they ended up working as
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| | were opened and closed to mines in the
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| miners for the next two years until they
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| | district. The WP&YR pioneered some of the
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| had earned enough money to return home.
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| | first transshipment of containers from
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| The fact that they survived the extreme
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| | ships to rail during the post-war period.
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| cold and harsh conditions was a tribute
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| | In 1982 extremely depressed metal prices
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| to their strength and indomitable
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| | forced the mines to close and the
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| spirits. Although they didn't bring home
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| | railroad shut down in October, 1982.
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| any gold, they brought home a lifetime of
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| | However by 1988 increased cruise ship
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| stories to pass onto their grandchildren.
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| | traffic to Skagway prompted the WP&YR to
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| After my wife and I toured historic
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| | reopen in 1988 and traffic has increased
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| Skagway we then embarked on the most
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| | every year.
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| fantastic train ride of our lives - The
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| | The WP&YR rolling stock consists of
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| White Pass and Yukon Route or WP&YR. We
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| | approximately 20 diesel-electric
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| booked an all day excursion to Bennett
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| | locomotives, 2 steam engines and 70
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| Station British Columbia. The rail cars
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| | antique and replica parlor car type
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| were authentic 1900 parlor cars or
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| | coaches. 11 diesel-electric locomotives
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| converted to look authentic and we joined
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| | are ALCO 251A's built by GE between 1954
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| our cruise ship passengers on a wonderful
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| | and 1966, and 9 are ALCO 251D's built by
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| narrated tour back into history. The
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| | ALCO between 1969 and 1982. The two steam
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| scenery was incredible and you had to
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| | locomotives are Engine #73 which is a
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| marvel at the engineering prowess of the
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| | fully restored 1947 Baldwin 2-8-2 Mikado
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| railroad builders as they constructed
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| | class unit and recently rebuilt Engine
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| tunnels, switchbacks and hanging trestles
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| | #69 which is a Baldwin 2-8-0 steam
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| up the steep mountain pass. The slow
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| | locomotive originally built for WP&YR in
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| journey up the mountain gave us ample
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| | 1907. The parlor cars are antique or
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| opportunity to view the steep and
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| | replicas of antique coaches with an
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| treacherous White Pass trail that Jim and
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| | average age of 50 years and with an
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| Albert had climbed. We saw skeleton horse
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| | average of approximately 40 seats per
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| heads on the trail but whether these were
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| | carriage. The parlor cars are named after
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| of 1897 vintage or had been placed there
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| | lakes and rivers in Alaska, Yukon and BC
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| by the local tourist board is not for me
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| | and the oldest car is Lake Emerald which
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| to say. We eventually reached Bennett
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| | was built in 1883.
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| Station where we had a box lunch and were
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| | The future of the WP&YR railroad looks
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| given a guided tour before making the
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| | promising with the continued increase in
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| return journey to Skagway. It was an
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| | cruise ship traffic visiting Skagway. I
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| incredible journey which prompted me to
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| | urge all readers to visit Skagway and
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| do a little more research on the WP&YR
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| | travel on one of the most scenic and
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| and its links to the Klondike gold rush.
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| | historic train routes in operation today.
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| The WP&YR is a narrow, 3-foot gauge
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| | Information on the schedules and fares
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| railway that connected the port of
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| | can be found at .
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| Skagway Alaska and Whitehorse, the
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