by Jerry W. Bird
The last few months have been like a
rebirth, confirming my love of rail travel
- intercity overnight sleeper from Paris
to Berlin - and TGV to Dijon - Marrakech
Express to Casablanca, Morocco - and
Egyptian Rail sleeper from Luxor on the
Nile to Cairo. I am also pleased during
our months in Morocco to see how
integrated rail and air travel is becoming
- and the start of an intercity line at
Rabat,.
My endless fascination with railways
and railroad memorabilia goes back to
childhood days, when the White Pass &
Yukon Railway of Gold Rush fame was linked
via Skagway, Alaska, to a vast, complex
transportation system of BC-Alaska Coastal
steamships, caterpillar trains and Yukon
river steamboats. Each trip we made
'outside' from Dawson City on the Klondike
to Vancouver, British Columbia, involved
four days upstream on the Yukon River by
paddle wheeler; a day trip by rail from
Whitehorse to Skagway; then another four
lazy days steaming southward on CPR's
Princess Norah or Louise. We sailed the
Inside Passage, along the Alaska Panhandle
and British Columbia Coast,stopping at the
ports of Juneau, Ketchikan, Prince Rupert
and Alert Bay. It's basically the same
scenic route used by today's super liners
and love boats. As a long time railway fan
and originator of "Railways of the World,"
it's heartwarming to see the WP&YR not
only still operating at Skagway, but
considering extending the line to
Whitehorse in future.
A Colorful History
The 177-km White Pass & Yukon
Railroad was completed in 1900 between the
Alaska coastal community of Skagway and
Whitehorse, Yukon Territory The WP&YR
served first as a passenger train and
supply line for the gold fields of the
Yukon and acted as a freight carrier for
nearby lead and zinc ore mines. When the
mine closed in 1982, so did the railroad.
The railroad reopened in 1988 for
passenger service but has only traveled
the first 64 km of the line to Lake
Bennett, BC. On May 28, 1998, the
WP&YR celebrated the 100th Anniversary
of the driving of the first spike on the
railway, with a dedication and ceremony in
downtown Skagway.
Len Brown, one of our readers attended
a "Last Spike" ceremony on July 29, 2000.
Here is an excerpt: " Al York and I do
contract work for the Yukon Government,
and I was up there working and took in the
celebration. It was fantastic - up to an
estimated 5000 people were there during
the day - steam rides some 5 miles
alongside Lake Bennett and back .. and a
Steam Meet of 73 and 40. I am a steam nut.
As a Yukoner by birth, I hope someday
there will be an extension of this
historic rail line at least as far as
Carcross, Yukon. Originally called Caribou
crossing because of its popularity as a
native hunting ground, Carcross was a
stopping place for gold stampeders on
their way to the Klondike gold fields.
Trains haven't traveled to Carcross since
1982. To be continued in our Rail
Adventure Annual Edition.
Photo captions and a continuations of
this article to appear soon on this
page;.
