Gateway To The Yukon | Trains And Travel

about this tour

Scenic Railway of the World, Gateway to the Yukon is the Slogan the White Pass & Yukon Railway has used since 1898. There is no other railroad quite like the White Pass, running through some of the North's most ruggedly beautiful terrain on 3.9% grades, with steam and unique diesels. After completion in 1900 it was considered the engineering marvel of its time. This railroad is carved along sheer rock cliffs, runs over sky-high wooden trestles, through tunnels, along rivers and spectacular lakes. Indeed, the rugged terrain of Alaska, British Columbia, and The Yukon are awesome.

Our 2024 charters were a huge success covering the entire operating railroad between Skagway, Alaska and Carcross, Yukon. We have also operated photographers charters on this narrow gauge railroad in 2004, 2003, 2001, 2000, 1998, and 1997. Our railfan guides know every mile of this wonderful rugged mountain railroad.

Most of this railroad is not accessible from the highway which makes this line very difficult to photograph and chase unless you are onboard a photo charter.

Each day will be packed full of exciting railroading pulled by steam and vintage diesel Alco and GE diesels. Each day we will have different motive power. The operating plan calls for two GE shovel nose diesels to pull our train on the first day. On the 2nd day then two Alco/Montreal low hood DL535's will be in charge. Finally on the third day we will have steam locomotive No. 73, a 2-8-2 Baldwin pull our train. Our charters will cover the entire mainline between Skagway, Alaska and Carcross, Yukon, a distance of 68 spectacular miles. Plenty of photo run-bys will be made each day. We will also have a workshop visit.

Getting To Skagway, Alaska

Our charters will begin in Skagway, Alaska each day. Skagway is quite isolated but there are several options available which makes for a fun and exciting vacation for you and your spouce.

1. The fastest way is to fly into Whitehorse, Yukon Canada and then rent a car and drive to Skagway which takes about 2.5 hours. Whitehorse is served by Air North and Air Canada.

2. Drive from the lower 48 to Whitehorse on the Alaskan Highway.

3. Fly from the lower 48 to Juneau which is the capitol of Alaska. Juneau is served by Alaska, Delta and American Airlines. From here you can catch the ferry on the famous Alaska Marine Highway. The Juneau to Skagway ferry takes 5.5 hours.

4. Fly from the lower 48 to Juneau. Then fly on one of the local small airlines that serves Juneau and Skagway which takes only 45 minutes.

5. Alaska Marine Highway ferry Bellingham, Washington to Skagway which takes about 69 hours.

FEEDBACK FROM OUR 2024 WP&Y TOUR

Chris, Thanks for organising a thoroughly enjoyable tour. We both had a really good time with a great group of people. Everybody from the railway was very accommodating which gave us 3 very good days. Graham

Chris, Tanya and I really enjoyed the tour and it was an experience that will live on in our memories for a long time. A friend of mine who actually worked up there in the summers back in the early 1970's told me that WP&Y is an unforgettable experience and he was right. Besides the scenery and trains our hosts were probably the most helpful and understanding of any railroaders I've seen in years. Sean

Hi Chris, The White Pass trip was wonderful, as good as it could get. My pics are perfect! The ferry to Bellingham was very comfortable. The trains and the crews were super. John

Hi Chris, Just a quick note to thank you for organising a great few days on the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. I had wanted to visit the line for some time and was certainly not disappointed. David

Hi Chris, I didn't get a chance to chat with you after the charters, but I just wanted to thank you for putting on an excellent three days of excursions on the WPY. This was my first time visiting the railroad , so it was a lot of fun seeing it for the first time as well as taking a lot of great photos and video. I am planning on using several of the scenes I got of the 73 for a video series I do every November. Please let me know if you are planning any more charters like this with a lot of photo run-bys on other railroads. I am definitely interested. Michael

Chris, Overall it was a great and memorable excursion especially for someone like me who had never seen or ridden the WP&Y. I do want to highlight a few things.

*Lots of photo opportunities and runby locations. I shot over 600 photos!
*The number of participants was perfect.
*Lots of space on the train.
*Communication from the trip organizers was great-we knew what was happening at all times.
*The WP&Y staff were exemplary and added a lot. Neil

Hi Chris, I did not get to tell you how much I enjoyed the trip on the White Pass. It was great to be on a trip where everything unfolded as planned. Dave

Hi Chris, I wanted to tell you that your 2024 White Pass tour was perhaps one of the best, if not the best railfan tour I have ever been on. Everything came off like clockwork. The railroad dispatching was awesome between our charter and the other trains. I am ready to do it again. Tim