Day 5 - Thursday 7/26/2012 - White Pass & Yukon Railway to Carcross, Yukon
Day 5 was a big day for me! As a railfan, the White Pass & Yukon Railroad was one that I thought I would never get to see or ride. We chose to do an all day trip on the WP&Y RR from Skagway all the way to Carcross in the Yukon Territory. A normal trip on the WP&Y, that most off the ship took, only goes to the White Pass summit on the Canadian boarder and returns. This trip is about a quarter of the route we took. We booked this trip through the cruise line since it was an all day trip and we were told that if you book through the cruise line and the tour is late, the ship would wait for you.
We were told to be first off the boat that morning and a van was waiting to take us, along with a few others from the Star Princess through Skagway to the WP&Y rail yard. There a short train was sitting on the main waiting for us. Our train consisted of a GE 'Shovel Nose' with a flat car that had a container and two coaches. The rear coach was for us and the others from the other cruise ships also no this tour. The first coach was for hikers and the flat car with the container on it was for their backpacks and supplies.
We were quickly underway and was amazed by the valley the railroad followed up to the White Pass. The scenery was specular! Our since locomotive had no trouble with the small train. On the back platform of the coach, we could see the first trains of the day, full of cruise ship passengers, starting out of Skagway behind us. At the White Pass summit, our train stopped and let off some hikers as well as a group of rail fans that were there to photograph the days trains coming into the summit, lucky guys!
Our train was now on rails that a majority of tourist don't go on as we decended on the Canadian side of the pass. In Fraser, BC, Canadian customs officials boarded the train to stamp us into Canada and then our train continued on. In Bennett, BC, our train stopped at the station there for lunch. This is the traditional stop where the passenger trains between White Horse and Skagway would stop to feed the passengers. There was also the remains of St. Andrew's church and the remains from the prospectors of the Yukon Gold Rush. We were fed a fine stew lunch and were given a little time to explore the historic site. From Bennett, we rolled around the beautiful Bennett Lake. It was ice smooth and breath taking! Far too soon we arrived in Carcross where we were unloaded. We had a few minutes to explore the small town before a bus left to take us back to Skagway.
The bus driver was an older lady who wasn't in a hurry. She stopped on the side of the road to let us see a bear that was eating berries and then stopped again to let us take pictures of the 'Welcome to Alaska' sign. At this point, we were behind the time we should of have been back on the ship, so much so the US Customs house just waved us through (it seemed that his lady did this before). We were dropped back off on the doc and Emily tore out with a heavy power walk to the ship. We were by far youngest on the tour and beat the rest to the boat by a long shot. On our way back up to our cabin, the captain did make an announcement that the passengers they were waiting on where now on board and we would be departing so I guess we were late!
We were told to be first off the boat that morning and a van was waiting to take us, along with a few others from the Star Princess through Skagway to the WP&Y rail yard. There a short train was sitting on the main waiting for us. Our train consisted of a GE 'Shovel Nose' with a flat car that had a container and two coaches. The rear coach was for us and the others from the other cruise ships also no this tour. The first coach was for hikers and the flat car with the container on it was for their backpacks and supplies.
We were quickly underway and was amazed by the valley the railroad followed up to the White Pass. The scenery was specular! Our since locomotive had no trouble with the small train. On the back platform of the coach, we could see the first trains of the day, full of cruise ship passengers, starting out of Skagway behind us. At the White Pass summit, our train stopped and let off some hikers as well as a group of rail fans that were there to photograph the days trains coming into the summit, lucky guys!
Our train was now on rails that a majority of tourist don't go on as we decended on the Canadian side of the pass. In Fraser, BC, Canadian customs officials boarded the train to stamp us into Canada and then our train continued on. In Bennett, BC, our train stopped at the station there for lunch. This is the traditional stop where the passenger trains between White Horse and Skagway would stop to feed the passengers. There was also the remains of St. Andrew's church and the remains from the prospectors of the Yukon Gold Rush. We were fed a fine stew lunch and were given a little time to explore the historic site. From Bennett, we rolled around the beautiful Bennett Lake. It was ice smooth and breath taking! Far too soon we arrived in Carcross where we were unloaded. We had a few minutes to explore the small town before a bus left to take us back to Skagway.
The bus driver was an older lady who wasn't in a hurry. She stopped on the side of the road to let us see a bear that was eating berries and then stopped again to let us take pictures of the 'Welcome to Alaska' sign. At this point, we were behind the time we should of have been back on the ship, so much so the US Customs house just waved us through (it seemed that his lady did this before). We were dropped back off on the doc and Emily tore out with a heavy power walk to the ship. We were by far youngest on the tour and beat the rest to the boat by a long shot. On our way back up to our cabin, the captain did make an announcement that the passengers they were waiting on where now on board and we would be departing so I guess we were late!
