THE most northern US State Alaska has two rail systems operated by separate companies on different gauges – and both are experiencing a boom in passenger numbers.
The systems offer stunning scenery and run multiple passenger trains daily in summer, catering mainly for passengers on cruise ships, which call at the ports of Skagway and Seward.
From Skagway the White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&YR) line heads north, climbing 3,000 feet in 20 miles, and terminates in Carcross, across the US/Canadian border, in the Yukon Territory.
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The remaining 43 miles to Whitehorse closed in 1982 and is unlikely to reopen without a new freight customer. The 914 mm- (3ft-gauge) line dates back to the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898.
Read more in September’s issue of The RM
