The White Pass and Yukon Railway route climbs from sea level in Skagway to almost 3,000 feet at the summit in just 20 miles and features steep grades of 3.9%
The building of this railway in 1899 is an amazing feat with huge challenges with cliff hanging turns of 16 degrees, the building of two tunnels and numerous bridges and trestles. The work at the 16 mile point took place in the middle of winter with heavy snow and temperatures as low as 60 degs below. 35,000 men worked on the construction which was finished in 1900 and four years after the discovery of gold in the Klondike.
The wild flowers were beautiful as was the stunning scenery.
Below the train are the wooden trestles supporting the rail track.
Its a long way down to the valley floor below.
This bridge has now been abandoned and it looks fairly fragile, I'm glad we weren't crossing on that one!
At the top we passed through the border of USA and Canada.
At the top, the train engine turned around and came back to connect again at the other end and we all turned our seats around to face forward.
The beautiful little town of Skagway.
This building was built from drift wood sticks.
Cleaning the days catch.
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