This was definitely the worst weather so far. Not drizzling, full-on rain but our excursion was the White Pass Railway and we weren’t going to miss this adventure. We were not daunted, we were dressed for the weather and set off.

The walk to the waiting rail carriages was quite a distance, holding our hoodies in place against the wind was quite a task.

The train was very long, probably about twenty carriages, each holding seating for two, fifteen seats each side. Full windows ran along the length of each carriage but were non-opening and with full carriages and rain outside, defogging your window to keep clear for viewing was my task.

The scenery was stunning, and incline steep. It took two hours to reach the top. The train did not stop, other than in a section where there was double track to allow time for a train to pass in the opposite direction. This happened ascending and descending. Passengers were not able to leave the train however we were allowed on viewing platforms at the end of each car for photos. The weather was terrible so we did not take advantage, some did. There was a circular track at the peak that enable the train to turn for the descent.

When the track was first laid it was all by hand using horses in sections with high casualties as pioneers and those hearing of gold being found raced to Skagway from across America. This engineering venture opened up the passage to the gold fields in the Yukon and beyond. As you would image the building of the railway was a feat of endurance and stamina, many died, few made their fortunes but the human spirit and resilience opened up this part of the world.

Today Skagway is a small community, immensely proud of it’s past, treasuring its heritage and preserving customs.

RAIN DELAY-WE MISSED OUR SECOND EXCURSION
We had two excursions booked for this port, however they were only 15mins apart.
Sadly, our train returned to the dock twenty minutes late and so we missed the ‘Street Car City Tour’ by five minutes. It was pouring rain by the time we returned to the ship, so we weren’t too disappointed really. The promise of a hot shower and change of clothes was sufficient to take away any disappointment. We departed Skagway Sat 5pm, heading further north to Sitka, Alaska.

Skagway is a very small town, reliant on tour ships, and for Cunard this is the last for the season.

Footnote: After reaching Barcelona, Queen Elizabeth will cruise around Mediterranean then onward to Australia-New Zealand for our summer before sailing back to Vancouver ready for their summer season and the trips between Vancouver and Alaska start again.