The White Pass & Yukon Route is often referred to as the ?Scenic Railway of the World.? It affords its passengers a venue to experience the breathtaking panorama of mountains, glaciers, gorges, waterfalls, tunnels, trestles and historic sites from the comfort of vintage parlor cars. Located in Alaska, it is one of the busiest tourist railroads in the country due to the line?s spectacular scenery and limitless supply of tourists.

The route railroad was built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush, earning its status as an International Civic Engineering Landmark, a designation shared with the Panama Canal, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. Though it was considered to be an impossible task, the White Pass & Yukon Route railway literally blasted through coastal mountains in only 26 months as a $10 million project with British financing, American engineering and Canadian contracting. After overcoming harsh and challenging climate and geography with tens of thousands of men and 450 tons of explosives, the railway is aptly called ?the railway built of gold.?

When the White Pass & Yukon Route became a fully integrated transportation company, it essentially catered to servicing the freight and passenger requirements of Yukon's population and mining industry. It also pioneered the inter-modal (ship-train-truck) movement of containers due to its success. When Yukon?s mining industry collapsed in 1982, the White Pass & Yukon Route was suspended and reopened only in 1988 as a tourism operation and served 37,000 passengers.

Today, the White Pass & Yukon Route is Alaska's most popular shore excursion carrying over 450,000 passengers during the May to September tourism season operating on the first 67.5 miles (Skagway, Alaska to Carcross, Yukon) of the original 110 mile line. The 45-mile train ride offers passengers an authentic and unique experience through spectacular scenery, vintage rail equipment, historic sites and informative narration. All the steep climbs, creaky trestles, and cliff-hugging curves are part of the experience on these rail routes.