Passengers gather proudly in Skagway on July 21, 1898, boarding the first excursion train on the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad. Built at the feverish height of the Klondike Gold Rush, the narrow‑gauge line was blasted directly into the icy cliffs of the Coast Mountains—an engineering triumph over some of the harshest terrain in North America.
Before the railroad, prospectors had to brave the deadly Chilkoot Pass, where starvation, avalanches, and exhaustion claimed thousands of pack animals and countless lives.
The new rail line transformed Skagway from a lawless tent city into a permanent gateway to the Alaskan interior, opening the region to mining, tourism, and federal investment long after the gold rush faded.
