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Skagway, Alaska, USA. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railway is a narrow gauge railway built in 1898 due to the Klondike Gold Rush. Those prospectors who traveled by foot followed a very narrow path up the pass into the Yukon Territory. The railway, though a more costly means of travel, followed the mountain pass to the gold fields. Because of the steep mountain slopes and sharp turns around them, the rail width is just 3 feet, instead of the 4.75 feet standard. This railroad track climbs almost 3000 feet in just 20 miles and features steep grades of up to 3.9%, cliff-hanging turns of 16 degrees, two tunnels and numerous bridges and trestles. After the gold rush ended, the railway continued for mining in the Yukon, but suspended operations in 1982, but resumed in 1988 for tourist travel. The views from the train were quite spectacular, even under cloud cover produced by the high mountains and their ice fields. Enjoy this view toward the Inside Passage.