Which Railway trip in Skagway?

[shiner6]

We are a group of 7, ranging in age from 8 to 70. We want to take the train in Skagway, but are unsure of which excursion to book.. The trip to Bennett Lake sounds ideal, until I read the fine print about the seating options.  Some in our party are large bellied individuals who would not feel comfortable being crammed into crowded table.  On the other hand, some of us are physically fit and looking for adventure.  Should we break up the group in order to accomodate everyone (not my first choice)?  Recommendations from those who have done this trip are greatly anticipated and appreciated.  I should add that all of us are fully mobile individuals.

[Heartgrove]

In 2016 we did the NB Skagway-Carcross train with bus return. It covered the entire line that is still operable. At that time, a stop was made at Bennett Station to eat the box lunch, and a quick tour of the town before continuing on to Carcross. Up until that year a sit-down lunch of stew had been served in the station. Between Bennett and Carcross the train tracks are level alongside the lake. Seating for scenery is on the left NB and right side SB. Definitely a nice ride!

 

 

Edited September 17, 2021 by Heartgrove

[PROCRUISE]

Having just done the Alaskan Cruise last August 17th, be aware that at least currently, the train trips are shortened due to a significant bridge repair. We took the train but it only went up for approximately 45 minutes before coming back down. They did throw in a bus excursion in Skagway to the cemetery where many of those who died building the railway are buried (you could also hike up to see a magnificent waterfalls) and a stop for a great overview of Skagway.  Perhaps by the time you go, the repair work will be completed but it had already been going on for four months.

[GTJ]

Am I correct in assuming that some people in your party are unable to travel by airplane or motorcoach because the seat pitches are too tight? I know that Amtrak cars have some seats for disabled persons that have an enormous amount of room in front, and while the White Pass Route does have cars that are accessible to persons with disabilities within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, I don't know if the accessible seating within their cars is as generous with space as is Amtrak. Of course, being narrow gauge, the cars are overall a bit more cramped than standard railroad cars (sort of like how the Renaissance cars on Via Rail Canada feel "small"). But the best thing to do with the White Pass Route is the same that you would do when traveling with any other carrier and having a special need on account of disability: Send a request to the railroad, noting that persons in your party have a disability, describe the accommodation that would be needed, and if the accommodation can be made it would almost certainly be provided by the railroad (perhaps arranging for a particular accessible car to be part of the consist for the specific train booked that day.

[oaktreerb]

14 hours ago, GTJ said:

Am I correct in assuming that some people in your party are unable to travel by airplane or motorcoach because the seat pitches are too tight? I know that Amtrak cars have some seats for disabled persons that have an enormous amount of room in front, and while the White Pass Route does have cars that are accessible to persons with disabilities within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, I don't know if the accessible seating within their cars is as generous with space as is Amtrak. Of course, being narrow gauge, the cars are overall a bit more cramped than standard railroad cars (sort of like how the Renaissance cars on Via Rail Canada feel "small"). But the best thing to do with the White Pass Route is the same that you would do when traveling with any other carrier and having a special need on account of disability: Send a request to the railroad, noting that persons in your party have a disability, describe the accommodation that would be needed, and if the accommodation can be made it would almost certainly be provided by the railroad (perhaps arranging for a particular accessible car to be part of the consist for the specific train booked that day.

There was a review about the Lake Bennett scenic tour a couple of years ago that mentioned the cramped seating on the rail cars for that particular tour because there seemed to be a table with seating on either side so that people could eat their box lunch.  The other tours don’t provide food.  I think I would verify seating arrangements before booking.  It didn’t sound comfortable for such a long train ride.

 

I highly recommend the Lake Bennett trip.  A few years ago we were provided a sit down lunch in the building where the museum is now located.  There was a woman who actually brought in the lunch on the train with biscuits and stew and a serving crew.  That’s when Lake Bennett was included as a stop on  the Yukon cruisetours as part of the journey from Whitehorse and Skagway.  

Edited September 19, 2021 by oaktreerb

[GTJ]

1 hour ago, oaktreerb said:

There was a review about the Lake Bennett scenic tour a couple of years ago that mentioned the cramped seating on the rail cars for that particular tour because there seemed to be a table with seating on either side so that people could eat their box lunch. The other tours don’t provide food.  I think I would verify seating arrangements before booking. It didn’t sound comfortable for such a long train ride.

 

I highly recommend the Lake Bennett trip.  A few years ago we were provided a sit down lunch in the building where the museum is now located.  There was a woman who actually brought in the lunch on the train with biscuits and stew and a serving crew.  That’s when Lake Bennett was included as a stop on  the Yukon cruisetours as part of the journey from Whitehorse and Skagway.

 

Amtrak has a few seats on its Acela service, between Boston, New York, and Washington, that have tables between seats, mostly for persons looking to do business enroute, but everyone receives a meal regardless if they choose seats at a table or not. I have not seen any car configurations for the White Pass Route that show every single seat in the car having such a table, and I would expect that not to be the case given the difficulties of accommodating passengers using wheelchairs. So if there is an issue as to someone with a disability--including morbid obesity--it is a good idea to "verify" ordinary accommodations, and not suitable, to then make a request for a reasonable accommodation on account of a disability (the managements of most large transportation providers know their legal obligations to provide reasonable accommodations--and will do so--though smaller providers, and some low-level reservation agents, may not, so persistence in demanding reasonable accommodation can sometimes be necessary).

 

The former real hot meal served at the Bennett station was a much better offering than the present-day cost-saving cold box lunch served on board. But the worst situation I have encountered in on the train operated by Tshiuetin Rail Transportation, between Sept-Îles, Québec, and Schefferville, Québec (mostly through Labrador), where half-way through the 8-hour trip the railroad is obligated to give its crew a hot meal stop, in one of the stations, but only crew are served, leaving the passengers behind on train with a selection of vending machines from which to buy food. Imagine if the White Pass Route were to hand out box lunches to the passengers, and then take a 20-minute stop at Bennett so that they could feed themselves a hot meal while the passengers waited for them!