Train--bus or train first

[bluedevil72]

We are going to go through Chilkoot Charters and do the Yukon Bus and Train excursion. There is a choice on which to do first. Having been twice before, I know there is a lot of fog on the first part of the trip out of Skagway and that it can be foggy any time of day, but what would be your suggestion on which to do first? Or is it a toss of the coin?

[DaveOKC]

Train up and bus down. I have heard coming down the brakes can sometimes be squeaky.

DaveOKC

[LA_FadeAway]

I've also heard the narration on the train is on the way up, but not on the way down.

[Yukon]

Having been twice before, I know there is a lot of fog on the first part of the trip out of Skagway ...

 

You just got very unlucky - in my hundreds of trips to Skagway I don't find it a particularly foggy place. I always take the train first - mostly because I like the scenery to get better and better, but I also have this thing about it being historically correct - that's that direction people were going on the way to the Klondike Gold Fields when they were enthusiastic and excited. The vast majority, when they were coming back down the hill, were depressed and broke.

[bluedevil72]

Thanks Yukon. I value your opinion highly because of your knowledge of the area. Using your guide, we drove up to Emerald Lake in '05 and on the first part of our trip, we couldn't get very many good scenery shots because of the fog. After we broke out of it, it was great the rest of the day. We went on the RT train trip in 2001 and just about the same thing happened that time as well. I'm glad that's not the norm and I got online this morning to do the train first. Thanks again and I appreciate your help.

[NMLady]

Train up and bus down. I have heard coming down the brakes can sometimes be squeaky.

DaveOKC

 

Yeah, that's why we're doing train up and bus down.

Also, I've heard it's being more historic to do the train up since it's closer to what the original gold rushers did on their trail.

[birdylady]

Hopefully you don't mind me adding a question to your original post. We are looking to do this excursion at the end of May. I've read so many posts about it my head is swimming. Do the excursion through the Cruise line, do it through Chilkoot or just walk up and ride the train as individuals with WYPR. Do the train round trip or train then bus back (as suggested here, versus, vice versa). And of course then there's the other choice, do the Steam Engine or Diesal. We figured we were going to do the 'short' version (3.5-4 hours) whatever route we go.

 

Any and all suggestions, preferences, thoughts or ideas to help me just make the decision would be GRATEFULLY appreciated. :)

 

Thanx,

Erika

[bluedevil72]

We initially were going to do the train/bus trip through the railroad. We get to Skagway at 7:00 (probably before) and had to be at the depot at 7:20 and pull out at 7:30. That may or may not be enough time, plus we would be one of the last to get on the train, and wouldn't have our choice of seats, so we decided to go another route. I didn't want to chance it. I think the cruiseline probably has an excursion just like it but, especially in Alaska, I like to book independently. We have plenty of time as well, and we won't have to worry about time constraints. I posted an earlier thread on this topic and came up with several people who had gone with Chilkoot Charters. I called them and they offered exactly what we wanted, so we booked with them. I went back and read your post again, and we are going this route because we had done the round-trip train the first time, and then the last time we rented a car and drove to Emerald Lake. This time, some first-time cruisers are going with us, so we thought a combination of the two might be best.