Alaska: The Midnight Sun

In 1937, Canadian National had three steamships operating between Vancouver and Skagway: the Prince George, Prince Rupert, and Prince Robert. This booklet describes the accommodations aboard these ships and provides an along-the-way guide as well.

Click image to download a 12.0-MB PDF of this 48-page booklet.

George and Rupert were sister ships built in 1910, each 318 feet long with four decks accommodating 306 passengers. Launched in 1930, Robert was 384 feet long with six decks and could accommodate 331 passengers plus cargo. Robert was also nominally faster, with a top speed of 22.5 knots vs. 18 for the other two. Despite its higher speed, Robert took 5-1/2 days to get from Vancouver to Skagway against 3-1/2 days for the sister ships because the former took a longer route in order to serve Sitka. Robert skipped Sitka on the return trip, but saving three hours over the other two ships.

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Since the ships were scheduled to arrive in Skagway at 9 am and depart at 6 pm the next day (9 pm for the Robert), passengers could have nearly two days and a night in the gateway to the Klondike. People who wanted to stay longer could go up on one ship and return on another. With only three ships, CN couldn’t offer daily service, but someone who wanted to spend two nights in Skagway could go up on the Robert, arriving June 24 or July 22 and return on the George leaving June 26 or July 24. On most other dates, passengers who missed their return ship would have to wait as much as a week for another one.

Since there are plenty of things to do there, including taking White Pass trains and steamboats into British Columbia and the Yukon, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. “Numerous trips are available over the White Pass & Yukon Route,” says this booklet. “These trips are extensively described and illustrated in a pamphlet issued by the White Pass & Yukon Route, copies of which are available at the Purser’s office.” This probably refers to a booklet such as this one from 1932 or this one, which is undated but from a few years later.


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