guymonmd Wrote:
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> Unless things improve, I don't think the White
> Pass will open this summer.
> With all the bad news about coronavirus and cruise
> ships, I am certain cruise customers will be few
> and far between.
> If things improve quickly, this might all change.
> If things do not improve or keep getting worse, it
> will be a bad summer for not only the White Pass,
> but for the C&T and the D&S as well.
> We are in uncharted territory now.
> I know I am not planing any travel this summer.
When I was up at White Pass back in 2011.....seems like forever ago, I recall that the railroad had several levels of employment. As you all know, they pretty much shut down from October through the end of April. The first level would be the full-time, year-round folks who work in the shop, who are still employed and working during the winter period, doing inspections and major maintenance. Then, there are the locals, who work for the railroad during the operating season and the run-up to and spin-down from it. Beyond that, I believe that the vast majority of their employees are seasonal and many don't even live locally. During the 2011 rotary run, many of the customer-facing folks were just arriving in Skagway.....this was late April. As I had a chance to talk to each of them, I discovered that nearly all were from the Lower 48, and they come up just for the summer. I'm sure that some are long-timers, who do it every year, and some are folks who do a summer then move on to other things.
My guess is if the cruise season is canceled or delayed, the railroad would just remain in its current state of hibernation.....meaning the regular October-April drill. The shop folks just have more time to work on maintenance issues to get ready for the season, even if it's just an abbreviated one.
/Kevin
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2020 01:31PM by KevinM.
