We booked this tour for the price, much less than the White Pass Summit train, and got way more than we bargained for. First of all, Brian was an outstanding guide and a delightful person. He had history and interpretive information peppered with jokes, anecdotes and a bit of himself. He stopped at a lot of scenic overlooks and took group photos of us the entire way up and down the mountain.
That's the first point we found that was better than the train - not only did we get to get out and look around, but we also have photos of the scenery (and family photos of all 9 of us) that aren't obscured by reflections on the train windows.
The second point of comparison between this tour and the train, which is about 3 times more expensive, is that the train only goes one way up the mountain, slower than highway speeds, then everyone gets off the train and rides a large bus back down to Skagway.
Since we didn't actually take the train we can't compare comfort, but this small tour bus was extremely clean and comfortable for everyone. There is certainly a lot of charm associated with riding a historic railroad but I contest that this tour has an abundance of charm of its own and we were not disappointed with our experience in the least.