Remains of the Canadian Pacific in southern British Columbia

[pH]

Last week, we visited our son and daughter-in-law who moved to Nelson, BC earlier this year. We’ve travelled through southern BC before, but always on the way to somewhere else, and there hasn’t been much time for railway exploration. There is very little left in the way of operational railways, but a huge number of disused lines to see. This time, with a leisurely schedule both there and back, I was able to see quite a lot.

 

The driving force for railway construction in southern BC was mineral extraction. Huge amounts of gold, silver, copper and coal, and lesser amounts of other metals have been mined from the region. The big metals boom was between about 1885 and the end of WW1. Canadian Pacific and the US-based Great Northern were in strong competition for traffic from the area. The GN had the geographical advantage, as they could build fairly short lines along north-south river valleys to connect to their transcontinental mainline across the northern states. Canadian Pacific had to build east-west across mountain ranges to get to the west coast or to eastern provinces.

 

I will get round to writing something about the remains of the GN routes in the area. This post will be about the CP lines, going from west to east.

 

The main CP route across was known as the Southern Mainline – the original (and current) CP mainline was a significant distance north of the border. It’s sometimes referred to as the Kettle Valley Railway, though that is strictly only the part from Hope in the west to Midway. The KVR completed the southern route in 1916, the route was severed in 1973, and the last section lifted in 1989. Much of it now forms part of the Trans-Canada Trail. The route descended into Princeton from the east by way of 4 horseshoe loops. Here’s a view down the last of these loops – you can just make out the Trail crossing the road on the left of the picture, between cattle grids.

 

 

A branch line ran south from the KVR at Penticton. This was extended to Osoyoos in 1944 to handle increased fruit traffic, but the extension was closed in 1978. The Osoyoos station was taken over by the local sailing club and moved. These are a couple of pictures of it as it is now. (Incidentally, Osoyoos is in a desert - note the very un-desertlike rain!):

 

 

 

As I said, the KVR started westward from Midway. The station there is now a museum:

 

 

One of the exhibits being a CP caboose:

 

 

From Castlegar west to Midway, the railway had been built as the Columbia and Western. The next town east of Midway is Greenwood. There was a smelter here, and huge slag deposits are still visible. There was a branch from the town to the smelter and to mines in the hills behind. Grades were up to 1 in 26, and Shays were tried, without great success. East of town, there had been a large fill over a river and road. When the railway was closed and the fill removed, they uncovered an old single-lane road tunnel which had been closed and blocked up:

 

 

Next place we stopped was Grand Forks. This was once a major rail centre. All that’s left now is a very short shortline, the Grand Forks Railroad, servicing a few industries on former CP tracks. It connects with a US shortline, the Kettle Falls International Railway which crosses into Canada for a few miles on its way between US towns. Here’s the Grand Forks Railroad’s only locomotive, an ex-CP SW8:

 

 

East of Grand Forks, the CP line climbed to Farron Summit. This picture of the route was taken from the Paulson highway bridge. The timber debris is the remains of a snowshed:

 

 

From Farron, the CP line descended into Castlegar. Only the last few miles are still active, servicing a large pulp mill. At Castlegar, a line branches off to the only remaining active smelter in the area, at Trail. This was the first part of the Columbia and Western to be built, giving access to the Columbia River for products of the Trail smelter. From Castlegar to Nelson the line, built as the Columbia and Kootenay Railway, is still active.

 

Nelson was the major transport hub in the West Kootenays. Apart from the railway, it was the base for the CP sternwheelers on Kootenay Lake, and the main diesel maintenance shop was built there once the CP Southern Mainline was dieselised in the early 1950s. There’s not much railway activity there now – only one train each way passes through each day, operated by a CP “internal short line”, the Kootenay Valley Railway. However, the city of Nelson is redeveloping the area round the old depot, calling it the Railtown district. Here’s the CP depot undergoing renovation:

 

 

And the freight shed has already been turned into offices and stores:

 

 

Just to prove that CP trains do still run here, this is an eastbound leaving Nelson with SD40-2s 5987 and 5749 (AFAIK, no AC locomotives run here):

 

 

The eastbound passes about 5:30 pm. The westbound goes through at about 3 am – no chance of a picture of that.

[JCL]

Hi there, they're great photos. Are you still in the Kootenays? I left Fernie in November of last year and while I was there I lived only 100 yards from the line from Lethbridge. There are trains through the town day and night that are run by both CPR and Union Pacific. The station is now a well used arts centre, and the siding is often used for maintenance of way and the (very) infrequent expensive touring trains.

 

In Cranbrook is a railway museum that is run by an odd bunch, but the exhibits are really interesting, and in Fort Steele is a fair bit or railway paraphernalia and a ride-along steam train.

 

Thanks for taking me back there. Hopefully I'll be able to do it for real in July.

[pH]

 

Hi there, they're great photos. Are you still in the Kootenays? I left Fernie in November of last year and while I was there I lived only 100 yards from the line from Lethbridge. There are trains through the town day and night that are run by both CPR and Union Pacific. The station is now a well used arts centre, and the siding is often used for maintenance of way and the (very) infrequent expensive touring trains.

In Cranbrook is a railway museum that is run by an odd bunch, but the exhibits are really interesting, and in Fort Steele is a fair bit or railway paraphernalia and a ride-along steam train.

Thanks for taking me back there. Hopefully I'll be able to do it for real in July.

No, we're not in the Kootenays, we got back to Port Moody last night.

 

I've stayed a couple of nights in Fernie in the past and seen several CP/UP runthroughs. I really like the town. Never been into the Cranbrook museum, but I've been to Fort Steele a few times.

 

With our son and daughter-in-law now living in Nelson, I think we'll be seeing a lot more of the Kootenays.

[Fenway Park]

See the latest issue of Classic Trains Trains of the 1970s which contains an article chasing CPs elusive C Liners with photos of Grand Forks, the snow shed at Paulson and the depot at Castlegar. Reprinted from Trains July 1972.

[Ozexpatriate]

A branch line ran south from the KVR at Penticton.

I don't suppose you got to see Ogopogo while you were there?

[pH]

I don't suppose you got to see Ogopogo while you were there?

Wrong lake. Ogopogo lives in Okanagan Lake, north of Penticton. That's Osoyoos Lake behind the sailing club.

[Ozexpatriate]

Wrong lake. Ogopogo lives in Okanagan Lake, north of Penticton. That's Osoyoos Lake behind the sailing club.

I take it you didn't make it to Penitcton? (I thought Penicton was on the south shore of Okanagan Lake?)

[pH]

I take it you didn't make it to Penitcton? (I thought Penicton was on the south shore of Okanagan Lake?)

We didn't go through Penticton. Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway), the road to the Kootenays, runs south of there, through Osoyoos.

[jsp3970]

In Cranbrook is a railway museum that is run by an odd bunch, but the exhibits are really interesting,

 

Very odd bunch, you can't deviate from the tour to take photos so I was a little disappointed.

 

Just west of the railway museum is a hotel, stayed there two nights and was lucky enough to get a room on the railway side. Lots of CP / UP units going by. There is also an old sleeping car used as two hotel rooms, I think they said it was $500 / night.

[JCL]

Yeah, the museum's not particularly welcoming. And you aren't allowed to ask questions, but to sub,it them in writing and they will reply, or not, as they see fit. The whole reason why Cranbrook is so big is because when the railways were coming through the MP making the decisions was either from, or represented the town. The great thing about the yard is that you can indeed see a lot of different vehicles there, and there is often a lot of shunting to do.

 

It's surprising how many old cars there are knocking around by the side of the road. There are a couple on highway one as well, and a large number of steam and mining locos "stuffed and mounted" - Fernie has two, Coleman has one, Lethbridge, and over here on the island, there's one in an open shed in Qualicum Beach.

[pH]

Here's possibly the best "stuffed and mounted at the side of the road" loco in BC - http://goo.gl/maps/ypHn4

 

I've seen it before, but when I found it on Streetview, the BC Transit Brill trolleys in the background were a surprise!

[jsp3970]

Here's possibly the best "stuffed and mounted at the side of the road" loco in BC - http://goo.gl/maps/ypHn4

 

I've seen it before, but when I found it on Streetview, the BC Transit Brill trolleys in the background were a surprise!

I know there is a place in BC with a bunch of BC Transit and Calgary Transit trolleys. I am thinking that might be it.

 

Yeah, the museum's not particularly welcoming. And you aren't allowed to ask questions, but to sub,it them in writing and they will reply, or not, as they see fit. The whole reason why Cranbrook is so big is because when the railways were coming through the MP making the decisions was either from, or represented the town. The great thing about the yard is that you can indeed see a lot of different vehicles there, and there is often a lot of shunting to do.

I got their attention, caught my hand on a protruding nail in one of the sleepers!

 

But yea I hated that no questions attitude, but then I got the feeling that the guide was just some kid who had memorized the script.

 

As for the type of train here is a video a friend of mine shot, I was standing next to him, just west of Cranbrook.

 

[pH]

I know there is a place in BC with a bunch of BC Transit and Calgary Transit trolleys. I am thinking that might be it.

 

Sorry - I thought the location would show up on the Streetview image. It's Sandon.

[jsp3970]

Sorry - I thought the location would show up on the Streetview image. It's Sandon.

Oh yes I realize that it is Sandon, but I am thinking this is also the place with the ex Calgary Transit trolleys that I heard about!

[pH]

Oh yes I realize that it is Sandon, but I am thinking this is also the place with the ex Calgary Transit trolleys that I heard about!

 

You can use Streetview to move down to those trolleys and look more closely at them. There are some there that I don't think are BC Transit - at least two other colourschemes. Are any of those Calgary ones?

[peach james]

I think some of the Sandon ones are ex Calgary.  It's also home of BC's oldest original power plant, and my wife's family is from the area. 

 

James