Kettle Valley And Its Railways BY Hal Riegger w/ dust jacket
Kettle Valley And Its Railways
BY Hal Riegger
Hardcover with dustjacket - 289 pages - Copyright ??
Table of Contents
PREFACE 5
INTRODUCTION 9
CHAPTER 1
Spokane Falls & Northern Railway
Columbia & Kootenay Railway
Nelson & Fort Sheppard Railway14
CHAPTER 2
Columbia & Western 34
CHAPTER 3
Grand Forks and Its Railways 82
CHAPTER 4Granby Smelter
Phoenix and Eholt 98
CHAPTER 5
The VV&E Reaches Princeton 130
CHAPTER 6
Midway to Penticton 148
CHAPTER 7
Penticton to Princeton 178
CHAPTER 8
The Coquihalla Is Finished 194
CHAPTER 9Years Following
Coquihalla's Completion 234
EPILOGUE245
MODELER'S ALBUM 268
INDEX284
About the book.
To the people who built them, British Columbia was both the focus and location of railways that invaded its southern boundary area in the late eighteen hundreds. To many Canadians it was just some land way out west beyond the Rocky Mountains, coveted for its natural resources and development potential by its neighbours south of the International Boundary. Many small railways went into making what became known as Canadian Pacific's "Kettle Valley Route", the years of its major construction spanning the period between 1893 and 1915.
Development of the railways in the Province's southern border area involved two giants of railway construction, William Cornelius Van Horn of Canadian Pacific's transcontinental railway fame and James Jerome Hill, the "Empire Builder" of the Great Northern Railroad. Ironically each originally came from the country of his railway opponent. In their fight to retain resources and do their own developing, Canadians pushed the Kettle Valley's rails across inhospitable territory, not at all suited to tracks and trains, and in so doing opened up some of Canada's most magnificent country. But the following years have borne out the unsuitable geography of the area in terms of railways as, one by one divisions of CPR's Kettle Valley Route fall into disuse and are abandoned. This is the story of mining and of railroading in its finest and most spectacular form.
Preface
What originally was a scattered group of individual railways each with its own name has, through the years, been combined into what has been referred to as the "Kettle Valley Route" of the Canadian Pacific Railway. This most southerly route of the Canadian Pacific Railway runs generally east and west close to the International border between British Columbia and the state of Washington.
A few years aao my attention was drawn to a magazine article describing a trip some people had made through the Coquihalla Canyon. It included a mile-by-mile description, as well as specific advice on the condition of a rather primitive road through the valley, and the advisability of making such a trip with a four-wheel drive vehicle.
I'd never before heard of this valley with such an interesting name; where was it? After studying a map of British Columbia I located its position in the southwestern part of the province. It was, to my surprise, an area I had passed near many times by car.
Reading the article and looking at the pictures made me want to see "the Coquihal-la"; all the more so because it was described as difficult and offering a challenge with the implication that it would be a wilderness area. Without the recommended vehicle but instead a Volkswagen "Beetle", I checked its tires, made sure the gas tank was full and, with a thermos full of hot coffee and some sandwiches, started my trip into a valley sure to be exciting.
My trip started at Merrit, a town somewhat east and south of Spences Bridge on the Fraser River and Canadian Pacific's main transcontinental railway. I drove in a southwesterly direction hoping I was following directions correctly. The main highway soon gave way to dirt roads and I became more reassured that I was headed for country devoid of people and really wild. This it was.
I was not then aware that any railway had ever existed in the Coquihalla Canyon, but evidences that one had were soon discovered. One such place was the "Bridal Veil Falls" bridge, gracefully spanning a stream originating at the top of the canyon and cascading with perfect symmetry down its sides to flow under this bridge. But as it was, the setting looked to me more like a scale model than the reality it was. I photographed this and many other spots during a day long trip ending at Hope and the confluence of the Coquihalla and Fraser Rivers.
Further exploration was not possible at this time and almost a year passed before I would get back to British Columbia. During that interim I became more and more curious to find out more about the railroad that went through this canyon. Why did it exist, and when? Plagued by these questions I made plans to explore further and give myself time to get some of the answers I wanted.
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