Kettle Valley Railway - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Kettle Valley Railroad was a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

that operated in the Thompson-Okanagan region of southern British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

.

It opened in 1915 and was abandoned in portions beginning in 1961, with the final segment falling into disuse in 1989.

Much of the railroad's original route has been converted to a multi-use recreational trail

Rail trail

A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...

, known as the Kettle Valley Rail Trail

Kettle Valley Rail Trail

The Kettle Valley Rail Trail is a multi-use recreational rail trail located in the Okanagan-Boundary region of southern British Columbia.The trail uses a rail corridor that was originally built for the now-abandoned Kettle Valley Railway...

, which carries the Trans-Canada Trail through this part of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

History

The Kettle Valley Railroad was built out of necessity to service the growing mining demands in the Southern Interior region of British Columbia. When the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

(CPR) completed the transcontinental railroad in 1885, the route cut through the Rocky Mountains at Kicking Horse and Rogers Passes, then followed the Fraser River for the remainder of the distance to Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

. This selected routing was significantly North of the mining towns within Southern Interior. Those critical of the CPR believed that the railroad should have been routed along the Dewdney Trail, through the Southern portions of British Columbia in order to fulfill politician pledges to keep Americans out of British Columbia should they ever attempt to dominate mining operations in British Columbia's South. However, geography was the main reason the CPR followed the transcontinental railroad route that it had selected. Too many mountain ranges stood between Alberta and Vancouver in the Southern portions of British Columbia, and CPR had selected what they felt was the path of least resistance.

Once silver was discovered within the region in the spring of 1887, thousands of Americans flooded into the B.C.'s Southern Interior, and essentially took control of the region. These miners quickly found that it was much quicker and cheaper to get their supplies from the recently completed Northern Pacific Railroad that transited through Spokane. Once word caught on, British Columbia's Southern Interior essentially became a commercial annex of the United States. Provincial and Federal officials quickly agreed that a second railroad dubbed the "Coast-to-Kootenay" railroad within British Columbia was required in order to help preserve Canadian sovereignty of British Columbia, and to also retain the valuable mining revenues within Canada.

The route selected involved connecting the railroad with Vancouver. However, this was not an easy task, as two mountain ranges stood in the way. Construction was some of the costliest per track mile when compared against most other North American railroad projects, costing almost $20 million, and it took nearly 20 years to complete. Construction of the railroad was not undertaken all at once, or even by one single company. In the process of realizing a completed "Coast-to-Kootenay" railroad, a number of "paper railroads" emerged. These were railroads that never progressed beyond the proposed stage. However some railroads did progress passed the proposal stage. The CPR initiated the Nicola Valley Railroad in the early 1890s. This railroad connected the town of Merritt, British Columbia

Merritt, British Columbia

Merritt is a city in the Nicola Valley of the south-central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Situated at the confluence of the Nicola and Coldwater rivers, it is the first major community encountered after travelling along Phase One of the Coquihalla Highway and acts as the gateway to all...

with the CPR mainline at Spences Bridge

Spences Bridge, British Columbia

Spences Bridge is a community in the Canadian province of British Columbia, situated 23 miles north east of Lytton and 32 miles from Ashcroft. In 1892, the population included 32 people of European ancestry and 130 First Nations people. There were 5 general stores, 3 hotels, one Church of England...

. The Midway & Vernon Railroad was a paper railroad that actually started construction. It was hoped that the Midway & Vernon railroad would connect Midway (the Westernmost station of the CPR owned Columbia and Western Railway

Columbia and Western Railway

The Columbia and Western Railway was a historic Canadian narrow gauge railway located in southern British Columbia.Constructed in 1896, its route connected silver and gold mines at Red Mountain and Rossland and a smelter at Trail...

) with Vernon

Vernon, British Columbia

Vernon is a city in the south-central region of British Columbia, Canada. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped found the famed Coldstream Ranch, the City of Vernon was incorporated on December 30, 1892. The City of Vernon has a population of 35,944 , while...

. However due to funding issues, construction on this railroad was stopped. However portions of the completed railroad grade were included in the Kettle Valley Railroad when the section between Penticton and Midway was completed.

The core portion of the Kettle Valley Railroad started in Hope

Hope, British Columbia

Hope is a district municipality located at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Hope is at the eastern end of both the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland region, and is at the southern end of the Fraser Canyon...

, transited through Brookmere

Brookmere, British Columbia

Brookmere, British Columbia is an unincorporated settlement in the Nicola Country of British Columbia. It is reached by the recently paved Coldwater Road from Merritt or from Exit 256 on the Coquihalla Highway...

, Tulameen

Tulameen, British Columbia

Tulameen, originally known as Otter Flat, is a small community in British Columbia, Canada, about 26 kilometres northwest of the town of Princeton on the Crowsnest Highway , and about 185 kilometres east-northeast from the city of Vancouver, British Columbia...

, Princeton

Princeton, British Columbia

Princeton is a small town in the Similkameen region of southern British Columbia, Canada. It lies just east of the Cascade Mountains, which continue south into Washington, Oregon and California. The Tulameen and Similkameen Rivers converge here...

, Summerland

Summerland, British Columbia

Summerland is a community on the west side of Okanagan Lake in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. The district is between Peachland to the north and Penticton to the south...

, Penticton, Beaverdell

Beaverdell, British Columbia

Beaverdell is an unincorporated settlement in the Monashee Country of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, which lies to the east of the Okanagan Valley and north of the Boundary Country region...

and terminated in Midway

Midway, British Columbia

Midway is a village located in southern British Columbia in the West Kootenay region.It is located 13 km west of Greenwood and 51 km east of Osoyoos along Highway 3.-History:...

. An additional branch line connected to Spences Bridge, British Columbia

Spences Bridge, British Columbia

, and Merritt, British Columbia

Merritt, British Columbia

. This portion was eventually adopted as the main portion of the railroad when the portion of the original railroad between Hope and Brookmere via the Coquihalla Valley was abandoned due to high track maintenance costs. Additional spur lines connected Copper Mountain with Princeton, Osoyoos, British Columbia

Osoyoos, British Columbia

Osoyoos is a town in the southern part of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia near the border with Washington state. The town is also adjacent to the Indian Reserve of the Osoyoos Indian Band. The origin of the name Osoyoos was the word suius meaning "narrowing of the waters" in the local...

, and Oliver, British Columbia

Oliver, British Columbia

Oliver is a community at the south end of the Okanagan Valley in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, with a population of 4370. The community of Oliver is made up of land governed by three different bodies: the Town of Oliver, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and the...

with Penticton. In addition, the Columbia & Western Railway from Midway, through Grand Forks, British Columbia

Grand Forks, British Columbia

-Schools:Schools in the region are operated by School District 51 Boundary which has its main office in Grand Forks but also serves Midway, Greenwood, Beaverdell, and Rock Creek....

continuing though to Cranbrook, British Columbia

Cranbrook, British Columbia

Cranbrook, British Columbia is a city in southeast British Columbia, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary's River, It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the East Kootenay. As of 2006, Cranbrook's population is 18,267, and the...

was also periodically referred to as portions of the KVR as well.

The railroad was built primarily in a mile-for-mile battle with the Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railroad (VV&E). The VV&E was actually owned by Great Northern Railway). The competition between the KVR and the VV&E during constructions of both railways was intense and resulted in many areas within the Southern Interior being serviced by two railways, when one would have been sufficient. Eventually, the hatchet was buried between the KVR and VV&E, as they both were forced to collaborate together when constructing their railways through the Coquihalla Valley.

The Kettle Valley Railway between Merritt and Midway was opened for service on May 31, 1915. On that date, the first two passenger trains commenced service. The Kettle Valley Railway was its own entity, however, the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

eventually took over operations of the KVR at the beginning of 1931.

Rail service on the KVR consisted of both passenger and freight trains. Passenger service over the line consisted for many years of the Kettle Valley Express and the Kootenay Express, which carried passengers between Vancouver, BC and Medicine Hat, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

. Freight carried on the KVR consisted primarily of ore from the Kootenay region of British Columbia, as well as forestry products and fruit from the Okanagan. Finished goods were primarily brought into the Southern Interior on trains heading Eastbound. During the Kettle Valley Railway's lifespan, on numerous occasions it was called upon to act as "The Second Mainline" when washouts, avalanches and rock slides closed off the main CPR line through the Fraser Canyon

Fraser Canyon

The Fraser Canyon is an 84 km landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley...

. CPR recognized the benefit of having a second railway transiting through British Columbia, so in the 1950s, they set off on an upgrade program that saw the weight-bearing strength of the rails increased, as well as bridge and trestle improvements which brought the railway up closer to mainline standards.

The KVR lost a lot of its prominence when the Crowsnest Highway

Crowsnest Highway

The Crowsnest Highway, also known as the Interprovincial or, in British Columbia, the Southern Trans-Provincial, is an east-west highway, in length, through the southern parts of British Columbia and Alberta, providing the shortest highway connection between British Columbia's Lower Mainland and...

was constructed in 1949. However, the first portion of the railway was not abandoned until 1961 (Coquihalla Pass), after a large washout damaged this section of the line during the winter of 1959. Maintenance of the track within the Coquihalla Pass was difficult to say the least. Annual snowfalls exceeded 50 feet in this area, and avalanches, rock slides and forest fires doomed the fate of the rail section. Service after this closure was then routed via Spences Bridge and Merritt in order to maintain the connection with the remainder of the line.

Through freight was discontinued throughout the line in 1962, and the last passenger train operated in January 1964. Effective 1964, the KVR essentially became a branch line. All rail service stopped from Midway to Penticton (including the famed Myra Canyon section) in May 1973, with the trackage officially being labelled as abandoned in 1978. Rails along this section were removed in 1979 as the result of a grant of abandonment from the Canadian Transport Commission. The complete line was finally abandoned in the late 1980s. The construction of the Coquihalla highway, some of which passes over the original railbed of the KVR helped accelerate the downslide of the KVR. Shortly after receiving permission, CP Rail commenced the removal of the track from Penticton to Spences Bridge. During this time, a group determined to preserve a portion of the railway emerged in Summerland and was successful in preserving a portion of the railway through Summerland. The railway currently operates as the Kettle Valley Steam Railway.

One of the major landmarks on the former line are the Othello-Quintette Tunnels

Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park

Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park, popularly called The Othello Tunnels is a provincial park located near Hope, British Columbia focused on the canyon of the Coquihalla River and a decommissioned railway grade, now a walking trail, leading eventually to Coquihalla Pass...

, which are lined up in a straight line, cutting through the Coquihalla River

Coquihalla River

The Coquihalla River is located in the Cascade Mountains near the town of Hope, British Columbia. It originates in the Coquihalla Lakes and empties into the Fraser River at Hope....

's gorge near Hope. They are open in summer for sightseeing. Andrew McCulloch

Andrew McCulloch (civil engineer)

Andrew McCulloch was a civil engineer with the Canadian Pacific Railway .-Biography:...

, who engineered the complex series of bridges and tunnels through Coquihalla Canyon was an avid reader of Shakespeare. As a result, many of the areas in the Coquihalla Region are named after characters in Shakespearean literature, such as Iago

Iago

Iago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi . There, the character is simply "the ensign". Iago is a soldier and Othello's ancient . He is the husband of Emilia,...

, Romeo

Romeo Montague

Romeo is one of the fictional protagonists in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is the son of old Montague and his wife, who secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet...

, Juliet

Juliet Capulet

Juliet is one of the title characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, the other being Romeo. She is the daughter of old Capulet, head of the house of Capulet. The story has a long history that precedes Shakespeare himself....

, Lear

King Lear

King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...

, Jessica

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...

, Shylock

Shylock

Shylock is a fictional character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.-In the play:In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who lends money to his Christian rival, Antonio, setting the security at a pound of Antonio's flesh...

and Portia

Portia (Merchant of Venice)

Portia is the heroine of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. A rich, beautiful, and intelligent heiress, she is bound by the lottery set forth in her father's will, which gives potential suitors the chance to choose between three caskets composed of gold, silver and lead...

.

On the Smithsonian Folkways

Smithsonian Folkways

Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways...

FW03569 1961 recording, "Bunkhouse and Forecastle Songs of the Northwest," Stanley G. Triggs sings a song called "The Kettle Valley Line" while accompanying himself on the mandolin.

Myra Canyon Trestles

One of the most popular sections of the hiking trail along the former Kettle Valley Railway line is the section through Myra Canyon. Myra Canyon is located South of Kelowna on Okanagan Mountain. The section of line originally transited between Midway

Midway, British Columbia

Midway is a village located in southern British Columbia in the West Kootenay region.It is located 13 km west of Greenwood and 51 km east of Osoyoos along Highway 3.-History:...

and Penticton. When the railway was built, the section of railway between Myra station and June Springs station required 18 wooden trestles and two tunnels in order to traverse the deep canyon.

For years after the abandonment of this section of rail line, the area was a noted attraction, with its relatively gentle grade, it became a hiker and cyclist haven. Years of disrepair on the trestles began to take its toll on the line. In some cases vandals had removed railway ties on the larger steel bridges, thus creating large gaps. In some cases hikers and cyclists wanting to cross the trestles would be required to walk on sections of steel no wider than a foot across in sections where the ties were removed. This would not normally be an issue, but many of these trestles and bridges were hundreds of feet in height. However after a fatal accident involving a cyclist on one of the trestles, many people petitioned to have the bridges and trestles made safer. These upgrades included repairs after numerous years of disrepair, and the installation of handrails and planks so that people did not have to jump between each railway tie.

From August to September 2003, lightning sparked the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire

2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire

On August 16, 2003 a wildfire was started by a lightning strike near Rattlesnake Island in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. The wildfire was fuelled by a constant wind and one of the driest summers in the past decade...

in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park. This fire rapidly grew in strength and size and made its way Southeast across Okanagan Mountain. This fire engulfed many portions of the KVR between Penticton and McCulloch Lake. After a valiant fight by the firefighters, the fire unfortunately claimed 12 of the 18 trestles within Myra Canyon. In addition, the bridge decks of two of the metal bridges were also destroyed in the fire.

Soon after the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire in 2003, the B.C provincial government announced that it would rebuild the damaged and destroyed trestles and bridges. In addition, safety improvements including stabilizing rock faces along the line and clearing rock also has taken place. The trestles have since been rebuilt and the trail is fully open to the public. There are indications that plans for further improvement are in place, such as a restroom located at approximately the middle of the trail.

Quintette Tunnels

When constructing the railway through the roughest portion of the Coquihalla Canyon, chief engineer Andrew McCulloch

Andrew McCulloch (civil engineer)

Andrew McCulloch was a civil engineer with the Canadian Pacific Railway .-Biography:...

determined that a routing proposed by his subordinates through this section was unnecessarily long or complex. McCulloch

Andrew McCulloch (civil engineer)

Andrew McCulloch was a civil engineer with the Canadian Pacific Railway .-Biography:...

recalculated the requirements, and decided that a straight section of track through this area was required, and in order to achieve this, five closely aligned tunnels would be required. He also determined that two bridges would need to be built between three of the tunnels. These tunnels were eventually known as the Quintette tunnels. These tunnels are a popular tourist attraction, and are located along the existing Coquihalla highway (however they are not visible from the highway). These tunnels are also known as the Othello Tunnels.

Kettle Valley Steam Railway

The Kettle Valley Steam Railway

Kettle Valley Steam Railway

The Kettle Valley Steam Railway is a heritage railway near Summerland, British Columbia.The KVSR operates excursion trains over the only remaining section of the Kettle Valley Railway through beautiful vistas, orchards, vineyards, and over the tall Trout Creek Trestle. Trains depart at 10:30 and...

has been operating a heritage railway

Heritage railway

thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

along a preserved 10-kilometre section from Prairie Valley Station to Canyon View Siding, near Summerland, British Columbia

Summerland, British Columbia

Summerland is a community on the west side of Okanagan Lake in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. The district is between Peachland to the north and Penticton to the south...

. This is the only active remaining section of the Kettle Valley Railway. Once CP Rail obtained permission to abandon and remove the final section of the KVR, a heritage society sprang up in a bid to save a portion of the rail line. In their efforts, they were successful in preserving the section, and then proceeded to prepare rail operations. In the original position of the Summerland station, a maintenance building was erected. Sidings were placed at Prairie Valley, and at Canyon View (North side of the Trout Creek Bridge). Temporary stations were built at Prairie Valley, Canyon View and at the original Summerland Station. Eventually a permanent station was built at the Prairie Valley station providing a great access point for the railway.

The railway initially operated with one 1924 Shay locomotive

Shay locomotive

The Shay locomotive was the most widely used geared steam locomotive. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive...

loaned from the BC Forest Discovery Centre

BC Forest Discovery Centre

The BC Forest Discovery Centre, located in Duncan, chronicles the history of logging in British Columbia, Canada. Its mission is to be British Columbia's foremost interpreter and presenter of the forest community – past, present and future. It is a 100 acre site with 3 km of operational...

in Duncan, British Columbia

Duncan, British Columbia

Duncan is a city on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.-History:The community is named after William Chalmers Duncan . He arrived in Victoria in May 1862, then in August of that year he was one of the party of a hundred settlers which Governor Douglas took to Cowichan Bay...

. It was originally operated by the Mayo Lumber Company on Vancouver Island, and was specifically designed to work on rough forestry trackage.

Rolling stock for the railway was donated from BC Rail. These railcars are originally Canadian Pacific in origin, but were used by BC Rail for service on the Royal Hudson

Royal Hudson

The term Royal Hudson refers to a group of semi-streamlined 4-6-4 Hudson steam locomotives owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway and built by Montreal Locomotive Works . The engine was built in 1938. In 1939, King George VI allowed the CPR to use the term after Royal Hudson number 2850 transported...

.

The most recent locomotive addition to the Kettle Valley Steam Railway is Montreal Locomotive Works

Montreal Locomotive Works

Montreal Locomotive Works was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer which existed under several names from 1883–1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For a number of years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company...

2-8-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...

. This locomotive, originally delivered as number 3916, it now is number 3716 and runs on the KVSR. It was originally delivered to CPR, and operated primarily in the Kootenays. It was stored in Port Coquitlam in 1966, and was restored in 1975. It was used as a backup locomotive to the Royal Hudson

Royal Hudson

until it was retired from BC Rail's service in April 2001.

The train now travels to the middle of the Trout Creek Bridge. Plans also were to extend the run to Faulder along the final portions of remaining original trackage. The Steam Railway owns track to Faulder, however, tours do not run to that location.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Myra Canyon Trestles

Quintette Tunnels

Kettle Valley Steam Railway

See also

External links