Hello everyone!!! Welcome to the new location of Jeffrey’s Diner in beautiful downtown Golden, British Columbia. We are in the middle of the majestic Rocky Mountains in a town that played a major role in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway across Canada.
The CPR was formed to build a national railway system from coast to coast to link the country together. One of the primary goals was to convince British Columbia to become part of the Canadian Confederation, and in 1871 a deal was reached that promised a rail connection to British Columbia in ten years. Construction of the railway reached the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in 1883. In 1884 and 1885 the railroad was pushed through the Rockies. Keep in mind that the workers had little in the form of power equipment which makes the feat all that more amazing!
A decision had to be made at Golden, BC to determine whether the railway would use steam through the Rockies or three rail electric. Alas, because there was no power anywhere close to Golden, steam won out.
Here is a link to the history of the construction of the CPR across Canada:
https://cpconnectingcanada.ca/
Here is a map showing where Golden is located, and showing its proximity to other important rail sites in BC like the Division Point in Revelstoke and the Thompson River:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Golden,+BC/@51.0388957,-116.9420951,7.79z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x5379bf9c63b14e69:0x1a042ac933b64441!8m2!3d51.2961188!4d-116.9631367
Here is some information about the Golden area and what it has to offer:
https://www.tourismgolden.com/
I hope you enjoy the stay!!!
For those new
Getting a railway through the Canadian Rocky Mountains took some amazing feats of engineering. One of the most interesting features is the Spiral Tunnels in the Kicking Horse Pass. The tunnels were not part of the original construction, but were built 25 years after the fact in order to eliminate an incredible 4.5% grade on a section of track through the pass that was built in a hurry in order to meet the deadline for reaching British Columbia. The very first train to attempt the grade derailed, killing three crew members.
Here is a video of trains going through the tunnels. (Sorry, the first few minutes are a bit boring):
Here is more historical information about the tunnels:
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/bc/yoho/culture/kickinghorse/visit/spirale-spiral
If you are looking for a truly incredible railfanning experience, may I suggest the Rocky Mountaineer. Magnificent scenery and top quality food and service:
https://www.rockymountaineer.com/
I’ll add more information soon!
Cheers!!
Dave
Dave,
Thanks for moving the diner.
herrinchoker
Hi herrinchoker,
You are most welcome! It’s actually kind of a fun thing to do.
Dave
Thank you, Dave!
I barely felt a “bump-in-the-night” as the crew tied the diner on to the B.C. Night Express with direct service from Texas to Golden!
Good Job, Old Boy!
CNR_St_Catharines by Edmund, on Flickr
CP_Montreal-1965 by Edmund, on Flickr
BRENT! We’re in your neighborhood, just over that ridge to the east. Hellooo…
Cheers, Ed
Enjoy the mosaic of photos, appreciate being able to click on * page * and getting full detail surrounding the photo, the one of the freight loosing it’s brakes during a crew change was a good read. Also the accident at Lac Megantic when all the tank cars immolated the center of town.
herrinchoker
Dave: Thank you for moving the diner and creating the posts to welcome us to British Columbia!
Great job.
It is April Fools Day, so here is something just a little foolish.
Have fun everyone. Be safe.
-Kevin
It is indeed April Fool’s Day! Perhaps a more careful reading of my first post is in order![swg]
Dave
I unboxed my order from MB Klein today after a three-day quarantine to make sure I did not bring any virus into the house.
Much to my surprise, it was well packed with styrofoam packers! My last few orders from MB Klein were not packed nearly this well. Nothing was damaged, and the order was filled with no errors.
Nothing much to get excited about. Tortoise switch machines, Walthers backdrops, and a few tools.
These were the only real nifty items in the box. I ordered the two new 1954 Pontiacs from Oxford Models. These are simply gorgeous models.
-Kevin
Those are nice cars Kevin.
Dave
I read it several times. If there is an April Fools joke in there, it is not obvious enough for this dimwit to pick it out.
-Kevin
I notice that dozens of the most recent additions to the MBK site are “Out of Stock” even though they have just been listed. I’d like to order some of their recent Bowser cars but they are unobtanium!
Perhaps the staff needs to get it sorted and inventoried in the warehouse?
Cheers, Ed
Oh come on Kevin! Do you believe everything you read???
I’ll wait a few days to see if anyone catches it. If nobody does I will be sorely disappointed by your collective lack of knowledge of railroading in the Rockies in 1884![swg][(-D][(-D]
Dave
Here is another look at the Rocky Mountaineer:
https://www.canadianrockiesbyrail.org/
Dave
The Thompson River canyon:
Dave
So you guys like to run long trains eh?!?
An eastbound CN at Spence’s Bridge, BC. It must be almost all empty cars. I didn’t see any helpers. Interesting none the less (that is unless you were stopped at a railway crossing waiting for the infernal thing to go by![swg]).
Dave
Here are some interesting basic facts about the Canadian Rockies. Please ignor the fact that this is intended for a younger audience. We are all young at heart!
https://kids.kiddle.co/Canadian_Rockies
Dave