If anyone knows the history of the Kettle Valley Railway in southern BC, they probably know that vestiges of it still exist, if one knows where to look (the Othello Tunnels in Hope are the most prominent; well worth a visit). One of the cooler bits remaining is the steel trestle over Ladner Creek. This span is 550 feet long and (roughly) 200 feet high. It was built in 1916, upgraded in 1950(ish), and abandoned in 1959.
Check these out:
The railway grade, rather overgrown after fifty years of disuse. One heck of a scramble to get up here…
Tunnel #8, 184 feet long; the foot of the trestle is at the other end. All the remaining tunnels on the Coquihalla Sub were collapsed in the 60’s in the name of public safety. The only way forward from here is up and over, to the left of this photo.
The trestle as seen from the top of tunnel #8, which is as close as I got to it. The trail down from the tunnel’s top is seriously treacherous; I might risk it in the future, but not this time. Even from here it was plain that time has taken a toll on this old beauty; the metal components are relatively intact, but the wooden ties are seriously rotted and some are already missing.
One heck of a jaunt! One thing I specifically didn’t take pictures of was the large ass-groove carved in
My wife and I walked the Othello tunnel complex two summers ago. It’s a most impressive and daunting feat those men built. We also walked to the trestles in Myra Canyon in Kelowna.
More cost per mile than any other rr in N. America.
A little further up the line in Brookmere is this old water tower.
Here’s a photo of a KVR bridge North of Rock Creek. Note the taller bridge shoes on the span on the left verses the one on the right where they raised the cement higher. Also the arm sticking out for the telegraph wires.
An old telegraph pole with funny old insulators. These poles can still be found in lots of places along the line. Insulators lying around along with old spikes and other goodies.
This road is somewhere West of Beaverdell if I recall correctly. We were driving the KVR rail bed and a slide made us go up and around in one part. I had to put the truck in bull low to get up the steepest hill I had ever driven up. Coming back down was really scary. Even in bull low it was so steep we were sliding down[(-D].I was also glad we had skid plates.
My little guy was looking out the window and saying “dad I can’t see the road next to the truck just the river below”. That was about a 1000’ straight down.[(-D]
Once when I was exploring the CP line through the Rockies. I parked the truck and took out the mountain bike to continue my trip. I was riding along a trail next to the track with the river on the other side. Just off to my left was a Grizzly fishing in the river about 50’ away. I only noticed him as I rode past. A couple miles up the track I planted my butt on a outcropping above the track t
Here are some photos from my trip to Calgary in 2011.
First is the concrete lined tunnel with an open side. Looked to me something like a cathedral.
The next photo shows how the tunnels are arranged in line, although on a curve, with bridges between them. The average cost was over $136K/mile. The most expensive was at the highest point at $300K.
Batman: that water tower seems to be the last one standing on the KVR. It had two sides, one for the GN, one for the KVR, who jointly operated the line from Princeton. More information here: http://www.thekvr.com/brookmere.php
The railway grade, rather overgrown after fifty years of disuse. One heck of a scramble to get up here…
Tunnel #8, 184 feet long; the foot of the trestle is at the other end. All the remaining tunnels on the Coquihalla Sub were collapsed in the 60’s in the name of public safety. The only way forward from here is up and over, to the left of this photo.
The trestle as seen from the top of tunnel #8, which is as close as I got to it. The trail down from the tunnel’s top is seriously treacherous; I might risk it in the future, but not this time. Even from here it was plain that time has taken a toll on this old beauty; the metal components are relatively intact, but the wooden ties are seriously rotted and some are already missing.
