|  In 1877, silver ore was found in the southeast corner of British Columbia , also known as the Kootenays. During the rush that followed, Canadians realized that their southern neighbors, the Americans, were transporting the ore back home many times faster and easier than the Canadians were able to. This was due to lack of transportation infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and railroads. Fueled by aspirations of the government in Ottawa , a plan to build a railroad through Kettle Valley was conceived.
Survey of the Crowsnest pass started in 1896, and by 1898 the railway to the Kootenays from eastern British Columbia was completed. However, there was still no connection to the Kootenays from the west coast. In 1910, actual construction of the KVR commenced, led by Chief Engineer Andrew McCulloch.
The going was extremely tough, and, as McCulloch once stated, “[he had] Never [seen] a railway built on any hillside such as this.”
McCulloch was faced with the incredible task of building 18 wood trestle bridges in a space of only 5.5 miles of extremely tall and wide valleys. In addition, he employ Italian stonemasons to create bridge abutments and retaining walls. (You can still see their stone bread ovens up in the hills.) McCulloch was confronted with a shortage of men and materials, and found this to be a problem that stuck with the entire period of construction.
A whole different problem was created by the Coquihalla pass. Its ruggedness and cliffs would not be easy to overcome. After Hope, the Coquihalla River created 300 foot high granite cliffs, then a hairpin turn upon itself, impossible to set rails upon. Some suggested drilling a mile long tunnel, and others thought it would be best to avoid the pass altogether. Andrew McCulloch, however, disagreed with both ideas. He personally prospected the potential route. He decided to drill four tunnels along the river, one that would be open on one side, giving the impression of five tunnels. Thus, the “Quintette” tunnels were created. In other areas of the Coquihalla, the process was slowed due to the many tunnels and bridges that needed to be created. The builders were also hampered by increasingly wicked weather. It was now November, and the deep snow did not allow work trains through. An old snow-thrower from the Rio Grande was used to remove some of it, but in the end, with only a mile of track left to lay, McCulloch was forced to pause all construction until after winter. When work resumed, many repairs had to be made to the trestles and snow sheds because of the many avalanches that had taken place over the winter. Finally, after four months, the Coquihalla railroad was connected with the Ladner Creek Bridge , marking the completion of the Coquihalla pass.
Now that the Coquihalla pass was completed, work on the KVR was able to speed up, because of the increase of men and materials coming in through the Coquihalla pass. However, by 1913 there was still a good 150 miles of track to lay before this enormous feat of engineering would come to a close. As there was less and less track to lay, McCulloch could focus his construction crews on a smaller area, exponentially increasing construction speed, until finally the railway was completed July 31, 1916 . It fulfilled the dream of a coast-to-Kootenay railway, one that was held for many years. Most importantly, it almost eliminated American occupation in the Kootenays.
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Before the Okanagan fires of 2003, countless people were able to enjoy an incredible hiking or biking experience along the 12 kilometers of trail that the KVR provided. The fires, caused by a single lightning strike near Rattlesnake Island on Lake Okanagan , destroyed one of British Columbia ’s most beautiful attractions, along with part of British Columbia ’s heritage.
Andre Pokorny, student at Southridge school
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Sources:
Kettle Valley Railway at
<http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/explore/ok/trails/kettle.htm >
April 12, 2004
Turner, Hector: Kettle Valley Railway History at
< http://members.rogers.com/kettlevalley/KVRhistory-3.html >
April 12, 2004
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