Railroads and Trains
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The Fraser Canyon is home to both of
Canada's Trans-Continental Railways. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), and
the Canadian National Railway (CNR). Both of these rail
lines
run from the pacific ocean to the Atlantic ocean spanning across the longest
part of the word largest country. The CPR made its way through the canyon in
1848?, and the CNR was constructed in 1912-14? both railways proved to be great
challenges for engineers the jagged rocks and vertical cliffs made it not only
difficult to construct here but as well extremely dangerous. Many thousands of
rail workers died most of which Chinese Rail workers who in some of Canada's
darkest history were hired to do some
of the more dangerous work. Today you can visit a memorial of the Chinese Rail
works in Yale B.C. The rail lines in the Fraser Canyon must pass through
hundreds of tunnels and bridges to pass through this vigorous and amazing
landscape. While visiting the Fraser Canyon there is countless places to view
the Trains as they pass through the canyon walls. The longest trains in the
world travel this area because it is a bottle neck for rail traffic as this
route is serves as the trade route for the Asia-pacific gateway and most of
north Americas import/export markets! one of the reasons the longest trains in
the world pass through here including double stacked container cars stretching
over 200 train-cars in length sometimes requiring up to a dozen locomotives
placed in the front middle and end of these trains to provide the power needed
to navigate such massive loads.

Kettle Valley rAILWAY
The Kettle Valley Railway was opened in 1915 and was abandoned in portions
beginning in 1961, with the final segment decommissioned in 1989 The main part
of the Kettle
Valley
Railroad started in Hope, and networked through Brookmere, Tulameen, Princeton,
Summerland, Penticton, Beaverdell, Midway and terminated in Nelson. An
additional branch line connected to Spences Bridge, British Columbia, and
Merritt, British Columbia. The section between Merrit and Spences Bridge
eventually became the main line for the railroad when the original railroad
between Hope and Brookmere through the Coquihalla was abandoned due to high
track maintenance costs. The Kettle Valley Railway between Merritt and Midway
opened May 31, 1915 . The Kettle Valley Railway was its own entity, however, the
Canadian Pacific Railway eventually took over operations of the KVR in 1931
.During the Kettle Valley Railway's lifespan through the Coquihalla 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 The KVR lost a lot
of its prominence when the Crowsnest Highway was constructed in 1949. However,
the first portion of the railway
was not abandoned until 1961 (Coquihalla Pass). With annual snowfalls over 14
feet in this section, and avalanches, rock slides and forest fires this
rail section was no longer feasible. Service after this closure was routed to
Spences Bridge and Merritt in order to maintain the connection with the
remainder of the line. One of the major landmarks on the former line are the
Othello-Quintette Tunnels, which are lined up in a

straight line, cutting through the Coquihalla River's gorge near Hope. Andrew McCulloch, 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, Romeo, Juliet, Lear, Jessica, Shylock and Portia. The othello tunnels is open during the summer months for public viewing. Another local historic site featuring the Kettle Valley Railway is the Ladner Trestle Bridge just a short drive out of Hope on the Coquihalla Highway Unlike the Othello Tunnels however this site is not maintained, and has a short but semi difficult trail to access this site. Lander Trestle Bridge Ladner | Trestle Bridge Gallery
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