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Post by WettCoast on Sept 28, 2007 17:04:40 GMT -8
CP Rail east bound freight @ Partridge, just east of upper spiral tunnel on CPR's main line (Laggan Sub) - 12 May 1978
WCK/JST photo © by Wett Coast, on Flickr
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 20, 2008 19:12:15 GMT -8
West portal for Mt. MacDonald tunnel, Rogers Pass. (does anyone know if that's the Connaught Tunnel route's track, to the right of the Mt. MacD tunnel portal??) ------------- Major Rogers, and Global Moderator "Hells Bells" Flugel Horn The question is does our fearless Global Moderator have an affinity for the King's English such as Major Rogers had? He was apparently quite eloquent while slogging his way through the devil's club thickets in the Illecillewaet River valley. Regarding your photo of the Macdonald Tunnel west portal... Sorry, I have been away and missed this until now... In the background the tall pointy peak on the right is Mt Sir Donald, named for Sir Donald Smith (later Lord Strathcona), the guy who drove the CPR's last spike, and gave his name to Vancouver Island's largest provincial park. The track behind is indeed the Connaught track leading east and uphill to Glacier Station and the east portal of the Connaught Tunnel. The name 'Connaught', BTW, commemorated the Duke of Connaught, one of Queen Victoria's progeny, who served as Canada's Governor General at the time this tunnel was built. His name also graces the BC Legislative Building Library in Victoria, and the old Cambie St. bridge in Vancouver was officially named after him. The above photo and text is from a booklet entitled Canadian Pacific in the Selkirks - 100 years in Rogers Pass, by Jan Booth. It is/was published by The Calgary Group of the British Railway Modellers of North America. They have many publications on western Canadian railways, both modern & historical. Check out their website @ www.brmna.com/ Lastly, Mr. Fluge, next time you go out on one of the railway historical trips check with me and I will tell you what to look for and where to turn off the highway. Also look for me to do another entry on the old Kicking Horse bridge on the 'Bridge' thread.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 20, 2008 21:19:31 GMT -8
Mr. Wet Coast Kid, thanks a bunch for the info and confirmation of the Connaught track.
That famous Connaught name is also used for the main street in the town of Jasper.
Re Major Rogers' speech abilities, no I don't have his special giftings. I did enjoy reading about him though, in Pierre Berton's "The Last Spike" book.
I'm now part-way into Robert Turner's railway history book (West of the Great Divide) and am enjoying that book too. The quick replacement of the many temporary wooden bridges and other structures is fascinating to me.
I am building up a new list of railway things to see, next time that I travel through those mountains. And yes, I'll ask you for advice on other treasures to look for. But for this recent trip, I knew about Morant's Curve thanks to your posting about it on this forum....so thanks.
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Kam
Voyager
Posts: 926
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Post by Kam on Jun 8, 2009 16:17:44 GMT -8
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 8, 2009 19:16:41 GMT -8
Original Track Telegraph line still in place Is that piece of track identified as original? The rail is of the right vintage. However, at the time of construction the plates that go between rail and tie were not used. The rail was spiked directly to the tie. As for the telegraph lines they are no where near original either. The original poles supported just one pair of telegraph wires in 1885. The lines shown were in use until just a few years ago. Some may still be in use although they look rather neglected. I expect today that communication (including fibre optic cable), power & control cables are buried beside the right-of-way. Sometimes you can see these cables fastened to bridge works where there is no ground to bury them in. I will scan an 1885 'last spike' photo and display it here later.
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 9, 2009 21:55:18 GMT -8
CPR Construction Workers' version of the 'Last Spike' - Craigellachie, BC - 7 Nov 1885. Note the track bed & telegraph poles. (Canadian Pacific Corp. Archives) Scanned from the late Pierre Berton's book The Great Railway - Illustrated, p 323
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Kam
Voyager
Posts: 926
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Post by Kam on Jun 10, 2009 10:02:55 GMT -8
One of the volunteers did identify it as original track, but i suspect the plates are not.
That would make much more sense. I just love the glass insulators. I collect them whenever i find them at garage sales and flea markets.
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D'Elete BC in NJ
Voyager
Dispensing gallons of useless information daily...
Posts: 1,671
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Jun 12, 2009 4:49:21 GMT -8
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 12, 2009 11:59:41 GMT -8
Scanned from the late Pierre Berton's book The Great Railway - Illustrated, p 323 I'm reading through that book right now. I've previous read the books "The National Dream" and "The Last Spike", but this book is interesting for the photographs and maps. The book has a 2 photos of the official last-spike ceremony. In one picture, Major Rogers is hidden. In the other picture, his whiskers are visible. PS: At some point, we should do a comparison of the managerial styles of Mr. Van Horne and Mr. Hahn. Would be an interesting study....
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Nov 16, 2009 12:27:37 GMT -8
Not something I had marked on the calendar, (Obviously I had no idea.) but I just ran across a blog entry/webarticle on the 100th anniversary of the completion of the CPRs Spiral Tunnels in Rogers Pass which, apparently, opened in October 1909, just over a hundred years ago as of today. www.oil-electric.com/2009/11/spiral-tunnels-100th-birthday-party.html
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 16, 2009 19:04:16 GMT -8
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Post by Ferryman on Feb 6, 2011 14:46:58 GMT -8
Pretty neat old documentary about the CPR in the Rocky Mountains during the 1950s which was forwarded to me by a family member. www.nfb.ca/film/railroaders
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Feb 11, 2011 14:28:53 GMT -8
Pretty neat old documentary about the CPR in the Rocky Mountains during the 1950s which was forwarded to me by a family member. www.nfb.ca/film/railroadersI got the same video emailed to me by a family friend. Haven't had time to watch the whole video, yet, but I like the predictable and classic image of the heroic engineer with his pipe in his teeth, and his hand on the whistle chord . I also just wanted to post a like to an absolutely spectacular photo (in my opinion). This is photo taken by a railfan up at Camp A on Canfor's Englewood logging railway just before their winter shutdown last fall. forums.railfan.net/image.cgi?Vancouver/CampA-2.jpgLooks particularly breathtaking: nice and cool and foggy. Perfect coastal conditions, yet it still has a nice amount of colors in it to make for a very complete and storied image. Take a look...
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Post by Mike on Nov 4, 2011 19:39:08 GMT -8
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 22, 2012 21:21:43 GMT -8
Stone Arch Bridge that once carried the Canadian Pacific Railway grade over the Illecillewaet River, just west of Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park, BC - 14 July 2002 photo © JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr[/size] This bridge was built in about 1895. It replaced an original timber structure constructed ten years earlier. This bridge remained in use by the railway until late in 1916 when the nearby Connaught Tunnel under Rogers Pass was opened. The bridge supported both the main line and a passing track. Today there is a gravel road on the bridge deck which leads to the site of the CPR's one-time hotel that was known as Glacier House (torn down in 1929). Many good hiking & mountaineering 'approach' trails were developed in the area around Glacier House. One of those trails is a short walk called the 'Meeting of the Waters' trail which leads to good views of this bridge. This is a must-see spot for those interested in the railway history of Rogers Pass.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 22, 2012 21:46:30 GMT -8
Stone Arch Bridge that once carried the Canadian Pacific Railway grade over the Illecillewaet River, just west of Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park, BC - Many good hiking & mountaineering 'approach' trails were developed in the area around Glacier House. One of those trails is a short walk called the 'Meeting of the Waters' trail which leads to good views of this bridge. This is a must-see spot for those interested in the railway history of Rogers Pass. Duly noted for my summer trip, thank you. That bridge, and the other stone bridge on the east-side of the pass (the bridge that's visible from the highway) are on my list of things to see in 2012.
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 2, 2012 19:59:39 GMT -8
Over the last 5 days I made a fast trip to Calgary to watch my son compete in the race walk competition at the Canadian Track & Field Championships*. Along the way I stopped once or twice to take some train pics. Here are a couple of them: The Rocky Mountaineer on CN's Robson Sub heading west @ Charles, just north of Valemount, BC - 28 June 2012 CP west bound box train on CP's Laggan Subdivision near Castle Junction, Banff National Park, Alberta - 30 June 2012 both photos © WCK/JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr[/size] *BTW, my son Ben did well, taking more than a minute off his own Canadian record for junior men in the 10 km distance. Though he is not going to the upcoming Olympics, he is going to Barcelona, Spain, to compete at the World Junior T&F Championships. His parents will be at that event.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 13, 2012 17:51:11 GMT -8
I visited Morant's Curve 3 times in the past few days. On today's visit, I saw no trains. .... but I did see this:
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 21, 2012 18:34:25 GMT -8
Upper spiral-tunnel at big-hill in Yoho Park, along CPR line. - seen from the viewpoint on Yoho Valley Rd. - July 12, 2012, early afternoon.
VIDEO
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piglet
Chief Steward
Posts: 138
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Post by piglet on Jul 21, 2012 20:40:41 GMT -8
Did you do the big hill hike from the Yoho Camp ground to the old Big Hill grade when you were there? Its a steep hike but a good one and you can see the remains of one of the old narrow gauge steamers used to build the right of way for the spirals.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 22, 2012 6:08:17 GMT -8
Did you do the big hill hike from the Yoho Camp ground to the old Big Hill grade when you were there? Its a steep hike but a good one and you can see the remains of one of the old narrow gauge steamers used to build the right of way for the spirals. Yes, but it was only a portion, by chance. I did part of it, by mistake. I had parked on the side of Hwy-1 and was looking for Cathedral siding. I climbed up a steep short trail and found the wrecked locomotive and the safety-spur #3. Both had interpretive-trail sign #s on them. - I will post photos in a few days, as I work through the days of my trip.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 22, 2012 7:11:31 GMT -8
Notch Hill grade reduction diversion track, near Tappen BC (near Shuswap Lake), seen on July 9, 2012. - We arrived just in time to see a coal train westbound through this 1980's diversion track. It's a loop in a field, that allows the route to gain elevation slowly for the heavy westbound trains. - The starting part goes under the auto-road in a culvert, and the ending goes over the auto-road on a bridge; hence the elevation gain. -------------------------------- Pano stitch of the scene: - train moves from right to left in the photo Looking the other-way from the roadway: Culvert and bridge, showing elevation change.: The loop in the field: The last part of the turn. It reminds me of a NASCAR oval... The end of John CoalTrain on the bridge over the road (Notch Hill Rd, which is easily accessed off of Hwy 1) ----------------------- VIDEO of the train going through the diversion. (sorry, I missed the part where the train starts by going through the culvert under the road). www.facebook.com/v/10151028119813647
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 22, 2012 11:33:52 GMT -8
Notch Hill grade reduction diversion track, near Tappen BC (near Shuswap Lake), seen on July 9, 2012. - We arrived just in time to see a coal train westbound through this 1980's diversion track. It's a loop in a field, that allows the route to gain elevation slowly for the heavy westbound trains. - The starting part goes under the auto-road in a culvert, and the ending goes over the auto-road on a bridge; hence the elevation gain. -------------------------------- Equipment: CP 9821 Builder GE Model AC4400CW HP 4400 Built: May 2004. Location: Tappen Mile 70.5 Shuswap Subdivision (Kamloops is at Mile 128.5) Thanks Paul. I had a few moments on my road-trip where I could picture you driving with your Truckasaurus and automatic dash-board camera. Or you on your motorcycle on the Going-to-the-Sun highway. Holiday Road is good times...
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 22, 2012 13:32:55 GMT -8
CPR Last-Spike site at Craigellachie, BC. - We were there on July 9, 2012. - It's a highway rest-stop with a historical display. Included is a small gift-shop that is run by the Revelstoke Train Museum Society (where you can buy a copy of "Nicholas Morant's Canadian Pacific" book for $89.95). That's the current CPR mainline on the right-side of the photo, on the other side of the fence. An artists replica of the most famous photo in Canadian history. - the gift shops have a book about the "little boy in the photo". As far as the big boys in the photo go, I recognize Van Horne, Fleming and Smith. George Stephen is in there somewhere, as is HellsBells Rogers too.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 22, 2012 19:29:26 GMT -8
An early morning visit by me to the Columbia River bridges at Revelstoke paid off with a coal-train crossing. - July 10, 2012. - I'm on the east-end of the highway bridge. A great photo vantage point for morning photography of the rail bridge. ======================== VIDEO of the train: - starting at the 13-second mark, you can see an automobile's reflection as it crosses (from left to right) on the 1-lane bridge which is behind the railway bridge. In this photo angle, only the reflection of this auto-bridge is visible; which is kinda neat. ----------------------- Photos of same event: The middle-of-train locomotive End of train. Time for me to return to my hotel. Rogers Pass awaits me for my day.
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