KVR History-Page 1 KVR History-Page 2 KVR History-Page 3
Written and maintained by Hector Turner (hectorturner@home.com)
Contents Copyright ©2000
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| CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES: |
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Part of the reason for the slow progress was the extremely difficult terrain that the railway was forced to cross. In the mountains above Kelowna, in what is now called Myra Canyon, McCulloch encountered a obstacle even he was taken aback by. "Never saw a railway built on any such hillside as this! Cannot even guess the cost now." he wrote in his diary. 
Myra Canyon and the trestle over the West Fork of Canyon Creek--Collection of Barrie Sanford from his book "Steel Rails and Iron Men" In a distance of only 5 1/2 miles they were forced to build 18 wooden frame trestles, several of which were over a hundred feet high and hundreds of feet long. In addition two tunnels had to be drilled, as well as cut stone bridge abutments and retaining walls built by Italian stonemasons(the rock ovens they used to bake their bread can still be found in the woods above the track). In order to speed construction, McCulloch made use of pre-fabricated trestle bents that would be transported to the site ready for use, but still the job was enormous. Today the trestles remain even though the tracks are long gone. Adventurous hikers and cyclists can still explore the canyon and marvel at the accomplishments of the builders who, with only dynamite and hard labour, shouldered aside the mountains to make room for the railway. One can only imagine what it must have been like for those early passengers as, creaking and groaning, their train eased its way slowly over the trestles so high above the valley below. |
| A RACE TO THE COAST: |
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At the same time construction was advancing on the Coquihalla in a race with the VV&E. The problem was that Coquihalla Pass was so rugged and so narrow that only one railway would be able to get through, if at all. Therefore, in order to secure a direct line to the coast, the KVR would have to beat Hill to it. In fact, this fight for the pass was just a continuation of the ongoing battle between the CPR and Hill's VV&E that was to come to a conclusion high in the wind-swept isolation of Coquihalla Pass. 
Coquihalla Pass--CPCA At first Hill had the upper hand as he had submitted right-of-way surveys well in advance of the KVR and therefore had first claim to the line through the pass. In the following legal battle, each side tried to outmanoeuvre the other in order to secure the right-of-way for themselves. Just as tensions were highest and it seemed that the two rival construction crews would come to blows... it was over. Incredibly, the two railroads agreed to share trackage through the pass. The reason for this was that increased government regulations and shrinking capital for construction had the Great Northern board of directors wondering if southern British Columbia was really worth it. It was the defeat of the Wilfred Laurier government, however, that finally brought Hill to his knees. Laurier had proposed a free trade agreement between Canada and the United States, an agreement that Hill's VV&E stood to profit immensely from, seeing as it straddled the border between the two countries. With Laurier's defeat free trade was dead and so to died J.J.Hill's vision of his railways carrying away the riches of the Kootenays. It was not long before the two sides would put aside their animosity and sit down to talk. In the Coquihalla Agreement of 1913 the Kettle Valley would build and maintain the line through the Coquihalla from Brodie to Hope and would allow the VV&E to use the trackage in exchange for an annual fee of a percentage of construction costs. In addition the KVR was granted running rights over the VV&E trackage already in place between Brookmere and Princeton, eliminating the need for the KVR to build a costly second line. It should be noted that the VV&E only ever ran one train over the line, carrying J.J.Hill's son, as Hill had died prior to completion of the railroad. However, they continued to pay the high annual fees for many years before selling out to the CPR. The long war for the southern interior of BC was over. |
| CLOSING THE GAPS: |
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With the line through Coquihalla Pass resolved and the increased availability of men and materials, construction was able to proceed at a far quicker pace than before. By the end of 1913 there was double the amount of track laid than at the end of 1912. However, there was more than 150 miles still left to lay and many bridges to build before the line could be declared open. One such obstacle was Trout Creek at Summerland, a deep canyon that cut through the benchlands above Lake Okanagan. The bridge required would be 250 feet long and 241 feet above the creek below. It was a deck lattice truss bridge with 400 feet of approach trestles and was one of the longest and highest of its kind in North America. McCulloch himself resurveyed the entire canyon when an argument arose regarding the measurements of the bridge. When the bridge was completed and lowered into place, it was a measure of McCulloch's skills that it was only 1/4" short of a perfect fit.
Construction of the Trout Creek Bridge--BCARS 
Trout Creek Bridge in Summerland--Collection of Barrie Sanford As the gaps in line were closed McCulloch was able to divert the construction crews to where they were needed most and so speed construction even more. Finally, on May 13, 1915, the Kettle Valley Railway line between Midway and Merritt was opened for service and the first passenger train made the trip over the tracks. All that remained now was the Coquihalla. Continued next page...
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