Coquihalla rail line opened 100 years ago this week
Joe Smuin explains an aspect of Kettle Valley Railway history to an attentive group on Sunday. A ceremony was held on the KVR grade above the Coquihalla highway to mark the 100th anniversary of the opening of the rail line between Brookmere and Hope through Coquihalla Pass. A group of rail history and outdoors enthusiasts marked an important 100 th anniversary Sunday, with a commemorative “last spike” ceremony. The event was organized by my friend, longtime Canadian Pacific Railway railfan Brian Peters. July 31, 1916 was the day the Coquihalla line of the Kettle Valley Railway opened for traffic. The construction and opening of the railway was the final step in a lengthy political and economic campaign to link the Okanagan, Boundary and Kootenay areas of B.C. with the coast by rail. The campaign also sought to prevent American railroads (specifically the Great Northern Railway, operated by Canadian J.J. (Jim) Hill) from reaping most of the profits from the mines, smelters...