FIELDS & FORESTS
CANYONS & MOUNTAINS
TUNNELS & TRESTLES.
The 462 mile trip on the BCRail dayliner from Prince
George to Vancouver is, I think, one of the most exciting standard gauge train trips in
North America. However it does not cover all the BCRail system (see the map above from the
back page of Employee Timetable 19).
In this brief overview, we start at Dawson Creek (close
to the Alberta border) and attempt to show some of the rugged and beautiful country that
BCRail traverses.
Since this page was written the dayliner service has
been terminated and BCRail has been sold to CN.
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In our first picture we see a freight train, mainly loaded grain cars, leaving Dawson
Creek for Chetwynd to the south-west on 27 May 1999.
 En route the train
has to descend into (and climb out of) the East Pine River Valley and it can be seen
hanging to the sandy hillsides before it reaches this spectacular bridge.
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At Chetwynd the main north - south line is reached
 Twenty one years earlier on 16 May 1978, M420 647 (in the earlier two
tone green livery without zig-zag) is making a smoky departure with a southbound freight.
There are five locos on the head-end - M420s 647, 644 & 641, RS18 621 and RS3M 569.
Below we see the RS3M 569
I am not sure whether there were any mid-train helpers but I don't
think so.
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 Eleven years later, a northbound freight led by M420 646
(with the zig-zag) is seen early on the morning of 8 June 1989.
After travelling up the Pine River valley it reached
Septimus, where there is a 5200 foot siding, and met the southbound train from Fort St.
John and Fort Nelson.
Crews exchanged trains but not locomotives and returned to their starting points. (BCRail
were kind enough to allow me to travel in the cab). Here we see our train preparing to
leave Septimus southbound with SD40-2 763 now in the lead.
 On arrival at Chetwynd M630 718 (with a Locotrol remote
control transmitter) was attached to the front and after some shunting two mid-train
helpers were also added; in this case M630W 729 and M420B 688 (which had the receiver -
hence its RCL designation)
All the time Alco C420 632 is sitting forlornly in the yards.
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Now the train is ready to leave for Prince George. Here we see it after cresting the
summit of Pine Pass about 70 miles south of Chetwynd.
 
On 27 May 1999 we followed another southbound freight through the Pine Pass.
By now the Alcos had been replaced by GE locomotives DASH 8-40CM 4622 and C36-8 3622 with
4605 as mid-train helper. However there was still a rain storm in the pass!
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At Wakely the electrified Tumber Ridge branch from Quintette joins the main line
.
GF6Cs 6001 & 6004 are at Quintette with a loaded coal train. The units have a slow
speed setting that permits remote control by the coal loader staff.
The trains and sometimes locomotives are interchanged between BC Rail and Canadian
National at Prince George. Here we see a locomotive from each railroad leaving the CN
yards in Prince George with a load of empties on 28 May 1999.
On the same day, in the BC Rail yards we see a wood products train preparing to depart
south behind B36-7s 3604 & 3612 (both unmarked).
South of Prince George to Quesnel there is more rugged
terrain with forested areas and several steep valleys requiring trestles including the
well-known Cottonwood trestle.
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At Quesnel there are pulp mills, a yard and station and often a lot of switching activity.
From Quesnel south to Williams Lake, the line travels on a plateau above the Fraser River.
There is fertile agricultural land on the plateau as seen here near Kersley.
. Other parts of the Fraser River Canyon are steeper and more
wooded.
Several tributaries join the Fraser River and these have to be crossed.
At Hawks Creek the 312 foot high steel trestle is one of the highest railway bridges in
the world.
On 2 June 1999 DASH 8-40CM 4613 & DASH 9-44CWL 4644 (with 4617 mid-train) enter
Williams Lake with the southbound freight seen in the previous pictures.
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From Williams Lake the line follows the San Jose River through ranching land to Lone Butte
and then on to Kelly Lake.
Here the line descends for thirty five miles at a 2.2% grade
into the Fraser Canyon and eventually crosses the river on a high trestle before arriving
at Lillooet. The journey up or down this grade in the dayliners certainly provides
splendid sights of the canyon and its steep sides
Often the track seems to be on a ledge of sand with nothing to stop it plunging into the
river thousands of feet below. In the picture above, three DASH 8-40CMs are using their
dynamic and regular brakes to control a heavy freight on its descent. To the right we see
that it arrived safely at the trestle on 30 May 1995.
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Lillooet is an important yard and the terminus of many dayliner services.
On 19 May 1986 six dayliners (33, 20, 31, 10,
11 & 21) are loading passengers before proceeding south to North Vancouver.
South of Lilloet the tracks hug the shoreline of
Anderson and Seton Lakes where there are frequent rock slides. For this reason all trains
are precceded by a speeder or more recently a highrailer (this is also done north of
Lillooet.
Here we see a northbound freight travelling beside Seton Lake on 30 May 1995.
There are many more spectacular sights along the lakes and then on the descent into and
the climb out of Pemberton towards Whistler. Often freight trains had both mid-train
helpers and pushers here. Now because of higher-powered locomotives pushers are less often
used.
.
In this picture taken on 19 May 1986, from the
window of a dayliner, three M630s 714, 702 & 705 together with mid-train helpers (704
& 706) and pushers (726 & 763) are getting a northbound freight underway. 21,000
hp and look at the exhaust haze!
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From Whistler the line travels through more well known territory (but nevertheless very
attractive) as it descends through tunnels and across raging rivers to the coast at
Squamish.
 At Squamish on 1 June 1995, we see the
northbound dayliner (31 & 33) and a few minutes later a southbound freight.
The Vancouver-bound freight is hauled by DASH 8-40CM 4609, SD40-2 766 and an unidentified
re-engined RS18.
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From Squamish the line travels along the rugged coast to North Vancouver. It is along this
stretch of track that the Royal Hudson hauls its tourist train. At North Vancouver there
are extensive yards, shops and wharves.
 Here we see RS18 612 and S13 1003 on 21
May 1986 switching the wharf.
On the same day S13s 1001 & 1002 were practicing wartime
manoeuvres - laying down a smoke screen over the harbour!
For roster completenes on the same day here is Alco C420 #
805 at the Vancouver shops.
BC Rail screensaver:
We have created a BCRail screensaver in
collaboration with David Slater.
Click here for more information.
REFERENCES:
The British Columbia Railway Volumes 1& 2 by Timothy J. Horton published by
BRMNA Calgary
BC Rail - British Columbia's Great Train Adventure by Chris Harris published by Country
Light Publishing.
BC Rail Condensed Profile No 3
BCRail Timetable 19
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