KETTLE VALLEY RAILWAY
Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) was a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway that operated in southern British Columbia between Midway and Hope. At Midway, it connected to the CPR’s Columbia & Western Railway leading to Grand Forks and Castlegar.
The Kettle Valley Rail Trail is a 480km section of decommissioned train tracks converted to a multi-use recreational trail (650km including the Columbia & Western to Castlegar). The KVR extends from Midway in the east to Rock Creek, then north to Myra Canyon, down to Penticton, over to Princeton, Coalmont, Brookmere, Coquihalla and finally Hope where it connects to the main CPR line. With a maximum 2.2% grade, the trail can be cycled or hiked by most with just a little preparation.
The KVRail Trail forms most of The Great Trail (Trans Canada Trail) in British Columbia. The TCR covers every province in Canada from Victoria, B.C to St. Johns, Newfoundland.
HISTORY
CPR Main Line. Canada welcomed British Columbia and its many resources into Confederation in 1871 with the promise of a railway that would extend from sea to sea. Fourteen years later the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) arrived in BC – a little later than planned.
But unfortunately, the CPR didn’t have a track that serviced the people of Southern BC. Mineral deposits like silver were being discovered and a fruit industry was blossoming – they would become world-renowned if only it could get to the coast.
When the CPR completed the transcontinental railroad in 1885, the route cut through the Rocky Mountains at Kicking Horse and Rogers Passes, then followed the Fraser River for the remainder of the distance to Vancouver. This routing was significantly to the north of the mining towns within the Southern Interior.
Those critical of the CPR believed that the railroad should have been routed along the Dewdney Trail, through the southern portions of British Columbia in order to fulfill politician pledges to keep Americans out of British Columbia should they ever attempt to dominate mining operations in British Columbia’s south. However, geography was the main reason the CPR followed the transcontinental railroad route that it had selected. Too many mountain ranges stood between Alberta and Vancouver in the southern portions of British Columbia, and CPR had selected what they felt was the path of least resistance.
But this was a long trip to the coast or points east for people living in the South Okanagan and the demand came about for a “Coast-to-Kootenay” connection. The Kettle Valley Railway was built out of necessity to service the growing mining and agricultural demands in the Southern Interior region of British Columbia.
Minerals in the Kootenays. Once silver was discovered within the Kootenays in the spring of 1887, thousands of Americans flooded into the B.C.’s Southern Interior, and essentially took control of the region. These miners quickly found that it was much quicker and cheaper to get their supplies from the recently completed Northern Pacific Railroad that transited through Spokane. Once word caught on, British Columbia’s Southern Interior essentially became a commercial annex of the United States. Provincial and Federal officials quickly agreed that a second railroad dubbed the “Coast-to-Kootenay” railroad within British Columbia was required in order to help preserve Canadian sovereignty of British Columbia, and to also retain the valuable mining revenues within Canada.
Great Northern Railroad. Although rails were being laid by the CPR in other parts of BC, it was an American railroader, J.J. Hill who was making headway in the southern part of the province. He was trying to bring a rail line up from Spokane through Oroville and eventually, this was accomplished with the acquisition of the Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway, a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railroad. It arrived in Keremeos in 1907, and in Hedley and Princeton two years later.
The CPR had built the Columbia & Western Railway through the Crow’s Nest Pass to Midway. They had also put down track for the Nicola, Kamloops and Similkameen Railway. In 1901 the idea of the Kettle Valley Railway to connect Midway with the CPR main line rose. The KRVR was a subsidiary corporation of the CPR.
Construction of the KVR “Coast to Kootenay” railway. Building this “Coast-to-Kootenay” railroad was not an easy task, as three mountain ranges stood in the way. Construction was some of the costliest per track miles when compared to most other North American railroad projects, costing almost $20 million, and it took nearly 20 years to complete.
Construction of the railroad was not undertaken all at once, or even by one single company. The KVR was built between 1910 and 1916 under the direction of Andrew McCulloch, Chief Engineer for the CPR in the southern interior of British Columbia. He was hired to build the Coast-to-Kootenay connection when the fear of leaving BC’s mineral wealth vulnerable to exploitation by our neighbours reached its peak. The result was the building of 325 miles (500 kilometres) of rail over and through three mountain ranges. Like all railway construction of that era the work was backbreaking, brutal and dangerous and thousands of workers, most of them immigrants recruited to come to Canada specifically for this work, toiled in very difficult conditions for years to complete this monumental task….more than a few lost their lives in the effort.
Carmi Subdivision (Midway to Penticton). Survey work began in 1910 from Midway, Rock Creek, then north to Beaverdell and Mara Canyon before turning south to terminate in Penticton.
Princeton Subdivision (Penticton to Princeton). After Penticton and Summerland, the route went up to Osprey Lake to the grasslands of Jura, all on CPR track.
Coquihalla Subdivision (Princeton to Hope). Work began on the line through the Coquihalla Pass a year later. This core portion of the KVR started in Hope up the steep Coquihalla Valley through the narrow rocky canyon to Coquihalla Pass using the Othello-Quintette Tunnels. When constructing the railway through the roughest portion of the Coquihalla Canyon, chief engineer Andrew McCulloch determined that the proposed routing was unnecessarily long and complex. He decided that a straight section of track with five closely aligned tunnels and two bridges was needed. The Coquihalla subdivision then transited through GN track via Brookmere and Tulameen to Princeton.
The earlier trains on the KVR were routed from to Spence’s Bridge to connect with the CPR mainline. After July of 1916, the Coquihalla subdivision was complete and the trains travelled south from Brodie to Hope, meeting up with the CPR mainline there.
In time the Coquihalla subdivision proved too much to handle suffering many washouts and snow and rock slides, so in 1959, after a series of abandonment, it was closed and the earlier route was adopted once more.
Branch Lines. At the end of WWI, spur lines connected the mines of Copper Mountain with Princeton, Oliver with Penticton and in 1944, Oliver with Osoyoos. No part of the Boundary Subdivision (Nelson-Midway) was ever part of official KV territory.
The CPR had decided to construct these rail lines in order to tap new sources of revenue. Freight continued to run from Okanagan Falls to Spence’s Bridge until 1989.
KVR functions. Rail service on the KVR consisted of both passenger and freight trains. Passenger service over the line consisted for many years of the Kettle Valley Express and the Kootenay Express, which carried passengers between Vancouver, BC and Medicine Hat, Alberta. Freight was primarily ore from the Kootenay region and forestry products and fruit from the Okanagan.
During the Kettle Valley Railway’s lifespan, on numerous occasions, 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. CPR recognized the benefit of having a second railway transiting through British Columbia, so beginning in the late 1930s and up until 1959, they set off on an upgrade program that saw the weight-bearing strength of the rails increased, as well as bridge and trestle improvements which brought the railway closer to mainline standards.
The Demise of the KVR. The KVR experienced the challenges all railways faced as transportation progressed: more and better roads, air travel and the challenges of operating a railway in difficult terrain and weather took their toll. The first portion to be abandoned was the Copper Mountain Branch in 1957 after the Copper Mountain Mine closed. The Coquihalla subdivision closed in 1959 after a large washout despite many recent upgrades including several new bridges. Freight was discontinued throughout the line in 1961 and the former KVR line essentially became a wandering, low-trafficked branch line. – by 1964, passenger service had ceased. All rail service stopped from Midway to Penticton (including the famed Myra Canyon section) in May 1973 and rails along this section were removed in 1979-1980.
In 1977 the CP abandoned Okanagan Falls to Osoyoos due to the loss of fruit traffic to trucks and no trains went past West Midway.
The remainder of the former KVR was doing quite well with forest products. In early 1983, wood chip service was moved to trucking and freight service finally ended in March 1989.
ATTRACTIONS
Trout Creek Trestle Bridge in Summerland is one of the many KVR engineering achievements designed by Andrew McCulloch. It stretched 619 feet across and 238 feet above the Canyon floor. It was and is known as the “infinitesimal” bridge – “incalculable, inestimable, great and fathomless”. It was the highest structure of its kind on the KVR and the third largest of its kind in North America at the time it was built. The Trout Creek Bridge was upgraded in 1927 & 1928 by filling in the Trestle approaches and replacing trestle work with steel girders.
Othello-Quintette Tunnels. When constructing the railway through the roughest portion of the Coquihalla Canyon, chief engineer Andrew McCulloch determined that the proposed routing was unnecessarily long and complex. He decided that a straight section of track with five closely aligned tunnels and two bridges needed to be built between three of the tunnels. They are a popular tourist attraction, and are located along the existing Coquihalla Highway (however they are not visible from the highway). These tunnels are also known as the Othello Tunnels because they are near the Othello Railway station, named for the Shakespeare character, as is the case with other stations on this stretch of the railway: Iago, Romeo, Juliet, Lear, Jessica, and Portia. Shylock was never an official KVR station name. A spur just below Portia was unofficially known as ‘Shylock Spur.
Myra Canyon south of Kelowna on Okanagan Mountain is the most popular section of the former KVR. In the section of line between Midway and Penticton, this section of railway between Myra station and June Springs station required 18 wooden trestles and two tunnels in order to traverse the deep canyon.
With a relatively gentle grade, it is very popular with hikers and cyclists. Years of disrepair on the trestles began to take its toll, railway ties had been removed creating large gaps on trestles and bridges hundreds of feet in height. After a fatal accident involving a cyclist on one of the trestles, repairs included handrails and planks. This section of the railway was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2002.
From August to September 2003, lightning caused the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire to engulf many portions of the KVR between Penticton and McCulloch Lake. The fire claimed 12 of the 18 trestles within Myra Canyon and the bridge decks of two of the metal bridges. The B.C provincial government rebuilt the damaged and destroyed trestles and bridges and stabilized rock faces
Kettle Valley Steam Railway is an operating heritage railway along a preserved 10-kilometre section from Prairie Valley Station to Canyon View Siding, near Summerland, British Columbia. This is the only active remaining section of the Kettle Valley Railway. Eventually, a permanent station was built at the Prairie Valley station providing a great access point for the railway.
It initially operated with one 1924 Shay locomotive loaned from the BC Forest Discovery Centre. Rolling stock are originally Canadian Pacific used on the Royal Hudson. The most recent locomotive addition to the Kettle Valley Steam Railway is a Canadian Pacific Montreal Locomotive Works 2-8-0. The train now travels to the middle of the Trout Creek Bridge.
PREPARATIONS
The KVR is in large parts an ATV trail, with deep dirt and sand sections throughout. Our recommendation, if you were to pursue this trip as a multi-day, is to use mountain bikes with at least 2.0″ of tire width. The KVR is a multi-use trail. The KVR Trail Society had been trying to keep it maintained enough for cyclists to use, as ATVs can be very destructive to trail surfaces.
Information: Cycling The Kettle Valley Railway by Dan and Sandra Langford. The first edition was written in 1994, but it is highly recommended to use the most recent revision. Knowing the supply points and accommodation is valuable. Some towns are far apart.
BC Railtrail website, which has excellent information and maps.
https://www.thekvr.com/
If you’re riding the entire KVR from “start to finish”, you’ll likely need a shuttle to or from Castlegar.
Don’t expect to see actual “stations” between towns. The majority of them are now just remnants of concrete foundations along the side of the trail.
When to Go?
Spring arrives in the valleys in April/May, but not yet in the higher alpine areas such as Idabel or Chute Lake. Late snows and wet spring weather have usually passed by mid-May
Summer is very hot and dry with average daily temperatures in the high 20’s and not uncommon to reach the high 30s and up to 40 degrees especially if you go down to Kelowna or Penticton. South on the spur route through Okanagan Falls, Oliver and Osoyoos may be hotter and drier.
Autumn is typically dry and sunny even in early October. The days will draw to a close earlier and the nights get very chilly.
KETTLE VALLEY RAIL TRAIL – Midway to Hope
A. CARMI DIVISION – Midway to Penticton 4-6 days, 215km
Midway to Myra: 134.9 km. Opened 1914, Closed 1979.
Lowest elevation: 585m; Highest elevation: 1236m.
With the exception of the station at Midway, which has been preserved as a museum, all other stations have disappeared. All that remains are a few buildings here and there.
Stations in this section are Myra, McCulloch, Cookson, Lakevale, Lois, Carmi, Beaverdell, Delwye, Taurus, Rhone, Westbridge, Zamora, Rock Creek, Kettle Valley and Midway.
Midway to Rock Creek 18.2 km. Starting from behind the Kettle River Museum in Midway, flat rolling farmland valleys follow the Kettle River west to Rock Creek. Many pastures with cattle gates caused several dismounts. Restaurants in Rock Creek.
Rock Creek to Westbridge 14.8 km. Head northwest to Westbridge, the junction of the Kettle River and the West Kettle River at km 33. Very gentle grade climb.
Westbridge to Beaverdell 35 km. North following the West Kettle River to Beaverdell at km 68. Turn left at Rhone Road to visit the Kettle River Caboose at Paul Lataurd’s Cyclists rest stop, then go past the Little Dipper Campground at 48km to the trail again on your left uphill through the gorge.
Little Dipper Campground. Privately owned campground with the owner living on premises. There is a great swimming hole here if you venture along the RV loops toward the river. No showers.
Beaverdell. The “restaurants” don’t exist anymore. A shack on the side of the road has a small kitchen inside, and picnic tables on their front lawn. Beaverdell General Store has groceries.
From Beaverdell the KVR continues through ATV country, and the trail begins to gradually climb towards Arlington Lake, which is a popular local spot accessible via a logging road. Our portion of the ride seemed to be used predominantly by ATVs, and there were some roadblocks placed on the trail that were clearly controversial to the locals, evident by the profanity-laced spray can rants.
Beaverdell to Idabel & McCulloch Lakes 53 km. After Beaverdell there is quite a long stretch between villages and services so be sure to plan ahead. The stretch to Arlington Lakes is all uphill, but it is a lovely lunch or camping spot. Continue to climb to the lakes region of Idabel Lake (slightly off the trail) and McCulloch Lake (Hydraulic Lake) at Km 121.
McCulloch Lake to Myra Canyon 14 km.
Myra Canyon at Km 135 is approximately 1000 metres above the city of Kelowna. Stop for plenty of photos as you cross the 18 trestle bridges over the canyon. Leading up to the Canyon, the trail was the usual sandy ATV trail, and in some spots was particularly labour-intensive. At Hydraulic Lake, there was no restaurant. Crowds at Myra Canyon walk parts of the 12km stretch along 18 different trestles. Take your time, as it’s arguably the most scenic part of the entire KVR.
If planning an extended layover at Kelowna, you can depart the trail at either end of the canyon – Myra Station or Ruth Station. The ride back up will be challenging.
Myra to Penticton: 82.7km. Opened 1914, Closed 1973, Tracks removed 1980.
Lowest elevation: 345m; Highest elevation: 1260m
Myra Canyon to Chute Lake 36.4 km. Ruth, which is almost the highest spot on the entire Kettle Valley Railway.
Chute Lake has a rustic Lodge, camping and some supplies at km 171.4. Be sure to try the pie! Very few things had been updated from when it was built in 1915, including the décor inside.
Chute Lake to Naramata & Penticton 26.6 or 43.6km. The trail descends all the way to Penticton with some sandy sections, especially later in summer. a series of long switchbacks is often fairly busy with hikers up to see the huge rock ovens left behind by railway workers. The Adra tunnel is blocked due to unsafe conditions; the tunnel doubles back on itself as it climbs, making the interior completely dark. Then there is the little tunnel that overlooks Okanagan Lake and Penticton, the view is fantastic from there; when the tunnel was first built, small tourist trains were run up to the tunnel and back.
At the end of the switchbacks, emerge from the forested mountainside into vineyard country and the community of Naramata. A stopover in Naramata is recommended but beware of the climb back to the trail. The trail continues through numerous vineyards orchards, along the shore of Okanagan Lake and into Penticton at Km 215. Stations in this section are Penticton, Arawana, Glenfir, Adra, Chute Lake, Lorna, Ruth, and Myra. Only Penticton station remains, with some outbuildings found at Chute Lake.
B. PRINCETON SUBDIVISION – Penticton to Brodie Wye 181kms
Penticton to Princeton 113.4kms. Opened 1915. Closed 1989.
Lowest elevation: 345m. Highest elevation: 1098m.
Unfortunately, this section of trail is heavily used by ATVs and was really frustrating to ride on deep, bumpy ruts with loose dirt that tires sink into.
Penticton to Thirsk Lake – 55km. From Penticton, the KVR heads back up the other side of the lake and follows the shore until it arrives at a mountain bike/hiking trailhead. At Winslow, there is the Trout Creek Bridge #4, which is the highest bridge on the Kettle Valley Railway. some 73 meters to the bottom below. This climbs a fairly steep section before getting back on the KVR and heads into the forest while maintaining a constant uphill grade towards Thirsk Lake. A campground at Thirsk Lake can not be found.
Faulder and Kettle Valley Steam Train. There used to be a nice general store at Faulder, but it is long gone. Faulder is where 10 km of rails still remain. They are used by the Kettle Valley Steam Train Society.
Continue through Crump, Kirton and Thirsk, a water reservoir for the town of Princeton formed by a large dam at the eastern end.
Thirsk Lake to Princeton – 59km. Osprey Lake, is a great little lake to take the family camping at, as is Chain Lake further back towards Princeton.
The bankier may still have a small general store operating. Continue through Jellicoe, cross Dry Creek’s deep gulley and go through the Erris Tunnel.
Descend into the valley at Jura. The concrete foundation of the old water tower has been turned into a rest stop complete with a roof and seating for cyclists. As the hill that has to be descended here is so steep, large winding loops were built which are known as the Jura or Belfort Loops. It is amazing that because of the loops, the grade never gets any worse than 1.7%.
Pass Belfort, the Princeton Castle Resort and cross the Tulameen River. For many years all that stood in the river were the concrete pillars of the old bridge, but a few years ago, a new bridge deck was placed on the old pillars. Then follow the Similkameen into Princeton. The station at Princeton still exists, has been renovated and is now a Subway Sandwich shop. Just after leaving Princeton, you go through a very long tunnel that passes under Highway 3, the Hope Princeton Highway. Camp at the Rivers Edge RV Park, a short ride away from town.
Princeton to Brodie Wye 67.6kms. Opened 1915. Closed 1989. Tracks removed 1992.
Lowest elevation: 638m; Highest elevation: 975m
Coalmont. The Coalmont Hotel is still standing. Unfortunately, the restored general store closed down many years ago. Cross a bridge and visit the site of Granite City, an old mining town. Tulameen. At the south end of Otter Lake with a nice Provincial campground. Ice used to be harvested from Otter Lake. Then pass through Manning, Thalia and Spearing before you come to Brookmere.
Brookmere. The water tower has been moved. It has interesting water spouts on both sides of the tower as the Kettle Valley Railway runs on one side of the tower and the Grand Northern Railway runs on the other. They shared the rails south of Brookmere right to Princeton. At Princeton, the GNR continued on to Hedley, then crossed the Similkameen just before Hedley and headed south to the US. This is the railway that JJ Hill built.
On the second weekend in August, many retired (and active) railroaders meet there to discuss old times and the old KVR. The station here is long gone, but the section house remains and for a long time was a museum with lots of railway memorabilia. Many of the houses in Brookmere are originals from the time of the Kettle Valley Railway. At one time Brookmere boasted a school and a hotel.
C. COQUIHALLA SUBDIVISION – Brodie Wye to Hope 84.7kms
Lowest elevation: 5m in Hope; Highest Elevation: 1104m at Coquihalla Station.
If you are thinking of riding Highway #3 through Manning Park to Hope, I would reconsider. Seems like it would be easier, but the highway is all hills after Princeton, and some passes proved to be a huge challenge.
This section of track ran from Hope to the Brodie Wye located about 35 kilometres west of Merritt in the Coldwater Valley. At its most southern tip, it connected to the Canadian Pacific mainline at what was called Odlum. The tracks reached the CPR mainline via a very unique bridge which still stands today, the rails actually were run under what is the current highway bridge. The tracks were removed in 1962.
After Hope, the tracks followed the Coquihalla River to the Othello Tunnels or Quintette Tunnels. Very little of the original right of way is visible except for a large section preserved in the Othello Tunnels Provincial Park.
From the Othello Tunnels, the right of way used to go to Lear, Jessica, Aurum, Shylock, Portia, Iago, Romeo, Coquihalla, Juliet and finally Brodie Wye. Coquihalla Station is not the highest section of the railway as one would expect. The KVR right of way now takes a different route at the Portia station and goes into a valley that comes out at the Coquihalla Lakes. In this section, the grade actually exceeded 2.2% in some sections.
This section was the most difficult section of the Kettle Valley Railway to keep open due to washouts, landslides, forest fires and the immense amount of snowfall each winter. This section was the first section of the railway to be abandoned, with trains being rerouted via Spences Bridge to Merritt.
Most of the right of way in this section, including buildings have been long since destroyed. A few pockets stand out, such as Jessica, which was a small private community. All of the tunnels in this section have been caved in for public safety. There are a few steel bridges to be found here and there. Most of the right of way has been paved over by the Coquihalla Highway.
Another notable landmark in this section is the steel trestle at Ladner Creek, it is one of the higher trestles still standing. There was a wooden trestle at one time below the Falls Lake exit, it was the tallest and most spectacular wooden trestle on the entire line. It succumbed to the elements and fell down in the late 90’s.