Jeffreys Track-side Diner - April 2020, this time in the town of Golden, British Columbia!

[SeeYou190]

Dave: Thank you for moving the diner and creating the posts to welcome us to British Columbia!

Great job.

It is April Fools Day, so here is something just a little foolish.

Have fun everyone. Be safe.

-Kevin

[herrinchoker]

Enjoy the mosaic of photos, appreciate being able to click on * page * and getting full detail surrounding the photo, the one of the freight loosing it's brakes during a crew change was a good read. Also the accident at Lac Megantic when all the tank cars immolated the center of town.

herrinchoker

[gmpullman]

Thank you, Dave!

I barely felt a "bump-in-the-night" as the crew tied the diner on to the B.C. Night Express with direct service from Texas to Golden!

Good Job, Old Boy!

 

CNR_St_Catharines by Edmund, on Flickr

CP_Montreal-1965 by Edmund, on Flickr

 

BRENT! We're in your neighborhood, just over that ridge to the east. Hellooo... 

 

Cheers, Ed

[hon30critter]

herrinchoker

Dave, Thanks for moving the diner.

Hi herrinchoker,

You are most welcome! It's actually kind of a fun thing to do.

Dave

[herrinchoker]

Dave,

Thanks for moving the diner.

herrinchoker

[hon30critter]

If you scroll through these images you will see some photos that clearly show the challenges that the workers faced when building the railway through the mountains! The equipment, i.e. hand carts, hardly seems up to the task:

https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrEZ_yrEIReKn0AfAwPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByMDgyYjJiBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?p=construction+of+the+cpr+railway+through+the+rocky+mountains&fr=yhs-symantec-ext_onb&hspart=symantec&hsimp=yhs-ext_onb#id=23&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fchinesediscriminationheadtax.weebly.com%2Fuploads%2F1%2F1%2F0%2F2%2F11020844%2F656004701_orig.jpg&action=click

Dave

[hon30critter]

Here are more images of British Columbia:

https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrC3TTwDYRepA4AECMPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByMjB0aG5zBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?p=british+columbia+tourism&fr=yhs-symantec-ext_onb&hspart=symantec&hsimp=yhs-ext_onb

More to our real interests, Here are some images of trains in BC:

https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrCwPMQD4RePWUAHQMPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByMDgyYjJiBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?p=trains+in+british+columbia&fr=yhs-symantec-ext_onb&hspart=symantec&hsimp=yhs-ext_onb

Dave

[hon30critter]

Getting a railway through the Canadian Rocky Mountains took some amazing feats of engineering. One of the most interesting features is the Spiral Tunnels in the Kicking Horse Pass. The tunnels were not part of the original construction, but were built 25 years after the fact in order to eliminate an incredible 4.5% grade on a section of track through the pass that was built in a hurry in order to meet the deadline for reaching British Columbia. The very first train to attempt the grade derailed, killing three crew members.

Here is a video of trains going through the tunnels. (Sorry, the first few minutes are a bit boring):

Here is more historical information about the tunnels:

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/bc/yoho/culture/kickinghorse/visit/spirale-spiral

If you are looking for a truly incredible railfanning experience, may I suggest the Rocky Mountaineer. Magnificent scenery and top quality food and service:

https://www.rockymountaineer.com/

I'll add more information soon!

Cheers!!

Dave

 

[hon30critter]

Hello everyone!!! Welcome to the new location of Jeffrey's Diner in beautiful downtown Golden, British Columbia. We are in the middle of the majestic Rocky Mountains in a town that played a major role in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway across Canada.

The CPR was formed to build a national railway system from coast to coast to link the country together. One of the primary goals was to convince British Columbia to become part of the Canadian Confederation, and in 1871 a deal was reached that promised a rail connection to British Columbia in ten years. Construction of the railway reached the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in 1883. In 1884 and 1885 the railroad was pushed through the Rockies. Keep in mind that the workers had little in the form of power equipment which makes the feat all that more amazing!

A decision had to be made at Golden, BC to determine whether the railway would use steam through the Rockies or three rail electric. Alas, because there was no power anywhere close to Golden, steam won out.

Here is a link to the history of the construction of the CPR across Canada:

https://cpconnectingcanada.ca/

Here is a map showing where Golden is located, and showing its proximity to other important rail sites in BC like the Division Point in Revelstoke and the Thompson River:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Golden,+BC/@51.0388957,-116.9420951,7.79z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x5379bf9c63b14e69:0x1a042ac933b64441!8m2!3d51.2961188!4d-116.9631367

Here is some information about the Golden area and what it has to offer:

https://www.tourismgolden.com/

I hope you enjoy the stay!!!

For those new to this place, Jeffrey´s Trackside Diner  is the place for you to go to relax and talk off topic about most anything - as long as you stay within the forum rules, which means certain hot button topics are excluded. Please refer to Steven Otte´s post on Forum Policies. Everybody is welcome to participate in the Diner ! 

The staff - that´s Zoe, Chloe, Flo, Janie, and Brunhilda —  is very friendly and will serve up plenty of virtual diner fare with a smile. Just don´t forget to leave a generous tip! Now and then, our host Steven Otte chips in and brings along some goodies for us to try - which is always heartily welcomed!

As always, in rememberance of our fallen but not forgotten comrades, here is the RIP Track:

 

The RIP Track

  

 

At the beginning of each month, it is the time to pay our respect to friends no longer with us.

 

 Barry Arnold aka BlownoutCylinder
Jerry Cox aka Cox47
Wolfgang Dudler aka Westport Terminal
Bob Hartle aka cmrproducts
Ed Murphy
Bill North
Stein Rypern, Jr. aka Steinjr
Andy Sperandeo
Jeffrey "Running Bear" Wimberley
Alan B
Tom Mills
James W. Rohde aka CapeJim
Michael L. Myles aka Inch

 

Gone, but not forgotten!

Cheers!!

HOn30critter Dave