10th January 2023 “Western Canada Wanderings” by Tony Field
Tony Field gave us our first presentation of the New Year with a show entitled “Western Canada Wanderings” which consisted of images and video footage from two trips to Canada, in 2012 and 2017. The journey covered the Canadian Pacific (CP) route from Calgary to Vancouver where heavy freight trains of up to 20,000 tons and 2 miles or more in length have to climb through passes in the Rockies and the Selkirk mountains.
After passing through Banff (the starting point of the Rocky Mountaineer luxury tour train to Vancouver, which we saw at several locations), the first major obstacle is Kicking Horse Pass where 2 spiral tunnels were opened in 1909 which halved the west-side gradient from the original 4.5%. Here Tony showed video footage of trains of potash, grain and tanks which often had four GE locomotives working the train - two leading, one midway and one at the rear. Even with just shy of 20,000HP available, these trains could take around eight minutes to pass Lake Louise as they climbed westbound to the summit.
At Field in 2012, a rockfall had closed the line and the sidings were full of terminated trains. The outline remains of a roundhouse could also be seen.
The next obstacle along the line is the Selkirk Mountains, in particular Rogers Pass, where the 5 mile long Connaught Tunnel was built in 1916 to avoid the avalanche problems of the original route. In 1988 a second tunnel, Mount Macdonald, at over 9 miles in length, was opened to halve the gradient on the east side. We saw coal trains and container trains working in the pass and they could be heard a long way off. At Kamloops the CN line from Jasper meets the CP line and is also the Rocky Mountaineer maintenance base. Beyond Kamloops in the Thompson Canyon, the tracks run on both sides of the river and we were treated to CN and CP freights working amidst spectacular scenery. At Vancouver, we saw double-deck commuter trains and a yard full of container trains to round off our journey.
Throughout the show Tony showed marvellous views of snow-capped mountains, crystal blue lakes and rivers. If your interest is scenic countryside, heavy freight trains and hard-working locomotives, then Western Canada is hard to beat!
A playlist of Tony's YouTube video content used in the presentation (the full-length versions): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRNsWBzSrys&list=PL1XBg8MK3E7qP4SRcaGjm6aiYgk-iPdg1
A playlist of the '7idea Productions' YouTube preview video content used in the presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQsX5b46C3I&list=PL1XBg8MK3E7rqX5wDmW34zgU91_UIvl_-