Canadian Railroads > CP coal empties at CN Lorne Street, Kamloops

On yet another gorgeous spring like day in Kamloops BC, the tail end remote on a CP coal empties is about to pass CN's former Lorne Street station on the CN's interchange track between the CN and CP main lines.

The station is now an upscale "Keg" steakhouse, but previously served as CN's downtown station, because the CN main by-passes downtown Kamloops several miles to the north. For many years, the CN transcontinental passenger trains made a side trip to Lorne Street from Kamloops Junction.

Now, Lorne Street serves as the "Rocky Mountaineer" station and also as home base for the Kamloops Heritage Railway, which hopes to get ex-CN 2-8-0 2141 operational again this year.

In the day, a CN crew would spot a sleeping car at the Lorne street station and Kamloops passengers could board at their leisure. A yard engine would come over, pick up the car and switch it on to the mainline passenger train at Kamloops Junction. Also worth noting that there was a dispatching office in this station, with a CTC panel for the Yale sub and train order "sets" for the Ashcroft, Clearwater, Albreda and Okanagan subs.

Chris Rye

In the olden days, as was mentioned, Kamloops station was several miles away
from the mainline at Kamloops Junction. In those days, there was lousy roads,
and very few people had cars in the late 30's. So, they used these jitneys to
ferry crews and workmen to the Junction. The little ones were used for single
crews, and the big one was for shift changes at 8am and 4pm. I have ridden them
many, many times. We had friends who lived over at the Junction. Sorry for the
lousy pic quality, got it from the City archives.
sid.

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