Steam & Excursion > CPR 1201 & CNR 6060 highlights from 1985 & 1986

Just finished a new DVD highlighting two significant rail-related events in the Province of BC in 1985-1986.

On November 7th, 1985 to commemorate the Driving of the Last Spike exactly 100 years prior, a special train of VIP's ran from Revelstoke to Craigellachie and return. CP used CPR #1201, a G5a Pacific, as power and for an interesting foot note, the yellow coach you will see on the tail end was actually present at the Last Spike ceremony in 1885! The Langdon & Shepard Car #70 was a wood framed-truss rod business car and it performed flawlessly. How often would a 100 year old wood frame car be allowed on a RR mainline these days? Langdon & Shepard were the contractors who provided labour for the construction of the CPR in the west.

The other highlight was Steamexpo held in May during the World's Fair in Vancouver in the summer of 1986. We followed CNR 6060 from Kamloops to Vancouver and then finished the DVD with scenes from Steamexpo.

The four selected clips here are of CPR #1201 steaming to Craigellachie and then returning to Revelstoke after the ceremony. I was the only one trackside shooting video and I think there were only 3-4 photographers (other than a ton at the Last Spike ceremony where all the major media were present). CP provided a second train from Revelstoke and return to accommodate all the media personnel.

Thanks to His Eminence (Phil Mason) for assisting on confirming locations for both trips.

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Superb.

I was part of the crew on V&T #22 during Steam Expo in 86. 1201 was a real treat

And so was the Inyo . . . she was a beauty . . . here's an evening shot at Steamexpo of #22 with the Prairie Dog Central #3. I ran the souvenir concessions for Steamexpo and was like a 'kid in a candy store' for ten solid days . . . one of the best times of my life . . many great memories!!

Craig
mcmrailvideos.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/10 19:41 by spdaylight.

---

Super! Do you have any of 6060?

A video par excellence, spdaylight, especially for its era. Thanks for posting.

If you have more of the same, please don't hesitate!

nycman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Super! Do you have any of 6060?

Will post a few short clips of 6060 from the same DVD on the weekend when I get a chance . . . .

Craig
mcmrailvideos.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/10 07:58 by spdaylight.

Enjoyed watching the video very much, as 1201 sure put on a good show.
However, I have driven this area, and believe that the Summit lake shot is east of the golden spike
shot, not on the way back to Revelstoke, correct.

As I remember the location, the lake is between the highway and Railroad and the tunnel is just east of the lake like
in your shot. I may be wrong, but I thought these last two shots being upgrade were east of where the ceremony would
have been.

Also was it after this event that 1201 assualted Kicking Horse Pass without a helper on its way back east? I know Nils Huxtable
told me he got some great stuff on that one, which just about had to be the only time steam went over the pass without diesels.

Look forward to the 6060, as we were chasing from Jasper to Vancouver after spending 10 days in Jasper, and some of that time
working on the engine, and shooting F-units on the VIA train. We have not ever put the 6060 on dvd however. Nice engine though,
and I did get to see it in 1999 while everyone was foaming at Sacramento.
Greg Scholl

doubleheader Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Enjoyed watching the video very much, as 1201 sure
> put on a good show.
> However, I have driven this area, and believe that
> the Summit lake shot is east of the golden spike
> shot, not on the way back to Revelstoke, correct.
>
> As I remember the location, the lake is between
> the highway and Railroad and the tunnel is just
> east of the lake like
> in your shot. I may be wrong, but I thought these
> last two shots being upgrade were east of where
> the ceremony would
> have been.
>
Greg

Thanks for the comments . . . the two clips after 1201 arrives at Craigellachie are on the return trip to Revelstoke which is EB from the Last Spike . . . Craigellachie is east of Sicamous and west of Revelstoke. Phil Mason who assisted me in finalizing the locations was a hogger on this subdivision.

Craig



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/10 10:43 by spdaylight.

Summit Lake is at the summit of Eagle Pass. Trains climb up to it from Taft in the west, and Revelstoke in the east (1% grades). As originally built, the railway was on the south side of the lake but was moved away from a slide path to the north side in the 1920's when the line was double tracked from Revelstoke to Taft. (removed in the 1960's, and replaced with a second grade separated track westbound in 1978/9.)

In steam days, it was pusher territory. Heavier steel was used between Revelstoke and Taft, so that the "Selkirk" 2-10-4's could assist eastbound and westbound trains.

At Revelstoke, the 2-10-4 which had pulled the train from Calgary pulled ahead, and a smaller 2-8-2 or 4-6-4 was added to the train westbound. At Taft, west of Eagle Pass, the 2-10-4 was cut off the train, wyed and either waited for an eastbound to assist or returned light to Revelstoke.

Eagle Pass was discovered some years before the railway was built by Walter Moberly, an explorer who found routes for wagon roads.

Eagle Pass is significant as it forms a watershed between the Columbia and Fraser river systems.

spdaylight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> doubleheader Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Enjoyed watching the video very much, as 1201
> sure
> > put on a good show.
> > However, I have driven this area, and believe
> that
> > the Summit lake shot is east of the golden
> spike
> > shot, not on the way back to Revelstoke,
> correct.
> >
> > As I remember the location, the lake is between
> > the highway and Railroad and the tunnel is just
> > east of the lake like
> > in your shot. I may be wrong, but I thought
> these
> > last two shots being upgrade were east of where
> > the ceremony would
> > have been.
> >
> Greg
>
> Thanks for the comments . . . the two clips after
> 1201 arrives at Craigellachie are on the return
> trip to Revelstoke which is EB from the Last Spike
> . . . Craigellachie is east of Sicamous and west
> of Revelstoke. Phil Mason who assisted me in
> finalizing the locations was a hogger on this
> subdivision.
>
> Craig

I guess I was thinking Craigellachie was east of Revelsoke so I got it really wrong.
I was thinking the lake was near the big tunnel at Rogers Pass, which looks similar.
Anyway like those last two shots working upgrade. Thanks for the correction. Wish
I could have been out there in steam days!
Greg Scholl

. Wish
> I could have been out there in steam days!
> Greg Scholl


A few lucky people did get to the area in steam days. Newton Rossiter is a retired railroad carman from the CN in Toronto who shot motion pictures in the 1950's and 60's. It was amazing the places he went to on an employee pass.

He has motion pictures taken around Revelstoke and Field, which have since been put on commercial DVD's.

A Rossiter signature was walking a mile or so out of town, usually to the station mileboard .

"Moe" Morrison is a retired CPR operator/station agent who took motion pictures along the Kettle Valley route of the CPR, and of the sternwheel steamboats used by the CPR. His collection is slowly being put on DVD's.

The late Jim Hope was a baker who worked at night and took train pictures by day. His speciality was the Okanagan branches of the CPR and CNR.

Perhaps the photographer who went to the most places in steam days was the late Dave Wilkie, a telephone company employee.

British Columbia was late in terms of road development, making the efforts the pioneer photographers all the more amazing since many locations were hard to access.

Some well know US photographers made it to the area in steam days, Phil Hastings for example.

Sounds like some good stuff. I met Dave Wilke in 1986 as he had been a customer, and he
helped me with a few locations on the 6060 chase to Vancouver.
Anything Hastings did in Canada was always good as I remember. I have seen one of the Rossiter
videos on dvd, but it was eastern material on a Canadian label.
Greg Scholl

eminence_grise Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Perhaps the photographer who went to the most
> places in steam days was the late Dave Wilkie, a
> telephone company employee.

The Dave Wilkie collection (thousands of mainly slides) was donated to the West Coast Railway Association and two part time volunteer archivists are slowing scanning them digitally . . . they keep saying some days are like being a kid on Christmas morning as they open a new box of photographic treasures.

Craig