Canadian Railroads > The Marpole Spur

Back in the mid 1990's, when I was living in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver, the Marpole Spur was still in operation.  It was a short little stretch of track running north from the Fraser River, up to the south side of False Creek.  Whatever online customers it once had were long gone, except for the Molson brewery at the south end of the Burrard Street bridge.  In the three years I lived in that neighborhood, these are the only two trains I ever saw on the Marpole Spur.

1.  A pair of GP35's sitting along Arbutus Street, just south of Broadway.
2. SW1200RS #1237, leaving the Molson brewery, near West Fifth & Fir Street

Cheers,
Dwayne

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Truely rare photos.
Bob

I walked by it two days ago, on Arbutus, from 16th to Broadway.  It is now a bicycle path.

Chris Rye

Good on you for taking these.  I never saw anything move on that line.

Ahh...the good old days! I was a hogger on this line back when it was still leased to B.C. Hydro Railway (formerly BC Electric Railway) by the CPR. Its official name was Vancouver & Lulu Island Railway and the CPR leased it to BCER back in 1905. It was a very prosperous line when I last worked on it in the 1960s and 70s. In addition to Molson Breweries there was Carling Brewery around 12th Ave & Arbutus St. Also the South Shore branch and Granville Island was all industrial and had a switcher dedicated to this line daily. The south shore of False Creek is now gentrified since Expo 86 and the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The line ran from Marpole to Steveston on the south shore of Lulu Island where BC Packers was a big customer. Also to New Westminster where the BC Plywood sawmill and the Red Band shingle mill near Burnaby were good revenue sources. The shingle mill was strike-bound starting in the mid-70s and never did re-open.
Those days are gone forever. The City of Vancouver purchased the Arbutus Corridor, as it was called, from the CPR for $55 million, and have allocated as a rail trail connecting with another trail on the south shore of False Creek. Thanks for the memories...you did a good job!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/21 15:08 by hoghead.