Midway - Mile 0 of the Kettle Valley Railway, westbound Hwy 3
In 1910 a rail link pushed westward from Midway to transport the riches of the Kootenays, Boundary, and Similkameen to the coast via an all-Canadian route. Andrew McMulloch’s engineering marvel, the Kettle Valley Railway, crossed three mountain ranges, traversed 500 kilometres, and became the lifeline of the southern Interior until abandoned after sixty years. Today the KVR is reborn as part of the Trans Canada Trail.
The Kettle Valley Railway ran from Midway to Hope, with branches to Spences Bridge, Copper Mountain and Osoyoos. The decision to discontinue passenger service on the line in 1964 was reached after it experienced severe traffic loss brought about by the opening of the Hope Princeton Highway in 1949.
The Boundary district depended on American railways and riverboats for transportation before the opening of the Kettle Valley line in 1915, and Spokane, Washington was the most important city for the people of southern BC.
In 1901 the Kettle Valley Railway was incorporated by Federal Statute with the Columbia & Western Railway Co. (a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway). Ten years later, the name was changed to Kettle Valley Railway Co. This new company started a line from Midway to Merritt, and by the end of 1911 85 miles of track had been laid.
When the line was finished, a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway from Merritt to Spences Bridge was leased and the main line was extended to Hope. Two years later, work on the spur line between Princeton and Copper Mountain was begun, and in 1920 the Osoyoos branch was started but not finished until 1944.
The KVR through Coquihalla Pass closed permanently in 1961 after several seasons of severe flooding had disrupted travel and destroyed large sections of track. Other sections remained open, but gradually through the 1970s and 1980s each one closed and the rails were removed.The lasy section of the line was officially closed in 1989.
The abandoned KVR right of way has becaome popular with hikers and cyclists and now forms part of the Trans-Canada Trail. One of the most popular sections is through Myra Canyon, south of Kelowna on Okanagan Mountain. When the railway was built, the section between Myra station and June Springs station required 18 wooden trestles and 2 tunnels in order to traverse the deep canyon. A fire in 2003 destroyed several of the Myra Canyon trestles, but they have now been rebuilt and the trail is as popular as ever.
