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Endangered Trail: Columbia & Western RailbedPopular ATV trail targetted for closure by Trails BCDecember 1, 2004 Updated: November 14, 2005 Written by Kevin Stein  HistoryHere's a bit of history about the C&W Railway from Castlegar.com: "This Historic line was originally built by Augustus Heinze, founder of the Trail smelter. It was called the Columbia & Western, with the first link between Trail and West Robson being completed in 1897. Heinze wanted all the ore from the region's current mining boom to be shipped via Canadian routes. In 1898 the Columbia and Western was pushed ahead through the harsh winter to beat the Americans to the Boundary Region, reaching Grand Forks in 1899 and Midway in 1900. The C&W line from Castlegar to Grand Forks was a CPR owned line right from construction in 1898. This line soon became part of the CPR's Boundary Subdivision, part of the Kootenay Division. The C&W line was never part of the official Kettle Valley Railway or the subsequent Kettle Valley Division of the CPR. Historically, the Castlegar-Midway line was known as the "Boundary line" or "Boundary section." It was finally abandoned in the eighties. The tracks were lifted in 1991, but passenger passenger train patronage had declined during the 1950s and passenger train service ended in January 1964." "Just outside Farron, is a commemorative memorial where "Peter "The Lordly" Verigin, spiritual leader of the Doukhobors, was assassinated (1924) when the train he was riding in was bombed. Nine people were killed that day. To this day (70 years) the RCMP and the Government of Canada have not released the entire results of the investigation in spite of numerous requests for the material from historic writers and researchers. A number of theories surround the motive of the murder from government conspiracy to assassination by a Russian agent." Also of note is the Bulldog Tunnel which lies about 19 miles north of the start of the C&W from Castlegar. It's the third oldest railway tunnnel over 500m in length (it is 900m long with a curve near one end), with the two older tunnels being far shorter. Source: The World's Longest Tunnel Page Trail Details
The route begins in the west near Castlegar at the Hugh Keenlyside Dam, which
is where the Arrow Lakes become the Columbia River. There are three steel
construction trestles that are over 200' high, along with 5 tunnels. By
ATV, it is approximately 75km to Christina Lake along a gentle grade of a
maximum of 2.2% with the summit being at Farron. Largely, the C&W is used
by ATVers as a means of accessing many other trails and logging roads, which
otherwise would require driving the truck to an unloading area at the
Blueberry Paulson summit about 40kms west of Castlegar.There are many user groups sharing the C&W railway including ATVers, motorcyclists, bicyclists, hikers, crosscrounty skiers, and the occasional snowmobiler who doesn't mind riding through the bare tunnels! Negative Impact From ClosureI believe the closure would affect local communities like Robson and Castlegar by cheating local businesses of out of income which would come in the form of purchases of gas, meals, lodgings, etc. The closure would affect motorized recreation by forcing ATVers to make a 80km round trip to the Paulson summit to unload to access the trails which otherwise would have been accessed from the C&W. This puts more pollution into the atmosphere from the longer truck drive to unload, plus it costs ATVers more in fuel and time. As well, people who aren't physically capable of walking or biking the 40 mile round trip to the Bulldog tunnel (the most common trip) are being discriminated against as they are unable to see the beautiful scenery along the Arrow Lakes trail. If a cyclist, hiker, or other trail user becomes injured or requires medical attention for any reason, the C&W is in a very remote area, unaccessable from the Arrow lakes, and does not follow any roads of any sort. The steep hillside it's built on is not suitable for helicopter landings, assuming the weather is even good enough for flying. The only reason I have been able to find why Trails BC is restricing motorized access is for liability reasons, which can be partially solved with mandatory third party insurance and registering of all motorized vehicles. I believe a reasonable yearly trail pass FOR ALL TRAIL USERS (not just ATVers) would help cover maintenance and insurance costs, the proceeds of which can then be split between all concerned user groups. Castlegar Mayor Suports ATVers To my knowledge, there has never been a public consultation done regarding
the closure to ATVers. I know that there was one meeting early this year that
leaked out, and dozens of upset ATVers showed up to the surprise of the
people holding the meeting! An ATV ride up the C&W was held involving
members of the local media along with the Mayor of Castlegar, who at that
time made it clear he would not support "single use" of the C&W. Trails BC
has for the most part kept quiet about their plans for the C&W railbed in
regards to the locals. I have recently been visiting their website, and
have not read anything that states that motorized recreation will have access.Note from Greg: It is common practice for environmental activist organizations to keep their plans under wraps, so that by the time the general public and the impacted users find out what's going on, the implementation is already under way, and it's too late for action. • Read the Castlegar Citizen article ATVers really need to stand together on this particular issue, as it is all too easy for certain user groups to squeeze us off of trails that we have maintained and enjoyed for decades. If we lose the C&W railway, then it will only be the start of limiting ATVs to the trails we can ride. I say we need to get as many ATVs to join a large organization so we can be heard. I would like to ask a group of bicyclists what they would think if ATVers were allowed to hold sole rights over a certain trail, and non-motorized users were not allowed! Using their way of thinking, which is ATVs and motorcycles are endangering the safety of bicyclists and hikers, then banning non-motorized users from certain trails WOULD make these hikers/bikers much safer! To contact Kevin, you can email him at "rks442 at hotmail dot com". Online PetitionNov 14/05: Please sign our Online Petition to Tourism BC and to local and provincial politicians. |
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