Rosebery BC Then & Now

Among the mighty peaks in the West Kootenays of British Columbia, there was for a time a most unusual railway operation. On account of challenging topography, the Canadian Pacific Railway (under the Nakusp and Slocan Charter) built a line isolated from the rest of its network with trains coming and going via a rail barge on Slocan Lake. Built to tap the vast mineral and timber riches of the area, the line, incredibly, remained in use well into modern times, a real headache operational wise but an amazing curiosity for those of us who are into trains. By the time this service ended, there was nothing else like it.

And so comes our latest then and now. These have been rather scarce lately but we’ve committed to doing more and even have a good number in the can already awaiting their turn to be published. Stay tuned! This one has a train theme which we’re rather fond of and is popular with our readers. Here, in the then photo, circa 1960s, we see the loading slip, with a laden barge either just arriving or in the process of leaving. On visiting the same spot in 2018, we see what differs – most obvious the railway’s long gone – and what’s remained the same – those majestic mountains standing fast for all time. Come back in a couple centuries and no doubt they’d cut the same profile. If the world lasts that long.

The CPR invaded Southern BC in the 1890s. They built lines this way and that, servicing mines and lumber mills and a huge smelter where all the minerals were shipped for processing.

The section of track served by the train barge ran from Rosebery to Nakusp in the north and to by way of a second line south to New Denver before trending east to mines of the Silvery Slocan near Sandon. Construction spanned 1892-1895.

From Rosebery the barge travelled south down Slocan Lake, where the train would be offloaded. From there they would head further south and make connections to the CPR’s Southern Mainline using the Slocan (City) branch. It was a rather time consuming and complicated way to get a train from A to B but the rugged nature of the area precluded building a connecting line between the two points. The CPR accepted it even in spite of the inconvenience and cost. There was after all, freight to move, and lots of it in the early days.

The old Nakusp and Slocan into Sandon was abandoned in the 1950s, with the track into New Denver following in the 1970s (or thereabouts). The Rosebery to Nakusp section, amazingly, lasted into 1988 or 1989 (depending on the source). The railway had been trying rid itself of this money losing operation for some time before approval was finally given. And no doubt at the CPR there was a collective sigh of relief on it happening. By the end service was sporadic, with trains visiting only as needed. Sometimes it’d be weeks between runs or even more. The only freight moved at that time was some outbound lumber and poles, with some inbound fuel shipments. The mineral traffic had dried up decades earlier.

Before Team BIGDoer, it was just Chris, who visited West Kootenays in the summer of 1989, less than a year after the last train run, but before they removed everything, to take in the barge loading slip. Come take a look and understand how it was used. Here: Rosebery BC railway barge slip.

It looks like six or seven cars, plus the then mandatory caboose, and the locomotive was about all that could be hauled per barge trip. Not much really. In the then photo traffic that day looks light.

Powering the train is what appears to be a Montreal Locomotive Works model S4. The CPR owned twenty, built in the years 1949-1953 which were well suited for switching work or pulling short branchline trains like this. Most of them lasted into the 1980s. It could also be an earlier and similar looking model S2, which from this distance would be near indistinguishable. This one wears the old colours of the CPR. The caboose (or van) was pretty typical of the era as was the boxcar. The railway owned tens of thousands of the latter.

Not seen is the tug powering the barge.

In back is the barge slip, a frail looking Rube Goldberg contraption, mounted on rail wheels which allowed it to be repositioned (with a locomotive and chain typically) in relation to varying lake levels. Tracks leading away head to a small yard. The slip rides atop these, which continue down into the water and afford it the ability to moved.

We don’t know the date of the then photo, but the 1960s seems a good bet. We base that on a number of factors, one being that the photographer, who we’ll touch on in a bit, seemed most active then. Plus we know that style of locomotive was assigned to the area in around that time.

In the now photo there is zero evidence of the barge slip. Still, if one wanders about the area where the yards once were (a bit to the right off camera) can find bits and pieces connected back to the railway, including a steel bridge over crystal clear Wilson Creek. This structure is now incorporated into the Nakusp and Slocan Railway Trail, that you can hike or bike. You can see this same bridge some thirty years ago in this post: Rosebery BC railway barge slip.

Only the Selkirk Mountains in back seem timeless. There’s some big hills out this way! The spit of land in front has changed profile a bit but otherwise looks much as it did. Minus the train stuff that is.

This was not the only lake barge service on the CPR. To the east next mountain range over, there were several isolated branchlines and spurs along Kootenay Lake similarly served. And more rail barges plied the Upper Arrow Lakes (out of Nakusp) and some lakes of the Okanagan. A number of these operations lasted into the 1970s.

Hope you liked this then and now as much as we did presenting it. It was so cool to match it up and delve into what’s seen and the history of it all.

The then photo comes from fine folks at the Lost Kootenays Facebook Page (connected to The Kütne Reader by Greg Nesterhoff) and is part of the Ellis Anderson Collection. Thanks for the then & now fodder guys. Ellis was a busy photographer back in the 1960s and 1970s capturing day to day life in the area. We looked through more from his collection and were mesmerized. He took his camera everywhere and captured some amazing stuff.

If you have an old photo you think should get the BIGDoer then & now treatment let us know. It needs be your copyright (so from a family collection for example) or in the public domain (old postcards often are) showing a scene from days past. It need not be train theme, and can show a street, building or something scenic where a comparison like this can applied. The results can be so cool!

They’re saying…

Love seeing your posts…love the stories that go with it….heck I am travelling with you. Daryl Tucker.

That weekend…
A Tour of Sandon BC.

Train themed then and nows…
Rowley Alberta then and now – CNR Station – an amazing building.
Canadian Pacific Railway then and now – Greg McDonnell edition – with help from a legend.
Canadian Pacific Railway then and now – Banff Park – an obscure place found.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date of Adventure: September, 2018.
Location: Rosebery, BC.
Article references and thanks: Ellis Anderson via the Lost Kootenays Facebook Page/Kütne Reader by Greg Nesterhoff, Book – The Skyline Limited: The Kaslo and Slocan Railway by Turner & Wilkie, Arrow Lakes Historical Society, Canadian Trackside Guides.

Rosebery BC, then & now. (Then pic: Ellis Anderson).

Bridge hunting…target acquired.

Wilson Creek empties into Slocan Lake.

Along the Nakusp and Slocan Railway Trail.

A little cabin marked Rosebery.

About where the yards were, an old railway shed?

Beautiful Slocan Lake.