Introduction

Dormant Coalfields

Coal Production Takes Off

Introduction

By the early 1900’s, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and the Great Northern Railway (GNR) had penetrated the mineral-rich southern British Columbia interior with vast networks of rail and paddle steamer lines.¹This north-south oriented region had yet to be integrated from east to west, however.

After much planning and bargaining, visions of a Coast to Kootenay connection became reality in 1916. A patchwork of acquired and shared railways and completed rail construction charters made up the CPR’s Southern Mainline and the GNR’s Third Mainline.²

The coalfields of the Nicola, Similkameen and Tulameen Valleys in Yale District, BC played important roles in these rail lines’ development.

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