The End of the Kettle Valley Railway

In the boom years, the “Coast-to-Kootenay” railway hauled fruit, ore, coal, cattle, lumber, and passengers. Although the line made a profit carrying freight and passengers, the CPR never made up the $20 million the line cost to build. And then the fortunes of the Kettle Valley Railway began a slow decline in the 1930s. The Great Depression of the 1930s saw a decrease in the number of loads of freight to be carried. Moreover, in 1931 the fruit crop was a disaster. The worst year for snow problems was 1935. There were forest fires in 1938 that burned 3 major trestles near Romeo. World War II increased the demand for ore, coal, and lumber, and this kept KVR freight cars rolling. But the final blow came in 1949. The Hope-Princeton Highway was built. Then travellers could drive their own cars. Freight could be carried in trucks. In 1959, a series of snowstorms did so much damage, the KVR lines were never opened for more than a few days at a time. In January 1961, the line in the Coquihalla Pass section closed for the winter, and it was never reopened. The CPR said maintenance was too costly. The track in the Coquihalla section was ripped up in 1962. Then the CPR’s decision to close the line could not be changed. Trains were rerouted from Merritt to Spences Bridge. The rest of the line was closed bit by bit. Rail lines in southern BC could not make enough money. Passenger traffic stopped in 1964 after a last run from Spences Bridge to Penticton. Supporters of the KVR were heartbroken. An old timer said, “They’ve killed the Kettle Valley Line.” But the courageous KVR was not dead.