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Photo 2309.0180: A CPR train snaking down the switchbacks of the Rossland hill, circa 1907.
Cominco Commuters
The passenger train service to Trail allowed Rossland men to commute to their jobs at the Trail smelter, which became part of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company in 1906 (later renamed Cominco and now Teck - Trail Operations). In fact, smelter commuters became such a large percentage of the Canadian Pacific’s customers that the train schedule was changed to accommodate their shift schedule in 1923. It took one hour for the train to get down the Rossland hill to Trail, so it left at 6:00am so that workers would be on time for their 7:00am start. The shutdown of the mines in 1929 led to many of the Rossland residents previously working in the mines transfering to the smelting operations in Trail. As such, an extra coach was added to the 6:00am train, which was dropped off at Tadanac in the morning and picked up in the evening to be hauled back up the hill, catering specifically to smelter workers living in Rossland. With the development of highways and drastically reduced commute times, the CPR passenger service lost its relevance and was finally closed in 1937.
Photo 2309.0245: Canadian Pacific 3600 series hand-fired steam locomotive # 3655 on arrival with freight train at Rossland Columbia and western Railway Yards, 1935. There trains were converted to oil burners and were used on Rossland hill continually until their replacement by diesel engines in 1952.
The Caboose
The caboose seen on the grounds of the museum was used by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) until being retired and moved to the Rossland Museum in 1989.
The Trains
The first CPR trains between Rossland and Trail (1898) ran on a standard gauge track and used hand-fired coal burners to power their steam engines. The coal was shipped from eastern Canada, along the newly opened Crowsnest Pass railway. Shay locomotives, which ran on a system of gears and vertical cylinders, were briefly used to transport heavy ore loads, but they were found to be too slow and were quickly abandoned. In the 1940s the steam engines used by the CPR were replaced by oil engines, and in the 1950s these were replaced with diesel engines which remained the standard for the rest of their use.
Photo 2309.0249: A shay locomotive on its way from Rossland to the smelter, c.1900.
CPR timetable for the Rossland-Trail-Nelson Route, effective September 30th, 1917. Click for a closer look!
Trains in Rossland
Although they seem foreign today, trains were a common part of Rossland life in the early 20th century. Not only did the Canadian Pacific Railways have a station in Rossland, but so too did the American run Great Northern Railway, which began running trains from Rossland to Washington state in 1898. With the end of the mining boom as well as the increasing use of highways and automobiles both companies eventually closed down, being unable to turn a profit. Great Northern ended all services in 1922, and the Canadian Pacific ended theirs in 1966.
COMING SOON:
Moving the caboose to its final home at the Rossland Museum.
Refurbishment of the caboose in the the 1990s.
Daily life for train conductors/life in the caboose.
Supply lists for a caboose.
History of the caboose.
Streetcars in Rossland?
Photo 2309.0183: Canadian Pacific station, train, and depot in Rossland, circa 1910.
Surprising as it may sound, Rossland was once close to having a streetcar service. In the early days of Rossland many residents had big dreams for their golden city. Among them were T.J. Duncan and W.A. Macdonald, who planned to build what they named the Rossland and Sophie Mountain Electric Railway. This would be an electric tramway through the city of Rossland, which would then leave town as an electric railway line running over the Sophie Mountain Summit to the Velvet Mine, just west of the townsite. The streetcar service was planned to run from Princess Avenue up to the top of Washington Street, at which point it would leave town and head west toward the Velvet mine. Both the Great Northern and Canadian Pacific were not too impressed with this idea, however, as the line to the Velvet mine overlapped with their long term plans to build rail lines to the Okanagan. As such, both companies immediately started constructing rail lines to the Velvet, and by 1900 the mine was connected to Rossland as well as Northport, eliminating the need for the electric line. However, plans to build the tramway within Rossland went forward with maps of the route drawn up and experts from Nelson brought in to assess the project. Unfortunately, in the end, the municipal government decided the cost of the upkeep for the tram was more than they were willing to spend and the project was scrapped.
Continue the Outdoor Tour:
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