The Connaught Tunnel is in southeastern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, on the Revelstoke–

Donald Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

segment. The tunnel carries the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

(CP) main line under

Mount Macdonald Mount Macdonald is a mountain peak located in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, immediately to the east of Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park. It is notable as the location of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Connaught and ...

in the

Selkirk Mountains The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Pe ...

, replacing the previous routing over Rogers Pass.

History

Summit route deficiencies

Traffic restrictions imposed by a single track comprising of 2.2 percent gradients, emerging competition, and snow-related costs, were negative factors. The 1910 Rogers Pass avalanche, and other avalanches on the pass, influenced, but did not unduly pressure CP to consider alternatives. However, snow clearing and maintaining snow sheds was an ongoing burden. Rarely assigning more than one

pusher locomotive A bank engine (United Kingdom/Australia) (colloquially a banker), banking engine, helper engine or pusher engine (North America) is a railway locomotive that temporarily assists a train that requires additional power or traction to climb a grad ...

per train, trains over 1,016 tons had to be cut. Higher capacity locomotives had helped, but the next leap forward would not occur until the

Selkirk locomotive The Selkirk locomotives were 36 steam locomotives of the 2-10-4 wheel arrangement built for Canadian Pacific Railway by Montreal Locomotive Works, Montreal in Quebec, Canada. History The first of these large engines, which had a 2-10-4 wheel arra ...

s emerged in 1929. In 1912, the average eight trains (peaking at 11) per day in each direction, were forecast to double over the next four years. The program to double track much of the route through the mountains could create a bottleneck at Rogers Pass. Following the 1906–1908 recession, by 1912, passenger and freight volumes surpassed records. Whereas passenger train length could increase, freight could not, because of weight capacity limits. Furthermore, the former had priority, causing siding waits for the latter. The opening of the

Grand Trunk Pacific The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway running from Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a Pacific coast port. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National Tra ...

(GTP) would pose a threat to CP's grain and Asian trade. Using a single locomotive, GTP could haul 2,041 tons from

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...

, via

Yellowhead Pass The Yellowhead Pass is a mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas in the Canadian Rockies. It is located on the provincial boundary between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and lies within Jasper Nat ...

, four times the weight CP could haul across the mountains on its main line. The opening of the

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. Mani ...

(CNoR) via the Yellowhead to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, the premier destination, prompted greater alarm. The opening of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

, which would bypass all North American rail routes, offered some compensation in that grain traffic destined for Europe could travel westward by rail.

Prior significant improvements in the mountains

In 1902, the Ottertail Diversion, west from

Field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

, eliminated the need for pushers. In 1887, after a tunnel collapsed near Palliser, the temporary realignment around a bluff of the

Kicking Horse River The Kicking Horse River is in the Canadian Rockies of southeastern British Columbia, Canada. The river was named in 1858, when James Hector, a member of the Palliser Expedition, reported being kicked by his packhorse while exploring the river. Hec ...

existed until the Palliser Tunnel (1906). In 1909, the Spiral Tunnels replaced the

Big Hill The Big Hill on the Canadian Pacific Railway main line in British Columbia, Canada, was the most difficult piece of railway track on the Canadian Pacific Railway's route. It was situated in the rugged Canadian Rockies west of the Continental Divi ...

Alternatives

Routes

The three basic options within the Selkirks were via the Big Bend, double track the summit, or a tunnel. The Big Bend route was not a viable contender. Estimates indicated a tunnel would be cheaper than snow shed and operational costs for double tracking the summit.

Tunnels

Three schemes were considered. In 1912, Thomas Kilpatrick, superintendent of the Mountain Subdivision, suggested a tunnel, which would have shortened the line by , reducing the pusher gradient by on the east slope and on the west one. This alignment would have eliminated the bridges at Mountain, Surprise and Stoney creeks, but was rejected owing to perceived construction deadlines, and a route beneath the

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

of the

Proposal & tender

The stated advantages were three-fold. Primarily, the tunnel lowered the grade. Secondly, it shortened the distance. Thirdly, it bypassed an avalanche prone zone. The specified alignment would lower the track summit from to , shorten the line by , reduce the pusher gradient by on the east slope and on the west one, and eliminate the Stoney, Surprise, and Mountain creek bridges. The tunnel grade would be 0.95 per cent westward. At the west portal, the route required a diversion of the

Illecillewaet River The Illecillewaet River is a tributary of the Columbia River located in British Columbia, Canada. Fed by the Illecillewaet Glacier in Glacier National Park, the river flows approximately to the southwest,cost-plus contract A cost-plus contract, also termed a cost plus contract, is a contract such that a contractor is paid for all of its allowed expenses, ''plus'' additional payment to allow for a profit.bonus and penalty clauses. After negotiations with the lowest bidder, the contract was awarded to

Foley, Welch and Stewart Foley, Welch and Stewart was an early 20th-century American-Canadian railroad contracting company. It was owned and operated by Patrick Welch and J.W. Stewart of Spokane, Washington and T. Foley of Saint Paul, Minnesota. The company was created ...

(FW&S) in July 1913.

Construction

Rogers Pass shows the summit route details. Only the crest and eastern slope of the tunnel route is underground. The primary construction camp was near the western portal, a secondary one near the eastern portal, and a minor one at Bear Creek. The western portal one, housing 300, was approached either from Loop Spur or the government road from

Glacier House A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

. The eastern portal one, housing 200, had only rail access. Both comprised a police post, small hospital, general store, offices, apartments, bunkhouses, kitchen, dining hall, and lounge, with electric lighting, and plumbing for water and sanitation. Operating three shifts daily, a pioneer tunnel advanced from each end, from which cross cuts were made to the main tunnel so work could carry on at a number of headings. Compressed air equipment, blasting, steam shovels, and narrow-gauge cars were used. At high and wide, the tunnel would accommodate

double tracks A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...

. The western side involved penetrating thick mud, extremely hard rock, and finally softer rock. The highest point of the Selkirks track was just inside the western portal. Three steam shovels were based on the west side and one on the east. Death and injury were not uncommon. Mirroring the advance across the pass in the 1880s, concern for the health and safety of workers was not a priority. Beating world monthly tunneling records, the pioneer headings met in December 1915, and the main bores in July 1916. The unacceptably high cost projection scrapped the electrification plan. Instead, ventilation fans were installed. East of the tunnel, the plan for double tracking to Six-Mile Creek was amended to a level single track connecting with the existing line at Stoney Creek. This reduced the pusher gradient on the east slope by , less than specified. However, it retained the substantial investment in the bridges at Mountain, Surprise and Stoney creeks. The tunnel was completed 11 months ahead of schedule, and below budget. One calculation of costs listed tunnelling $4.91M, tunnel track $0.16M, approaches $0.86M, and ventilation $0.11M, totalling $6.04M, less the salvage value of the abandoned line $1.67M. Extending the concrete lining during 1919–1925 added a further $2.60M. The $8.64M total is in line with a different calculation of $8.45M. In all, the route was shortened by .

Repairs, modifications & emergencies

In 1919, 30 drums of gasoline and kerosene, used by the concrete mixers engaged in the lining operation, ignited. A tunnel watchman, who rushed some distance to the nearest telephone to alert Connaught station at the eastern portal, did not survive. His warning saved the westbound transcontinental, then at the station, from proceeding into the tunnel. Nine workers escaped on a

handcar A handcar (also known as a pump trolley, pump car, rail push trolley, push-trolley, jigger, Kalamazoo, velocipede, or draisine) is a railroad car powered by its passengers, or by people pushing the car from behind. It is mostly used as a railway ...

from the east portal, and one watchman staggered from the west portal. To deal with crumbling rock in the roof, the concrete tunnel lining was extended from to . Prior to the 1925 completion of the project, falling rock killed or injured several workers. In 1928, a locomotive boiler explosion killed three crew members near Glacier. In 1929, two train crew died when their locomotive fell into the ravine when a girder collapsed on the Surprise Creek Bridge. The 1931 flood sent 2,000 replacement ties through the tunnel, and filled the west portal cutting to a depth with of mud and debris, which took five days to dig out. Approved in 1958, the following year a

single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

down the centre (replacing the double tracks) provided sufficient clearance for tri-deck automobile carriers. In 1972 and 1976, the tunnel fans and housing sustained extensive damage on catching fire. In 1977, soon after departing the Glacier siding (Mile 85.9), a westbound loaded 109-car coal train lost control, and broadcast a warning that they were travelling too fast to make the curves at Illecillewaet. On hearing the radio message, a 60-car eastbound freight accelerated to safely reach Illecillewaet siding (Mile 98.1), before 3 crew members stepped clear of their train. The runaway's 3 lead locomotives, 45 cars, a

remote control locomotive A remote control locomotive (also called an RCL) is a railway locomotive that can be operated with a remote control. It differs from a conventional locomotive in that a remote control system has been installed in one or more locomotives within the ...

, and the following 22 cars, were destroyed on derailing at Mile 94.4. The impact shifted a bridge from its footings and damaged a snow shed. The crew sustained minor injuries. The line remained closed for a week. In 1985, a nearby rock slide derailed one of the four locomotives hauling a coal train. The tunnel was deepened to clearances matched with the

Mount Macdonald Tunnel The Mount Macdonald Tunnel is in southeastern British Columbia, on the Revelstoke– Donald segment. This single-track tunnel, which carries the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) main line under Mount Macdonald in the Selkirk Mountains, handles mos ...

in 1993 to accommodate double stack container cars with future electrification. This first 24/7 work project undertaken by CP was a significant engineering challenge. In 1997, eight cars of a train derailed in the vicinity. In 2015, six cars of a westbound freight derailed on Stoney Creek Bridge. The train had diverted to the eastbound route because the

was being vented. The incident occurred when the train lost momentum on the steeper grade and stopped with the cars on the bridge. However, restarting on the curve caused the heavier cars at the front and rear of the train to lift the lighter middle cars from the track.

Operation

The first commercial train was December 1916, which travelled via Loop Spur, since the pass line remained in use until a few days later. The most northern part of the Loops between the two hillsides, which had been a long trestle, but likely infilled around 1906, needed to be breached by the new line. Automatic block signalling came in the 1920s. To improve visibility on the 1929 introduction of the

s, trains switched to the left-hand track before entering the tunnel. In 1950, multiple aspect signalling was installed. In 1954, diesel locomotives became standard. Pusher units cut into westbound freight trains at Beavermouth, before disconnecting at Stoney Creek. On occasions, when pushers worked through to Glacier, crew were required to wear respirators, owing to the tunnel fumes. The tunnel blocked radio communication. The 1974 realignment west of Beavermouth, moved the connection point to Rogers. After the 1988 opening of the Mount Macdonald Tunnel, westbound traffic primarily used that lower gradient route, with Connaught handling eastbound. During the pusher station's existence, six engineers, six maintenance workers and nine locomotives were based at Rogers. Five-engine units were used on heavy trains carrying grain, coal and potash. Four-engine units were used on other freights.

Notability

When opened, the tunnel ranked eighth in length: #

Simplon Tunnel , it, Galleria del Sempione , line = Simplon line, (Lötschberg railway line) , location = Traversing the Lepontine Alps between Switzerland and Italy , coordinates = – , system = Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FF ...

(1906) #

Gotthard Tunnel , it, Galleria del San Gottardo , other_name = , line = Gotthard Line , location = Traversing the Saint-Gotthard Massif in the middle of the Swiss Alps , coordinates = , os_grid_ref = , status = , system ...

(1882) #

Lötschberg Tunnel , line = Lötschberg Line , location = Circumventing the Lötschen Pass in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland(Canton of Bern, canton of Valais) , coordinates = – , system = BLS, SBB CFF FFS , status = , st ...

(1913) #

Fréjus Rail Tunnel The Fréjus Rail Tunnel (also called Mont Cenis Tunnel) is a rail tunnel of length in the European Alps, carrying the Turin–Modane railway through Mont Cenis to an end-on connection with the Culoz–Modane railway and linking Bardonecchia i ...

(Mont Cenis) (1871) , extended (1881) #

Arlberg Railway Tunnel The Arlberg Railway Tunnel (german: Arlbergtunnel) forms the central part of the Arlberg railway in western Austria, running between the federal states Tyrol (state), Tyrol and Vorarlberg. It traverses through the Arlberg massif at the northeast ...

(1884) #

Ricken Tunnel The Ricken Tunnel (german: Rickentunnel) is an long rail tunnel under the Ricken Pass in eastern Switzerland. It is on the Swiss Federal Railway Uznach–Wattwil line, between Kaltbrunn station and Wattwil station. The tunnel, which accommoda ...

(1910) #

Tauern Railway Tunnel The Tauern Railway Tunnel (german: Tauerntunnel) in Austria is the longest tunnel of the Tauern Railway crossing the main chain of the Alps. Currently, it has a length of . The highest point of the tunnel, which is also the highest point in all of ...

(1909) # Connaught Tunnel (1916) However, it took the title from the

Hoosac Tunnel The Hoosac Tunnel (also called Hoosic or Hoosick Tunnel) is a active railroad tunnel in western Massachusetts that passes through the Hoosac Range, an extension of Vermont's Green Mountains. It runs in a straight line from its east portal, alo ...

(1875) as the longest railway tunnel in North America, until replaced by the

Moffat Tunnel The Moffat Tunnel is a railroad and water tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado. Named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat, the tunnel's first official railroad traffic passed through in February 192 ...

(1928) . Officially opened in July 1916 by the

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; 1 May 185016 January 1942), was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served as Gov ...

, the governor general, the Selkirk Tunnel was renamed the Connaught Tunnel weeks later. In 2001, the tunnel was inducted into the North America Railway Hall of Fame. When part way through the project, rock drillers J. A. McIlwee and Sons encountered an unexpected predominance of crumbly slate, FW&S dismissed the subcontractor, rather than negotiate a contract variance. After several appeals, including a hearing of the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

, the courts awarded McIlwee about $576,000 for breach of contract. At the time, this was the largest single judgement obtained in a BC court. W.J. Hackman (1928–1953) was the first child born in the tunnel. The birth occurred on the westbound CP No. 2. Passenger train. The next birth appears to have occurred in 1939.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * {{Cite web , url=http://cdnrail.railfan.net/RogersPass/RogersPasstext.htm , title=Rogers Pass a History of the Canadian Pacific Railway and Trans-Canada Highway crossing , website=cdnrail.railfan.net Canadian Pacific Railway tunnels Railway tunnels in British Columbia Tunnels completed in 1916 Glacier National Park (Canada) 1916 establishments in British Columbia