Big Hill
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The Big Hill on 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 ...
main line in
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, ...
, Canada, was the most difficult piece of railway track on the Canadian Pacific Railway's route. It was situated in the rugged
Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...
west of the
Continental Divide of the Americas The Continental Divide of the Americas (also known as the Great Divide, the Western Divide or simply the Continental Divide; ) is the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas. The Continental Divide extends from t ...
and
Kicking Horse Pass Kicking Horse Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta–British Columbia border, and lying within Yoho and Banff national parks. Divide Creek forks onto both s ...
. Even though the Big Hill was replaced by the
Spiral Tunnels Lists of spiral (helicoidal) tunnels and tunnels on a curved alignment on roads and railway lines worldwide. Road tunnels * Churchischleif, road to Isenfluh (Switzerland) * Drammen Spiral, Norway * on SS 659 near Formazza, Italy (full 360° turn ...
in 1909, the area has long been a challenge to the operation of
train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...
s and remains so to this day.


Construction

To complete the Pacific railway as quickly as possible, a decision was made to delay blasting a lengthy tunnel through
Mount Stephen Mount Stephen, , is a mountain located in the Kicking Horse River Valley of Yoho National Park, km east of Field, British Columbia, Canada. The mountain was named in 1886 for George Stephen, the first president of the Canadian Pacific Railw ...
and instead build a temporary line over it. Instead of the desired 2.2% grade (116 feet to the mile) a steep 4.5% (some sources say 4.4%) grade was built in 1884. This was one of the steepest
adhesion railway An adhesion railway relies on adhesion traction to move the train. Adhesion traction is the friction between the drive wheels and the steel rail. The term "adhesion railway" is used only when it is necessary to distinguish adhesion railways from ...
lines anywhere. (4.5% = 1 in 22.22). It descended from
Wapta Lake Wapta Lake is a glacial lake in Yoho National Park in the Canadian Rockies of eastern British Columbia, Canada. Wapta Lake is formed from Cataract Brook and Blue Creek in Yoho National Park, and is the source of the Kicking Horse River. The Trans ...
to the base of Mount Stephen, along 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. He ...
to a point just west of
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 ...
, then rose again to meet the original route. Seen as a temporary solution, this grade was twice the percentage normally allowed for a downhill track. The first construction train to go down the pass ran away off the hill to land in the Kicking Horse River, killing three. The CPR soon added three safety switches (runaways) on the way down to protect against runaway trains. The switches led to short spurs with a sharp reverse upgrade and they were kept in the uphill position until the operator was satisfied that the train descending the grade towards him was not out of control. Speed was restricted to for passenger trains and for freight, and elaborate brake testing was required of trains prior to descending the hill. Nevertheless, disasters occurred with dismaying frequency. Field was created as a work camp solely to accommodate the CPR's need for additional locomotives to be added to trains about to tackle the Big Hill. Here a stone roundhouse with
turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
was built at what was first known simply as Third Siding. In December 1884 the CPR renamed it Field after C.W. Field, a Chicago businessman who, the company hoped, might invest in the region after he had visited on a special train they had provided for him. At that time, standard steam locomotives were
4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...
s, capable enough for the prairies and elsewhere, but of little use on the Big Hill.
Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...
was called upon to build two
2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...
s for use as Field Hill pusher engines in 1884. At the time they were the most powerful locomotives built. Two more followed in June 1886. The CPR began building its own 2-8-0s in August 1887, and over the years hundreds more were built or bought.


Spiral Tunnels

The Big Hill "temporary" line remained the main line for 25 years until the
spiral tunnels Lists of spiral (helicoidal) tunnels and tunnels on a curved alignment on roads and railway lines worldwide. Road tunnels * Churchischleif, road to Isenfluh (Switzerland) * Drammen Spiral, Norway * on SS 659 near Formazza, Italy (full 360° turn ...
were opened on September 1, 1909. The improvement project was started in 1906, under the supervision of John Edward Schwitzer, the senior engineer of CPR's western lines. The first proposal had been to extend the length of the climb, and thus reduce the gradient, by bypassing the town of Field at a higher level, on the south side of the Kicking Horse river valley. This idea had quickly been abandoned because of the severe risk of avalanches and landslips on the valley side. Also under consideration was the extension of the route in a horseshoe loop northwards, using both sides of the valley of the Yoho River to increase the distance, but again the valley sides were found to be prone to avalanches. It was the experience of severe disruption and delay caused by avalanches on other parts of the line (such as at the Rogers Pass station, which was destroyed by an avalanche in 1899) that persuaded Schwitzer that digging spiral tunnels was the only practical but expensive way forward. The route decided upon called for two tunnels driven in three-quarter circles into the valley walls. The higher tunnel, "number one", is about in length and runs under Cathedral Mountain, to the south of the original track. When the new line emerges from this tunnel it has doubled back, running beneath itself and lower. It then descends the valley side in almost the opposite direction to its previous course before crossing the Kicking Horse River and entering
Mount Ogden Mount Ogden is a peak in Weber County, Utah, United States in the northern Wasatch Range. Mount Ogden has an elevation of . The peak is popular with hikers and can be accessed via trails in three nearby canyons: Beus, Waterfall, and Taylor Cany ...
to the north. This lower tunnel, "number two", is a few yards shorter than "number one" and the descent is again about 50 feet. From the exit of this tunnel the line continues down the valley in the original direction, towards Field. The constructions and extra track effectively double the length of the climb and reduce the
ruling gradient The term ruling grade is usually used as a synonym for "steepest climb" between two points on a railroad. More simply, the steepest grade to be climbed dictates how powerful the motive power (or how light the train) must be in order for the run to ...
to 2.2%. The new distance between Field and Wapta Lake, where the track levels out, is . The contract was awarded to the
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 ...
engineering firm of MacDonnell, Gzowski and Company and work started in 1907. The labour force amounted to about 1000 and the cost was about $1.5 million. Regardless of the opening of the spiral tunnels,
Field Hill Field Hill is a steep portion of the mainline of the Canadian Pacific Railway located near Field, British Columbia. Field was created solely to accommodate the Canadian Pacific Railway's need for additional locomotives to be added to trains about ...
remained a significant challenge and it was necessary to retain the powerful locomotives at Field locomotive depot. Even after the introduction of modern locomotives with
dynamic braking Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric or diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed " rheostatic" if the generated electrical power is dissipated as heat in brake grid r ...
and continuous pneumatic brakes, accidents were not eliminated. There were 64 derailments between
Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
and Field between 2004 and 2019. On February 4, 2019, two of the three locomotives and 99 grain hopper railcars of westbound Canadian Pacific train 301 derailed at Mile 130.6, just outside of the western portal of Upper Spiral Tunnel. The three crew members were killed in the accident.


See also

*
Spiral (railway) A spiral (sometimes called a spiral loop or just loop) is a technique employed by railways to ascend steep hills. A railway spiral rises on a steady curve until it has completed a loop, passing over itself as it gains height, allowing the railw ...
* Spiral tunnels and tunnels on a curved alignment


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * {{coord, 51.435976, -116.403653, , display=title, format=dms Rail infrastructure in British Columbia Columbia Valley Canadian Pacific Railway facilities Railway tunnels in British Columbia Tunnels completed in 1909 Hills of British Columbia