Writer Barry Stanford describes the Kettle Valley Railway, McCulloch's Wonder, as the most difficult and expensive railway on earth. Engineer extraordinaire, Andrew McCulloch, designed, built and operated this railway starting in about 1915. It serviced southern British Columbia, through to the Kooteneys until about 1973. After it was abandoned in 1989, it became a recreational area for hikers, skiers, bikers and others.This past weekend, I had the opportunity to bike to the Othello-Quintette Tunnels in Hope and along a portion of the Kettle Valley rail bed near Princeton, BC. These sections are part of the TransCanada Trail. The Coquihalla Canyon gorge is truly awe-inspiring in itself with its rapids twisting through a narrow passage. Contemplating the combined the power of this river with the amazing engineering talent that was required to design and build the four tunnels and two bridges through this gorge for the railroad is just mind-bending. This is another example of one of the well-kept secrets of British Columbia.
In other countries, there would be resorts, hotels and tours to see something as spectacular as this!
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