[BCMA MBEN] Building the Pacific Great Eastern Railway: An Anniversary Celebration

[Elizabeth Hunter]

Please post to the list serve:

Building the Pacific Great Eastern Railway:  An Anniversary Celebration

The Pacific Great Eastern Railway was incorporated 100 years ago in February 1912 to build a line from Vancouver to connect with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at Prince George.  By 1921 the provincial government had taken over ownership and the line had reached Quesnel.  Engineering obstacles, financial pressures and the Second World War delayed the completion of the line through to Prince George until November 1952.

Join the Quesnel & District Museum and Archives and noted railway historian Barrie Sanford to commemorate these significant anniversaries in the history of the provincial railway system.

Friday June 15 at 7 pm Quesnel Council Chambers
Quesnel Museum Heritage Speaker Series
Barrie Sanford will provide an illustrated talk on "The Phantom Railway," the construction of the original PGE line north from Quesnel. It was built in 1921, but the rails were torn up after the line was abandoned because attempts to construct a bridge over the Cottonwood River failed.   Further efforts to expand the line were abandoned due to competing financial pressures during the Depression and World War II. As a result the Pacific Great Eastern was known as the railway from "nowhere to nowhere" and was rechristened the "Province's Great Expense," the "Prince George Eventually" and other derogatory nicknames.  In the interim it provided a significant route to bring the resources of the interior to the coast and to world markets.  Certainly the P.G.E. played a significant role in the continued prosperity of Quesnel.

Saturday June 16th 1 - 4 pm            Walking the Phantom Railway
1 p.m.  Gather at the Quesnel Railway station for the unveiling of a Heritage Plaque
Drive in your own vehicle or car pool to Ten Mile Lake Provincial Park (named for its location at the ten mile post north of Quesnel on the original railway line).  Barrie will lead an easy walk along the remains of the railway grade and share his knowledge of the construction of the route. He promises to bring a few artifacts which he discovered when he first mapped the old railway line in the 1980s.  For those prepared for a more vigorous walk, we will drive to a second staging point and hike more of the rail bed, accessed through the fields.

Barrie Sanford is among BC's most prolific and respected railway historians.  He was born in New Westminster and raised in White Rock.  He has an engineering degree from UBC and lived in Quesnel for many years.  He has published two books on the Kettle Valley Railroad:  McCulloch's Wonder and Steel Rails and Iron Men.   He has also written The Pictorial History of Railroading in British Columbia, Railway by the Bay: 100 years of Trains at White Rock, Crescent Beach and Ocean Park and Royal Metal, the story of the New Westminster rail bridge and its impact on the people of the Fraser Valley. He will share his lifelong passion for railroads during this special weekend of activities designed to commemorate the significant role the Pacific Great Eastern Railway has played in the development of Quesnel and to celebrate the engineering feats of the past century.
There is no charge to participate in either the Heritage Speaker Series or the guided walk. Donations to offset program costs are much appreciated and a "Hat" will be passed at the end of the tour. Participants are responsible for their own transportation between venues, although some carpooling may be co-ordinated in advance through the museum. Vehicles can be left at the Quesnel Museum, which is directly across Highway 97 from the Quesnel railway station, for those that plan to carpool.   For more information or to register your interest in participating contact the Quesnel Museum at 250-992-9580 or volunteer at quesnel.ca<mailto:volunteer at quesnel.ca>.



Elizabeth Hunter,
Museum & Heritage Manager
Quesnel & District Museum and Archives
705 Carson Ave,Quesnel , BC V2J 2B6
ehunter at quesnel.ca<mailto:ehunter at quesnel.ca>
250-992-9580  fax: 250-992-9680
www.quesnelmuseum.ca
<http://www.quesnelmuseum.ca>
Please note that my email address has changed to ehunter at quesnel.ca<mailto:ehunter at quesnel.ca>. Please change my contact information in your address book, although the old address will continue to work for a few months.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.vvv.com/pipermail/bcma-broadcast/attachments/20120606/3fbd1def/attachment.htm