1

An engineer on the Kettle Valley Line
1940's-50's
Carmi Subdivision, Kettle Valley Railway

Credits:
Ronald Meldrum collection: of KVR Engineer George Meldrum, Penticton
Kettle River Museum

2

The KVR couldn't have operated without a dedicated crew to keep tracks clear, trestles safe and communications open along the line.

With the coming of the Kettle Valley Railway the sound of the steam whistle ringing through the Boundary meant different things to different people.

To the KVR crew the sound of the whistle would mean steady employment through their working years and it often meant too much time away from home. It would come to mean danger in the deep snows of the Coquihalla and camaraderie among their peers, the community of railroading men.

3

The KVR crew at Carmi Subdivision
Circa 1930
Carmi Subdivision, Kettle Valley Railway

Credits:
Penticton Museum & Archives

4

Engine No. 3226 and her crew
Circa 1935
Carmi Subdivision, Kettle Valley Railway

Credits:
Ronald Meldrum collection
Kettle River Museum

5

Work train in the Coquihalla
1940's-1950's
Coquihalla Subdivision, Kettle Valley Railway

Credits:
Mark Myers photo: "1946: Double front down 2.2% grade"
Kettle River Museum

6

Midway became a divisional point as the eastern terminus of the Kettle Valley Railway. KVR crews manned the line from Penticton to Midway. CPR crews manned the run from Midway to Nelson, along the former Columbia & Western line. There was a high-spirited but friendly rivalry between the employees of the two railways.

7

A 5100 series engine
1940's-1950's
Midway, BC

Credits:
Kettle River Museum

8

"Kettle Valley to Spend $450,000"
5 March 1936
The Boundary

Kettle Valley to Spend $450,000

Large replacement programme this year for the Line from Midway to Penticton

Penticton, Feb. 26 - The Kettle Valley division of the C.P.R. announced this week the largest replacement programme ever to be undertaken, with a total expenditure of almost $450,000. This work will necessitate employment of a large number of additional men of section gangs, extra gangs, bridges, engines, and trainmen…

The largest individual item is a sum exceeding $150,000 for rails and fastenings. Other large items are the renewals, $107,000 for tie renewals, $35,000 for track work, culvert and bridge work at $82,000 and repairs to buildings, $13,000.

Credits:
Grand Forks Gazette