Photograph depicts the B.C. Ferry Authority Vessel M.V. "Jervis Queen" undergoing a refit at Deas Island basin in the Fraser River.
Photograph depicts a car crossing the Lillooet Suspension Bridge (also known as the Lillooet Old Bridge) over the Fraser River.
File consists of an excerpted chapter from "British Columbia and the United States" by Howay, Sage and Angus (published 1942). Chapter is entitled "Railway Building in British Columbia, 1871-1915".
Photograph depicts Beaver Trucking located on Kamloops Indian Reserve No. 1 on Tk'emlups te Secwepemc territory, Kamloops, BC. It had been a company since 1990 and received 2 or 3 boxcars weekly loaded with items from Toronto that were then delivered around town. Davies later noted that the business was destroyed by arson in 1997.
Photograph depicts a church that was built of shaped logs on the territory of the Tsal'alh Nation on the road leading to Seton Lake. Church was derelict, but still held pews, plastic flowers and small shrines.
Photograph depicts a 4-wheeled cart located on Tsalalh Nation territory at the head of Seton Lake.
Photograph depicts the CPR line at Revelstoke. The present terminus is about 1 mile south of the mainline depot of the former Arrowhead branch line (27.5 miles long) which became submerged when Arrow Lake was raised 70 ft. in 1968-1969.
Plan depicts Granville Island industrial sites in False Creek, Vancouver. Shows revised trackage from 1955 annotated in colour by Davies.
File consists of research material regarding Granville Island street railway operations of BC Hydro Railway. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "The Granville Island Switching Operations of the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority Railway" by Sochowski and "BCER Granville Island: Extension of Industrial and Interurban Lines within Vancouver City" by Davies.
Photograph annotation states that image depicts a CPR warehouse located about 1/4 mile east of the Revelstoke depot, on the north side of the track. The view is looking east. Additional information provided by railway historian Tom W. Parkin: This building is the CPR icehouse at Revelstoke after a partial tear-down. The structure was built after 1929, when a similar facility near the locomotive shops was removed between 1920-29, possibly to make room for a larger turntable. The location is on the northwest edge of the CPR yards. Icehouses once made and stored blocks of ice for refrigeration of passenger coaches and (when crushed) for cooling fresh produce in "reefer cars" en route to market.
Photograph depicts yard signals of the MacMillan Bloedel & Powell River Logging Railway, primarily protecting the Comox Logging & Railway Company crossing. The Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway is about 300 yards to the north. Crossing is near Ladysmith. It is most unusual to find signal in B.C. at this point.
Photograph depicts the unused C.P.R. Shawnigan Lake section house on the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway. It is 27.8 miles outside Victoria.
Photograph depicts CPR buildings near Shawnigan Lake depot on Vancouver Island. The buildings in the centre are a section house (left) and a speeder or tool shed (right). They sit inside a wye track. Spur on the left is all that is left of "Y" turning center. The view is looking south. The Shawnigan Lake station (not depicted) is located at mile post 27.8 approximately 1/2 mile to the railway south of these buildings which are to the south of the photographer.
Photograph depicts the service car of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway in front of the E & N freight shed. The Nanaimo passenger depot (not depicted) is located behind the photographer.
Photograph depicts a railway track crossover. The Comox Logging & Railway Co. tracks (left to right) cross the Esquimalt & Nanaimo tracks (bottom to top). The MacMillan Bloedel & Powell River Logging Railway tracks join the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway just above the crossing. The Velco Tower appears to the right of the crossing. This crossing is one mile north of Ladysmith, with the view looking north to Nanaimo.
Photograph depicts the Nanaimo passenger depot of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (at right) and the E & N freight shed (at left).
The building of this spur in 1977 was a late and short lived attempt to move yearling cattle to Ontario for fattening by rail. The Last stock train ran in 1985. The CN rail track was still in use in August 1998. This photograph shows the spur running east and down grade to a stockyard owned by BC Interior Cattlemen's Association. Additional information is available in article, "Moving Livestock by Rail: An inquiry into an extinct traffic" in The Sandhouse journal, Issue 121, Spring 2006.
Photograph depicts a case traction engine that was built in 1915 located at Three Valley Gap Motel, some 15 miles west of Revelstoke. It is steamed for a few days each year and was used continuously to 1959 by Mr. Dale of Saskatchewan.
Photograph depicts what was believed to be locomotive #3 that was built by Jeffrey and was found on the main yard line.
Photograph depicts 3-truck Shay locomotive #114 at the Vancouver Wharves Ltd. in North Vancouver. It was built in July 1928 as #3320. The ability of geared locomotives to exert maximum traction at low speeds was an asset when moving loaded grain cars to dockside elevators. The shay did this work until its boiler certificate expired. The hut at night contains a vertical steam boiler which appears to heat the fuel oil for locomotives coming from a fixed rail tank car.
Map depicts location of treasure hidden between Clearwater and Clemina, BC.
Map depicts the Shuswap Lakes, Rogers Pass, Kamloops, Yellowhead Pass, Thompson Valley, and the Nicola Valley. Also includes the first clues to a treasure hunt.
File consists of research material relating to the Canadian National Railway trestle and embankment at Lyon Creek. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works by Davies: "Embankment, or the tale of Buried Treasure and a Lost Locomotive" and "Embankment Update". Also includes information on the 0-4-0 contractor's locomotive #25 "Samson", which David Davies believed had been used in the construction of the embankment at Lyon Creek (further research has determined this speculation to be unfounded).
Photograph depicts Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway trackage in Courtenay. In another 200 yards, it was the northerly point the railway ever reached. Both lines were not in use north of the Courtenay station. The line on the left was the main one, while the one on the right was an industrial spur or siding.
Photograph depicts the Sea Cadets Corps Amphion of Nanaimo marching in the 1970 Nanaimo May Day Parade near Comox Road. The Corps is doing a "Present Arms" and are in "Close March" formation. This is a salute, likely as they pass the parade review platform. The newly built Tally-Ho Lodge is in the background, suggesting that the Corps is marching south on Terminal Ave. at Comox Road intersection, having just crossed the Millstream Bridge. Terminal Ave. is also the official Trans-Canada Highway (1962-1971), which was still very new at this time.
File consists of maps of the Pacific Great Eastern (PGE) and BC Rail (BCR) trackage in British Columbia, which consist of photocopy reproductions and hand drawn works by Davies. Includes maps of PGE/BCR track in various B.C. cities (Fort St. John, Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Squamish, 100 Mile House, Lillooet, Fort Nelson, Williams Lake, West Vancouver, Quesnel); maps of PGE/BCR track at various times (1973, 1986); and maps of the Dease Lake extension.
File consists of documents relating to the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), which predominantly consist of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes a chronology of the history of PGE, a list of sub-contractors who completed the Squamish sub-division, "PGE/BCR: Dease Lake Extension First 25 Years, 1968 to 1993", and "P.G.E.R. 1914 to 1923: Progressive Dates of Commencement of Passenger Service".
File consists of research material regarding Pacific Great Eastern Railway and BC Rail Dease Lake extension. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "PGE/BCR: Dease Lake Extension - First 25 Years, 1968 to 1993"; PGE/BCR Dease Lake Branch Progress at end of 1974; "Dease Lake or Bust: BC Rail's Takla Sub, a Socred Mega-Project, Lives On" by Johnson; and "To Alaska or Bust on a Mixed Train: Was BCR's Dease Lake line too late...or too early?" by Patterson and McMillan. Also includes a map of the Dease Lake extension annotated by Davies.
Map depicts the routes of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, showing stations, railway connection, and the PGE Microwave Communication System.
Map depicts the route of BC Rail and its connecting rail lines.
Photograph depicts Pioneer Sash and Door Company Ltd. Davies suggests that it may have been the same as S.C. Smith Ltd., which commenced operating in Vernon in 1883. In the early days, products were verandah posters, balusters, and fancy trim. Most products were sent to the U.S. Most of the fancy trim in early north Okanagan homes came from this plant. In 1972, its main output was cedar panelling for Florida.
Photograph depicts the CPR depot at Proctor, located at mile 117.5 from Cranbrook on the Nelson Subdivision. David Davies notes: "The view is looking east and shows the spur at right leading to a barge slip on Kootenay Lake. The majority of the spur rails here are dated 1908-1910." An updated description provided by a subject expert suggests that this view is actually looking west.
Photograph depicts water car #415319 standing on a little used spur in Nelson. It consists of a locomotive tender mounted on a flat car. It could be used as a firefighting unit, but it is merely lettered "service."
Photograph depicts a typical section shed scene anywhere in B.C. It was taken on the C.P.R. track near Flat Creek or Illecillewaet, between Rogers Pass and Revelstoke. The April 25, 1965 CPR Employee timetable lists the mileage at Illecillewaet as 98.2.
Photograph depicts a C.P.R. eastbound freight train at passing loop at Illecillewaet, between Rogers Pass and Revelstoke. The April 25, 1965 CPR Employee timetable lists the mileage at Illecillewaet as 98.2 with a siding capacity of 85 cars. The view in this photograph is taken from a string of work cars on the siding.
Photograph depicts the C.P.R. westbound freight train at passing loop at Illecillewaet, between Rogers Pass and Revelstoke. The April 25, 1965 CPR Employee timetable lists the mileage at Illecillewaet as 98.2 with a siding capacity of 85 cars.
The David Davies Railway Collection encompasses all facets of railway history specifically in the province of British Columbia and the Yukon territory. The collection consists of research material accumulated over the course of more than fifty years, and includes monographs, periodicals, articles, clippings, railway timetables, photographs, maps and plans, and excerpts. Material covers public, tourist, and private (industrial) railways, including: CPR, KVR, E&N; CNR, CNoR, GTPR; and PGER, BCR. The collection excludes material regarding streetcar systems and rapid transit, but includes long distance electric interurbans.
Photograph depicts the B.C. Electric Railway swing bridge at False Creek on the west side looking north.
Photograph depicts a double-use bridge across the Fraser River at Hope, BCon the north side of the village. The upper deck carries road traffic and the lower deck the C.P.R. rail line leading to the Kettle Valley Line. View looking north.
Photograph depicts a reaction ferry over the Fraser River, located just north of Lytton. The east bank leads to the Lytton-Lillooet road, while the west bank is a dead-end road 20 miles long along the river shelf.
Photograph depicts a rail bridge carrying the C.N.R. track over the Thompson River at Lytton, BCThe bridge is at the confluence of Fraser River and Thompson River. View looking north.
Photograph depicts the North Bend Ferry (Aerial Cage) at Boston Bar in the Fraser Canyon. The capacity of the aerial cage is 1 car or truck, or 40 passengers. Vehicle height clearance: 12 feet. Load-limit: 3 tons gross. Schedule: On call 24 hours. Rates: Car with driver, 25 cents; truck with driver, 50 cents; passenger, 5 cents.
Photograph depicts a double-use bridge across the Fraser River at Hope, BCon the north side of the village. The upper deck carries road traffic and the lower deck the C.P.R. rail line. View looking north.
Photograph depicts a former Great Northern Railway bridge carrying a single track over the Similkameen River, between Keremeos and Hedley. The bridge is about 2-3 miles west of Keremeos.
Photograph depicts a bridge over Scotch Creek on the north shore of Shuswap Lake about 10 miles northeast of Squilax.
Photograph depicts a former Great Northern Railway bridge, which carried the line over the Similkameen River between Keremeos and Hedley. The bridge is about 2-3 miles west of Keremeos.
Photograph depicts the bridge over the south Thompson River at Squilax where the road connects Squilax Village with a First Nations reservation on the north bank (photo background). The overhead truss in the center span was created to give clearance to paddle sternwheelers.
Photograph depicts bridge over the Similkameen River between Hedley and Keremeos. The bridge leads to Ashnola and the photograph taken from the south bank.
Photograph depicts bridge over the Similkameen River between Hedley and Keremeos. The bridge leads to Ashnola and the photograph taken from the northwest looking south.
Photograph depicts Spences Bridge on the Thompson River and the only surviving pier of the earlier Spences' Bridge. View looking at east bank.