Gary Runka was a hobbyist photographer and documented his work and personal life through photography as he travelled across every region of British Columbia. His photographs document the evolution of British Columbia communities and regions over a 30 year period. Gary Runka's core interest was land and changing land uses. Many of his photographs tell a story of urban edge and/or natural resource compatibility/conflict. There are also a substantial number of photographs related to soils, including soil profiles, soil erosion and land (topography, drainage etc.) capability for agriculture. The collection also includes specific client-related photos, tied to Land Sense Ltd. client file job numbers.
The collection also documents personal travels and hiking trips throughout British Columbia and backpacking in some historic areas, such as the West Coast Trail and Cape Scott. These photographs also represent land evolution over time, including extent of alpine glaciation or biodiversity/plant species inhabiting the area.
Series consists of material regarding various train types and uses, including passenger trains and freight trains. Also includes information about train handling, train yards, and switching.
File consists of research material regarding the practical aspects of operating passenger trains, which predominantly consist of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes information on equipment, running, maintenance, routes, speeds, and car weights. Also provides visuals of various passenger trains.
File consists of research material regarding named passenger trains, which predominantly consist of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes information on CP's The Canadian, CP's The Dominion, CN's Continental Limited, PGE's North Country Limited, and CN's Super Continental.
File consists of research material regarding freight trains, which predominantly consist of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes information on CNR freight and mixed train service, freight tonnage, freight scheduling, and train numbers.
File consists of research material regarding train handling, which predominantly consist of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes information on directional running of trains, end-of-train devices, caboose handling, pushers, and other aspects.
File consists of documents regarding accident statistics, which predominantly consist of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes statistics on railway crossings, trespassing, derailments, and railway-related injuries and fatalities.
Series consists of information about the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia, including its history, construction, statistics, and branches.
Subseries consists of material regarding the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia, which runs from the Alberta border to Vancouver, from 1900 to the present. Includes information about branches from the main line, such as the Arrow Lakes branch, Okanagan branch, Mission branch, and New Westminster branch.
File consists of general research material regarding the Canadian Pacific Railway main line (from the Alberta border to Vancouver) from 1900 to the present. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "Runaway in the Rockies" by D. Wood; "Clanwilliam Bridge Project Recalls Changes to CPR Line" by Meridew; "CP Rail to Start Double-Tracking its Main Line" by Wilson; "The Electric Block System in CPR's Connaught Tunnel" by Davies; "Railroading Life in Harrison Mills" by Nicklason; "Memories of Notch Hill"; "Steam Hauled Silk Trains" by Cote; and "Last Permanent Pusher Service on CPR" by Dewar.
File consists of depictions of the Canadian Pacific Railway main line (from the Alberta border to Vancouver). Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, postcards, and clippings from periodicals.
File consists of research material regarding branches off the Canadian Pacific Railway main line in British Columbia. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes information on the Arrow Lakes branch (Revelstoke to Arrowhead); the Okanagan branch (Sicamous to Okanagan Landing); the Mission branch (Mission City to Huntingdon); and the New Westminster branch (Coquitlam to New Westminster).
File consists of a proposal and correspondence to and from David Davies with the City of Penticton regarding the preservation of a section of CP trackage as a tourist attraction in the vicinity of Penticton to Faulder.
Series consists of research material regarding the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway. Includes information about the history of the E&N, CPR operation of the railway up to 1998, and the operation of the E&N after 1998 and its demise. Also includes public timetables and forms.
File consists of general histories of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "A Historic Guide to the E & N Railway" by Baird; "List of E & N Stations"; "E&N Developments on Vancouver Island" by Davies; "Trackside, Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway" by MacLachlan; and "Vancouver Island's Railways" by Bob Turner.
File consists of miscellaneous research material related to the Canadian National Railway. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "Prince George Terminal Operating Manual" effective August 2009; "CN Transportation of Dangerous Goods" effective August 2009; "Rail Customers of CNR in BC in 1977 who had Spur/Siding Access" by Davies; "Inventory of CNR Stations in British Columbia c. 1975"; and "CN Wins BCR Freight Operations: Anatomy of the Deal" by Ian Smith. Also includes CN Rail Mountain Region Time Table 14 effective June 1, 1981.
File consists of research material relating to the British Columbia North Line (Jasper to Prince Rupert) after it switched to Canadian National Railway ownership in 1922. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "The British Columbia Northeast Coal Development Project: A Canadian National Perspective" by Patterson; "Destiny's Railroad" by Neuberger; "CNR in McBride area"; "Canadian National's Tete Jaune Cut-off Project" by Patterson; "Kwinitsa Depot, CNR, as at July 1980" by Davies; "History of Track Upgradings on CNR North Line (Jasper to Prince Rupert), 1945-1985" by Davies; "The Port of Prince Rupert" by Patterson; "Prince George: The Railway Hub of Central British Columbia" by Bernsohn and Lill; "Doin' the Fraser" by Patterson; "Canada's Armoured Train"; and "No. 1 Armoured Train" by Grimshaw.
File consists of research material relating to the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway bridge at Prince George. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "Not 'A Bridge Too Far' But One Far Enough, or, How the G.T.P. Crossed the Fraser at Prince George, British Columbia" by Davies; "Date Plotting Chart, CN Bridge--Prince George" by Davies; copied extracts from a field pocket book of J.G. Legrand, Chief Bridge Engineer; and "Building Bridge Substructures on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway" by Ruegnitz. Also includes a 1998 Rand McNally Prince George city map.
File consists of research material relating to the Canadian National Railway Okanagan branch infrastructure and operation. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, clippings from periodicals, and notes. Includes the following works: "CNR Kamloops-Armstrong Branch Line: Monte Lake" by Davies; "CP Okanagan Subdivision/CN Okanagan Subdivision/CN Lumby Subdivision"; "Okanagan Branch"; and "Trains to the Okanagan" by Jim Hope.
File consists of research material relating to Canadian National Railway Okanagan branch locomotives and self-propelled cars. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, clippings from periodicals, and notes. Includes the following works: "M-3 Consolidations and the Significance of #2141 to Railroading in the Kamloops Region" by Bert Hyde; "Steam Locomotives Observed on Branch for 1926 through 1958"; and "The CNR Jitneys of Kamloops: 1920-1950" by Davies.
File consists of research material regarding the Pacific Great Eastern Railway up until its transition to the British Columbia Railway in 1971. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "Diverging Lines: The PGE at Lillooet" by Johnson and Hind; "Bridge River and the Pacific Great Eastern Railway" by Hind; "Passenger Fares, PGE, late 1958" by Davies; "P.G.E. between Quesnel and Prince George: Original Routing" by Davies; "The PGE Iron Ore Spur at Alta Lake and the Iron King Mine: PGE's First Bulk Mineral Shipper" by Johnson; "1931 PGER Deviation at Lillooet" by Davies; "Ballad of the P.G.E." by Harry Hopkins; "PGE's Shalalth Auto Ferry Service" by Hind; and "How the P.G.E. Changed my Life" by Basil Franey. Also includes information on the PGER dock at Squamish, the PGE in Lillooet, and the PGE's name train 'North Country Limited'.
File consists of research material regarding the BC Electric Railway interurbans, including the Fraser Valley line and the Lulu Island line. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Contains the following works: "Traction Substations" by Waddington; "By Interurban to Chilliwack: Memories of a 1949 Ride" by Hind; "How the Interurbans Came Home to British Columbia" by Turner; "How the Rule of the Road was Changed in British Columbia" by the British Columbia Electric Railway Company; "By BCER Interurban to Fraser Mills" by Smith; "Our Centurions" by Webster; "How Three BCER Electric Freight Locomotives were Cornered Near Vancouver's Downtown" by Davies; "British Columbia Electric Railway Company Limited" by Ewert; "The Rebirth of 1231" by Murphy; "Interurban Era Ends with 1958 Run to Steveston" by Ewert; "Preserved BCER Interurban Station Shelters" by Green; "BCER's Connaught Car Back Home After 50 Years"; "1957 Recollections of B.C.E.R. Interurban Line from Marpole to Steveston, Greater Vancouver" by Davies; "Series 'Six Hundreds'" by Murphy; and "The Montreal and Southern Counties Railway" by T.C.H. Smith. Also includes a February 21, 1958 issue (vol. 43, no. 8) of "The Buzzer", the weekly publication of the British Columbia Electric Railway Company.
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.
Series consists of articles and clippings regarding short line railways in British Columbia. Includes information about the Southern Railway of British Columbia, the Kelowna Pacific Railway, the Okanagan Valley Railway, the Kaslo and Slocan Railway, the Northern Alberta Railway, the Victoria and Sidney Railway, and the Mt. Sicker Railway, among others.
File consists of research material regarding short line railways in British Columbia. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "Short Lines in BC in 2011" by Davies; "A Study in Extremes" by Blanchard; "Morrissey Fernie & Michel Railway: Great Northern Coal from Crows Nest Mines" by Burrows; "Locomotives for the Little Guys: From Steam to GE 70-tonners and from SD40-2s to Gensets, it's all Pulling Power for Shortline and Regional Railroads" by Lustig; "Vancouver Harbour Commissioners Terminal Railway and, after 1 Jan. 1936, National Harbours Board" notes compiled by Davies; "Historical Evolution of Rail Network in B.C." draft maps by Davies; "The Canadian North Eastern Railway (Originally The Portland Canal Short Line Railway)" by Mervyn Green and Douglas Smith; "Taku Tramway, 1900 to 1937: BC's Shortest 'Short Line' railway at 2.3 miles" by Davies; and "Stewart, B.C. and the C.N.E.R." by Mervyn Green and Robert D. Turner. Also includes two booklets published by the BCRHA: "The Cordwood Limited: A History of the Victoria & Sidney Railway" by Hearn and Wilkie, and "Shays on the Switchbacks: A History of the Narrow Gauge Lenora, Mt. Sicker Railway" by White and Wilkie.
File consists of research material regarding the Northern Alberta Railway in British Columbia. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "Sixty Years to the Peace, 1916-1976" by George France; "End of an Era" by Marsh; "Northern Alberta Railways: Its History, as it Related to its most Westerly Branch that Terminates at Dawson Creek" compiled by Davies; "A Historical Tour of the N.A.R. Station"; and "Thunder in Peace River Country - The Last Great West: Canadian National's Former Northern Alberta Railways Lines" by Kozma and Bohi.
File consists of general research material regarding railway passengers. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes information about the decline in North American passenger traffic in the 1950s and 1960s, how conductors should deal with problematic passengers, passenger experiences, and fare ticketing.
File consists of material regarding rail freight based on location. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "Rail Customers of CNR in BC in 1977 who had Spur/Siding Access" compiled by Davies; "PGE/BCR Freight Customers, 1957-1994" compiled by Davies; "Shippers on the Marpole Industrial Lead"; "CPR Freight Customers" compiled by Davies; "List of Sawmills/Plywood Plants in BC since 1960s" compiled by Davies; and a October 1, 1950 Canadian Freight Association Western Lines Pamphlet No. 15 "Outlining Regulations Governing Traffic Handled Under Weight Agreements and List of Weight Agreements in Effect".
File consists of material regarding freight transport for the automobile industry. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "Outgoing Automobile Rail Traffic in BC" by Davies and "Railroads and the Automobile Age" by Jim Hediger.
File consists of material regarding miscellaneous freight transport. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes information about freight from abattoirs and meat packing plants, scrap metal yards, feed mills, and other businesses.
File consists of material regarding the rail-related aspects of livestock cartage. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes information about SPCA inspections, stock car accidents, shipping cattle and sheep by rail, weight of livestock, stockmen on trains, livestock loading, the last stock car shipment in Canada, stockyards, ranching in the southern interior plateau of British Columbia, hay feeding, other details relating to stock trains. Also includes a book chapter by David Davies entitled "Cowtown and Railcity" about Kamloops' connection with rail livestock cartage.
File consists of material regarding related details about shipping livestock by rail. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes information about meat packing, dressed meat weights, ranching industry in BC, meat inspection, meat consumption in BC and Canada, the meat processing industry in BC before 1947, and livestock movement.
File consists of material regarding livestock cartage in the United States. Moving livestock by rail was developed in the United States and later evolved in Canada. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes information about the stock cars of the Santa Fe Railway, Rio Grande narrow gauge stock cars, South Pacific stock cars, Eastern stock cars, and other early American stock cars.
Subseries consists of information about saltwater rail ferries off the coast of British Columbia. Includes information about the Canadian National rail ferry, the S.S. Canora, which was built by the Canadian Northern Railway. Also includes information about saltwater rail ferries and barge operations run by the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, and the Alaska Trainship Company.
File consists of general material regarding steam and diesel industrial railway locomotives. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes information about various industrial locomotives, such as those manufactured by Plymouth, General Electric, Davenport, Whitcomb, Vulcan Iron Works, Baldwin, Trackmobile, Dominion, and others. Also includes the following works: "Mining and Tunnelling Locomotives in British Columbia Today" by Mervyn T. Green; "Industrial Strength Railfanning" by Fred Clark; "Non-Steam Industrial Locomotives of B.C.: Part 1 and Introduction" by Jeremy Lambert; "Fort George Railway"; "Gen-set Units Make the Scene on Vancouver Waterfront"; and "List (Incomplete) of Narrow Gauge Locomotives Used by Contractors Building Railways in BC in period 1905-1925" compiled by Davies.
File consists of material regarding compressed air locomotives. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes background notes by Davies on compressed air locomotives in British Columbia.
File consists of material regarding the Hillcrest Lumber Company Limited and its leased rail line. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals. Includes information about the steam locomotives of the Hillcrest Lumber Company, the rail line from the mill at Honeymoon Bay to the E&N/CPR branch line terminal at Cowichan Lake, and an article by Ian Smith entitled "B.C. Logging Line Set the Scene for Unique Fan-Trips".
File consists of material regarding the Comox Logging and Railway Company, which rafted timber to Fraser Mills, Coquitlam on the Fraser River. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, excerpts from books, and clippings from periodicals.
File consists of material regarding the preservation of interurban cars. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, pamphlets, and clippings from periodicals. Includes the following works: "The Downtown Historical Railway - A Look at Vancouver's Interurban Revival" by Webster; "BCER 1223 Joins in Trolley Revival" by McGeachie; and "The Downtown Vancouver Historic Railway" by Murphy.
File consists of material regarding cultural interpretations of railways, such as railway-related movies, poetry, drama, and art. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, pamphlets, excerpts from books, clippings from periodicals, a Christmas card. Includes an excerpt from "Waiting for the Light: Early Mountain Photography in British Columbia and Alberta, 1865-1939" by Silversides; an article by Doughty entitled "About a 'Boy in a Dining Car': How New York Central's company photographer helped Norman Rockwell create an American classic"; an excerpt from "Motion Picture Production in British Columbia: 1898-1940" by Browne; and a list of railway films depicting British Columbia.
File consists of material regarding the Canadian Railroad Historical Association (CRHA). Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, pamphlets, and clippings from periodicals, which were all produced by the association for the association.
File consists of material regarding Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum. Predominantly consists of photocopy reproductions, pamphlets, and clippings from periodicals.
Subseries consists of prints and negatives depicting railways in British Columbia, as well as a small selection of other subjects such as historical ships, buildings, vehicles, and bridges. All photographs created by David Davies.
Subseries consists of printed and photograph postcards depicting railways, buildings, ships, and other transportation in British Columbia.
This fonds illustrates the life and work of G. Gary Runka and his contributions to the province of British Columbia. Gary Runka was the first General Manager of British Columbia's Agricultural Land Commission and helped establish the provincial Agricultural Land Reserve. After transitioning from a government career to private consulting, Runka provided comprehensive professional services through his land consultancy business, G.G. Runka Land Sense Ltd., offering land capability and environmental assessments, integrated resource management, land and water use conflict resolution, and interdisciplinary land use planning. Described by colleagues as one of BC's most highly respected agrologists and influential land use planners, Runka had a 52-year career working on (or against) an incredible number of landmark projects in British Columbia, such as the Site C Project. Gary Runka’s partner in life and vocation, Joan M. Sawicki, worked with Gary on many of these projects—as well as her own; her contributions are also represented throughout the records of this fonds.
Gary Runka's deep connection to the land is evident from his earliest papers on aerial photo interpretation, his work with the Canada Land Inventory, through his speeches and his work establishing the BC Agricultural Land Reserve and in his subsequent consulting career through G.G. Runka Land Sense Ltd. Gary Runka's influence and legacy was recognized in the tributes paid after his death, including the post-humus award as the Real Estate Foundation's "Land Champion" for 2014.
The G. Gary Runka fonds has been divided into the following nine series:
1) Personal Records
2) Speeches & Publications
3) Professional Records
4) Agricultural Land Commission
5) Land Sense Ltd.
6) Client Files
7) Maps
8) Photographs
9) Digital Records
Series consists of records relating to G. Gary Runka's professional career development, interests, and involvement beyond his Land Sense Ltd. work. Runka was involved in many professional associations, including the Agricultural Institute of Canada, the B.C. Federation of Naturalists, the B.C. Institute of Agrologists, the Bella Coola Watershed Conservation Society, the Canadian Consulting Agrologists Association, the Canadian Institute of Forestry, the Canadian Society of Landscape Ecology and Management, the Grasslands Conservation Council of British Columbia, the Lambda Alpha International Society for Range Management, the Soil and Water Conservation Society, and the Wilderness Tourism Association, among others. Records include material relating to Runka's involvement with these professional associations, as well as collected professional resource material relating to agriculture and environment topics. Also includes Runka's business card collection.