page_title: Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia
section_title: 1885: the critical year
hierarchical_section_title: Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia / Construction / 1885: the critical year
caption_attribution_description: English: A Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive exiting the Lower Spiral Tunnel. The spirals are about 1100 feet in diameter and trains over 85 cars pass over themselves, as shown here. Deutsch: Ein Güterzug der CPR mit 85 Wagen verlässt den unteren der zwei Spiral Tunnels. Oberhalb des Tunnelportals sieht man das hintere Ende des Zuges.
context_page_description: The Canadian Pacific Railway is a Canadian Class I railway that stretches from Montreal, Quebec, to Vancouver, British Columbia. The British Columbia portion of the railway was constructed between 1881 and 1885, fulfilling a promise extended to BC when it entered Confederation in 1871. For decades, it was the only practical means of long–distance passenger transport in Canada.
context_section_description: The ongoing cost of construction crews, crossing mountains, rivers and the Canadian Shield completely undid construction estimates and the CPR was nearly bankrupt in 1885. To prevent financial ruin CPR crews stopped building in masonry and steel,  opting for tree-pole construction with bridge trestles built from nearby trees.  Snowsheds, easy routings and sidings were omitted to reduce costs. Only the intervention of Lord Revelstoke of Barings Bank of London with another loan gave the CPR enough financing to finish the job. The greatest disadvantage of the route was in Kicking Horse Pass. In the first 6 km (3.7 mi) west of the 1,625-metre high (5,331 ft) summit, the Kicking Horse River drops 350 metres (1,148 ft). The steep drop would force the cash-strapped CPR to build a 7-kilometre (4.3 mi)-long stretch of track with a very steep 4.5% gradient when it reached the pass in 1884. This was over four times the maximum gradient recommended for railways of this era; even modern railways rarely exceed a 2% gradient. However, this route was far more direct than one through the Yellowhead Pass and saved hours for both passengers and freight. This section of track was the Big Hill. Safety switches were installed at several points, the speed limit for descending trains was set at 10 km/h (6.2 mph) and special locomotives were ordered. Despite these measures, several serious runaways still occurred. CPR officials insisted that this was a temporary expediency, but this state of affairs would last for 25 years until the completion of the Spiral Tunnels in the early 20th century.
caption: Lower portal of "Number Two" tunnel, Spiral Tunnels, Field, British Columbia. The locomotives are passing under the train they are pulling.
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