Completely revised since it was first published, "McCulloch's Wonder" is the classic story of a classic rail line.
Conceived in the late 1880s as a route to allow the mines of the Kootenay District of Southern British Columbia access to the coast and Vancouver, the Kettle Valley Railway became an epic struggle of personalities, politics, finance and geography. Over half a dozen governments rose or fell on issues related to its development and construction. Approximately 100 workers died building and operating it. The Kettle Valley Railway earned its nickname, McCulloch's Wonder, from the railway's chief engineer, Andre McCulloch, who built the remarkable railway across the backbone of three mountain ranges and some of the most rugged river canyons on the face of the earth/ A number of people called it the most difficult and expensive railway ever built.
The tracks of the Kettle Valley Railway are now gone. All but a few miles have been torn away and discarded. But the exciting tale of this fascinating railway lives on in Barrie Sanford's enduring and detailed account of its birth, life and demise.
Printed in Canada.