Field Trip - The Last Spike at Craigellachie

Click on each image for a closer look!
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On November 7, 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway's trans-continental route to the Pacific Ocean was completed with the driving of the last spike at Craigellachie in British Columbia. Today that spot lies beside the Trans-Canada Highway #1 just west of the city of Revelstoke where the CPR tracks parallel the highway. There on a trip to B.C. in July of this year I found a small park with a caboose, monument, several buildings, a gift shop and a viewing platform from which to watch the CPR trains go by. The short piece of track in front of the gift shop is accompanied by a railway spiking hammer so that visitors can take a whack at driving in spikes while being photographed by their family and friends.
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The park is managed by the Revelstoke Railway Museum which will be the topic of an upcoming TRHA news item as I visited it as well.
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There also was a large reproduction (as seen below) of the famous photograph of the last spike being driven. Note the small boy in the centre of the photo. He will also be the topic of an upcoming TRHA News item so watch for it!
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For more information about the "Last Spike" click here. For more information on the building of the CPR, read Derek Boles' multi part series on Pierre Berton's books - The National Dream and The Last Spike by clicking here.
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Click here to read the next TRHA News posting on this famous site and the event!
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Posting and Pictures by Russ Milland
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