08-26-2023, 06:38 PM
I thought I'd post some pictures that I took on the Myra Canyon section of the Kettle Valley Railway a few weeks ago. The section was abandonned in the mid-seventies with the rails pulled up in the late seventies. It soon became an informal hiking trail with 18 trestles and two tunnels. in 2003 there was a major forest fire in the area and most of the trestles burned but both the federal and Provicial goverments stepped in and had the trestles rebuilt to near original specs. The bents look almost the same but some of the lumber is slightly dimensionally smaller.
It you are in the area, it's a good morning or afternoon trip. it takes about 30-45 minutes from downtown Kelowna and a bike ride from one end of tyhe canyon to the other and back is a couple hours (about 24 km)
This is the largest trestle in the Canyon, it was one that was destroyed and rebuilt. The one thing that I take away is there are no dramatic rock 'steps' between the trestle bents, just slopes with grass and other vegitation.
Another thing to notice is the concrete footings at the base of each bent. Even the surviving trestles have concrete footings.
This is one of the original trestles. It too has concrete footings and fairly gentle slopes. This trestle had been dowsed with fire retardant to save it and was stained a redish color for a number of years afterward.
This is my Favorite Trestle in the Canyon. It's a very unique 's' shape and it has a mix of rock faces and slopes. This is the one that I study the most when I'm cycling through.
There is a very rough trail so I could climb down one side of trestle. That's my bike in the middle of the trestle.
A look at the bottom of the bents and footings.
And the one end of the trestle. I saw that while this end had no real abuttment, the other side has a concrete abutment and other trestles had timber abutments.
And even though I don't have a tunnel on the module, I thought I'd include a picture of one.
I'm planning on using this as inspiration on my home layout. I like the idea of a railway clinging to the side of a canyon running in and out of a tunnel on it's edge.
It you are in the area, it's a good morning or afternoon trip. it takes about 30-45 minutes from downtown Kelowna and a bike ride from one end of tyhe canyon to the other and back is a couple hours (about 24 km)
This is the largest trestle in the Canyon, it was one that was destroyed and rebuilt. The one thing that I take away is there are no dramatic rock 'steps' between the trestle bents, just slopes with grass and other vegitation.
Another thing to notice is the concrete footings at the base of each bent. Even the surviving trestles have concrete footings.
This is one of the original trestles. It too has concrete footings and fairly gentle slopes. This trestle had been dowsed with fire retardant to save it and was stained a redish color for a number of years afterward.
This is my Favorite Trestle in the Canyon. It's a very unique 's' shape and it has a mix of rock faces and slopes. This is the one that I study the most when I'm cycling through.
There is a very rough trail so I could climb down one side of trestle. That's my bike in the middle of the trestle.
A look at the bottom of the bents and footings.
And the one end of the trestle. I saw that while this end had no real abuttment, the other side has a concrete abutment and other trestles had timber abutments.
And even though I don't have a tunnel on the module, I thought I'd include a picture of one.
I'm planning on using this as inspiration on my home layout. I like the idea of a railway clinging to the side of a canyon running in and out of a tunnel on it's edge.