CP Bridge | |
|---|---|
 BCER system map | |
| Coordinates | 49°11′57″N123°7′36″W / 49.19917°N 123.12667°W |
| Carries | 1 railway track |
| Crosses | Fraser River north arm |
| Locale | Marpole–Richmond |
| Maintained by | Canadian Pacific Railway |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Swing bridge |
| Rail characteristics | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Electrified | Yes |
| Location | |
 | |
The Marpole CP Rail Bridge is a partially dismantled crossing over the north arm of the Fraser River, and River Dr., in Metro Vancouver.
The Marpole road bridge was a nearby sequence of separate structures dating from 1889.
Once the Vancouver & Lulu Island Railway, controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), completed the rail bridge in May 1902, work trains carried the steel rails over the river to lay track on Lulu Island. [1] The route proceeded due south from the bridge along today's Garden City Rd. and west along Granville Ave., before south on Railway Ave. The steel swing span railway bridge linked north Eburne with Richmond, and the then important community, port and canneries at Steveston. Created primarily to serve the canneries, the line was not the anticipated commercial success, because the companies preferred shipping directly by sea. Using steam locomotives, the twice daily Vancouver–Steveston mixed trains began that year, [2] but the CP enthusiasm for electrification indicated a desire to off-load the service. [3]
In 1905, the British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) leased and electrified the line, [2] as it later would with a new branch to New Westminster. [4] The respective interurbans operated Vancouver–Marpole (formerly Eburne) (1905–52), Marpole–Steveston (1905–58), and Marpole–New Westminster (1909–56). [5] During the early years, the Steveston tram ran hourly. Freight largely comprised smaller loads of way freight. [6] [7] By 1921, spurs to several customers existed near the northern and southern bridge approaches. [8]
Owing to the proximity of several bridges on the Fraser, the unique signal for opening the then called British Columbia Electric Bridge on the North Arm, was four long and two short blasts on the vessel's horn. [9]
By the end of passenger service in 1958, freight comprised boxcar loads, such as fish oil, often hauled by electric locomotives, soon to become an all diesel fleet on the removal of the overhead power wire. [6] BC Hydro, the successor (1962) to BCER, changed the route in 1965. At the southern bridge approach, the freight track now paralleled the Fraser westward, at a distance of up to 230 metres (755 ft) from the shoreline, before continuing south to join at the Granville/Railway junction. This catered to the Brighouse Industrial Estate, and the Van Horne Industrial Estate surrounding the foot of the bridge. [10] That year, bridge maintenance comprised the renewal of four protection piers and work on the southern approach trestle. [11] In 1967, when a barge carrying wood chips struck a steel support, the 32.3-metre (106 ft) swing span collapsed into the river. [12]
Abandoned, the original north Richmond route was sold to the municipality. Any remaining track was buried on the raising of arterial roads for flood protection. In decline for decades, Steveston freight handling ceased in the 1970s, which effectively ended all traffic to points west of No. 2 Rd. In 1986, BCER relinquished its lease on the track. [10]
In 1992, the railway crossing was lifted during the No. 2 Road Bridge construction. [10] By this time, apart from those No. 2 Rd–Steveston sections already sold, such as the Lynas Lane city works yard, the remaining track was largely overgrown with dense bramble and 6-metre (20 ft) high birch. A few years later, this track was lifted.
By 2002, the only active spur south of Cambie Rd. was Canadian Firelog beside No. 2 Rd., but Ebco Industries (7851 Alderbridge Way) experienced limited use. By 2007, the two major customer spurs were Univar (River Dr./Van Horne Way), and Fraser River Terminals (opposite on River Dr.). Columbia Foam (9500 Van Horne Way) received infrequent service. [13]
In 2006, the city purchased the No. 2 Rd–Capstan Way section, allowing CP use to Gilbert Rd. until 2010, but immediately ended service to Canadian Firelog. In realigning River Rd. and developing the Richmond Olympic Oval site, the track southwest of Hollybridge Way was lifted. [14] That year, the Canada Line Operations and Maintenance Centre site was prepared. This involved the demolition of several warehouses, and the rerouting of CP tracks between the southern approaches for the CP Rail and North Arm SkyTrain bridges. [15]
In 2010, the city purchased the Railway Ave. stretch, [16] which opened exclusively as a greenway in 2013, [17] quashing any prospects of restoring light rail. [18] [19]
In 2014, the track southwest of the bridge, unused at least since 2010, was lifted along the long curve passing beneath the Canada Line, and for the remainder southwest of the Richmond Marina. That year, a hot and fast fire, possibly started by vandals, destroyed a 100-metre (330 ft) section of the creosote-treated wooden trestle approach on the Marpole side. The thick smoke temporarily closed the Oak Street Bridge, and impacted Vancouver International Airport flights. [20] In failing to repair the structure, CP violated its obligations of providing a weekly service to Univar, one of the country’s biggest chemical distributors, isolated by the incident. [21]
In 2016, the right-of-way north of Marpole, inactive for over a decade, was sold to become the Arbutus Greenway. [7] [22] After a barge collision that year, CP removed the swing span within days, [23] [24] and its platform in 2017. [25] The track west of the Ontario St. yard appears unused.
Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. It occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island, between the two estuarine distributaries of the Fraser River. Encompassing the adjacent Sea Island and several other smaller islands and uninhabited islets to its north and south, it neighbours Vancouver and Burnaby on the Burrard Peninsula to the north, New Westminster and Annacis Island to the east, Delta to the south, and the Strait of Georgia to the west.
The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company, the BCER assumed control of existing streetcar and interurban lines in southwestern British Columbia in 1897, and operated the electric railway systems in the region until the last interurban service was discontinued in 1958. During and after the streetcar era, BC Electric also ran bus and trolleybus systems in Greater Vancouver and bus service in Greater Victoria; these systems subsequently became part of BC Transit, and the routes in Greater Vancouver eventually came under the control of TransLink. Trolley buses still run in the City of Vancouver with one line extending into Burnaby.
Rogers Pass is a high mountain pass through the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, but the term also includes the approaches used by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and the Trans-Canada Highway. In the heart of Glacier National Park, this tourism destination since 1886 is a National Historic Site.
The Connaught Tunnel is in southeastern British Columbia, on the Revelstoke–Donald segment. The 5.022-mile (8.082 km) tunnel carries the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) main line under Mount Macdonald in the Selkirk Mountains, replacing the previous routing over Rogers Pass.
Steveston, founded in the 1880s, is a neighbourhood of Richmond in Metro Vancouver. On the southwest tip of Lulu Island, the village is a historic port and salmon canning centre at the mouth of the South Arm of the Fraser River. The early 1900s style architecture attracts both the film and tourism industries.
Spuzzum is an unincorporated community in the lower Fraser Canyon area of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The place is on the west shore of the Fraser River and north shore of Spuzzum Creek. The locality, on BC Highway 1, is by road about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Hope and 69 kilometres (43 mi) south of Lytton.
The Arthur Laing Bridge is a crossing over the north arm of the Fraser River, and several minor roads, in Metro Vancouver.
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The Oak Street Bridge is a crossing over the north arm of the Fraser River, the Canada Line, and several roads, in Metro Vancouver.
Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River, located south of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and the second-most populous island in British Columbia, after Vancouver Island. The city of Richmond occupies most of the island, while a small section at the eastern tip, known as Queensborough, is part of the city of New Westminster.
The Moray Bridge, also known as the Moray Channel Bridge, and formerly the Middle Arm Bridge, is a crossing over the middle arm of the Fraser River in Metro Vancouver. Richard Moody, who would name geographical features, such as this channel, after acquaintances, honoured Jonathan Moray (1824–84), a sergeant in the Corps of Royal Engineers, and later the New Westminster police chief.
Marpole, originally a Musqueam village named c̓əsnaʔəm, is a mostly residential neighbourhood of 23,832 in 2011, located on the southern edge of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, immediately northeast of Vancouver International Airport, and is approximately bordered by Angus Drive to the west, 57th Avenue to the north, Ontario Street to the east and the Fraser River to the south. It has undergone many changes in the 20th century, with the influx of traffic and development associated with the construction of the Oak Street Bridge and the Arthur Laing Bridge.
The Dinsmore Bridge is a crossing over the middle arm of the Fraser River, and a former section of River Rd., in Metro Vancouver.
Opened in 1931, the Canadian National Railway (CNR) steel truss swing span railway bridge over the north arm of the Fraser River in Metro Vancouver links Burnaby with Richmond and the south arm Vancouver Fraser Port Authority facilities on Lulu Island.
Marpole Loop is a public transit exchange in the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The exchange is a part of Metro Vancouver's TransLink transit network. It is the southernmost transit exchange located within the city of Vancouver.
Brighouse is a neighbourhood that comprises most of the urban core of Richmond in Metro Vancouver. The area includes community facilities, civic offices, Richmond Centre, and the Canada Line Richmond–Brighouse station terminus.
The Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway (VV&E) was a railway line proposed to connect Metro Vancouver with the Kootenays, in Canada. After acquisition by the Great Northern Railway (GN), most of the route was built, but a passenger through service, using the arranged running rights on the tracks of other companies, never transpired.
The Ladner Ferry was a crossing of the south arm of the Fraser River in Metro Vancouver, linking Ladner with Richmond. It operated from 1913 until 1959, when it was replaced by the George Massey Tunnel.
The Marpole Bridge (1889–1957), a.k.a. Eburne Bridge, North Arm Bridge, Sea Island Bridge, or Middle Arm Bridge, was consecutive crossings over the north and middle arms of the Fraser River in Metro Vancouver.
