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A Damn Shame

Rocky Mountaineer #614 cautiously descends the notorious Kelly Lake Hill, past the siding at Moran, BC. This stretch of the former BC Rail Lillooet Subdivision has to be one of the most scenic pieces of railroad in North America.

 

Since 2020 when CN embargoed freight service on 220 miles of the former BCR mainline, the Rocky Mountaineer is the only train scheduled to ply the rails between Exeter and Squamish, BC. This portion of the ex-BCR Squamish and Lillooet Subdivisions traverses many of the quintessential BCR environs including the Upper Fraser Canyon, Seton and Anderson Lakes, as well as the rugged Cheakamus Canyon.

 

For those who were lucky enough to visit this area prior to 2020 (or better yet in the BCR era!) the sights of long freight trains winding along narrow shelves along the edge of the canyon, or twisting along rocky lake shores, would be indelibly burned into your memory. The twice weekly passing of a five car luxo-barge passenger excursion pales drastically to the halcyon days of long lumber drags powered by tricoloured Alco and MLW motors, or shiny new cowled GE power.

 

Life is fickle though, and with news breaking last month that CN has formally began the process to completely discontinue use of this section of line permanently, those blue and gold tourist trains suddenly carry a greater appeal. The 2025 and 2026 seasons of the Rocky Mountaineer will run, as CN is under contractual obligation. The 2027 season is highly unlikely to run. Fans of this line are united in hoping that July of 2028 doesn't see CN take measures to permanently ensure no trains ever run here again.

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Uploaded on August 5, 2025
Taken on July 20, 2025