Graeme Pole’s The Spiral Tunnels and the Big Hill on the Canadian Pacific Railway provides a detailed spatial and mechanical chronicle of the railway engineering corridor anchoring the mountain village of Field in the Kicking Horse River valley. Pole recounts the construction and harrowing operation of the infamous "Big Hill"—a temporary 4.5 percent rail grade dropped down from Kicking Horse Pass into Field in 1884 that resulted in frequent runaway trains and fatal derailments. The volume documents the transformative 1909 construction of the Spiral Tunnels through Cathedral Mountain and Mount Ogden, which reduced the grade to a manageable 2.2 percent. The narrative illuminates the daily civic and operational rhythms of Field as a dedicated locomotive pusher depot and terminal servicing the rugged Yoho Valley and the Kicking Horse canyon corridor.

British Columbia Field, British Columbia Kicking Horse Pass, Canadian Pacific Railway Company History, Field (B.C.) History, History, Kicking Horse (B.C.), Mountain railroads British Columbia Rocky Mountains History, Railroad engineering British Columbia History, Spiral Tunnels (B.C.)

Includes maps, profiles, and historical photographs of railway operations.

Includes maps, profiles, and historical photographs of railway operations.