BC Historical Federation Writing Awards 2009 Honourable Mention
Canadian Rockies Award shortlist, 2009
Steep grades, extreme climate, avalanche hazard, tunnels, trestles, and bridges-all in a wilderness setting-Rogers Pass packs a great deal of railway interest into 65 miles of track. Using 80 archival photographs, many previously unpublished, Gravity, Steam, and Steel: An Illustrated Railway History of Rogers Pass tells the stories of railway triumphs and tragedies on one of the most notorious sections of track in the world. For almost 125 years, CP Rail has battled the elements at Rogers Pass, spending hundreds of millions of dollars while creating solutions new to railroading.
Gravity, Steam, and Steel was conceived and written as a companion volume to The Spiral Tunnels and the Big Hill, which has sold more than 25,000 copies since publication in 1996.
Rogers Pass is a major focus in Glacier National Park (the park visitor centre is there) and the photographic material available from this area is incredibly diverse and interesting. There is no similar title on the market. Train buffs and locals will welcome this book. It will also be of interest the visiting public, many of whom want to broaden a casual interest in Canadian history.
Click here to see the Table of Contents.
Mountaineer, photographer, and award-winning writer, Graeme Pole, has ascended 250 peaks in the Canadian Rockies – some greater, mostly lesser. He spent twelve years at Field, BC, and three before that at Lake Louise. His favourite haunts are the front ranges of Banff and Jasper. In his writing and in his mountain travels, Graeme has consistently advocated self-propelled travel, and has spoken out against the incremental urbanization and commercialization of landscapes.
Graeme lives with his family near Hazelton in northwestern BC, where he serves as a paramedic.
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