Whistler Museum and Archives Society

When the Railway Came to Whistler.When the Railway Came to Whistler.

June 13, 2023 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

The construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) through the small community of Alta Lake greatly improved the quality of life for its residents. Starting on October 11, 1914, Alta Lake received rail service, granting easier access to services and amenities from the Lower Mainland. It also made visiting the newly established Rainbow Lodge easier for early tourists of the Whistler region. While the establishment of a railway affected the residents of Alta Lake in a direct capacity, the community also adapted and utilized the new infrastructure in innovative and unprecedented ways.

A previous entry to the Whistler Museum’s Whistorical blog, entitled “Sparks and Speeders” showcased how maintenance and construction workers on the PGE used speeders and handcarts to traverse and repair the railway. However, the usage of such vehicles was not limited just to those who worked on the railway. Residents of Alta Lake also utilized handcarts and speeders in order to travel, both for pleasure or to simply shorten travel time. One image from the Museum’s collection shows Sala Ferguson, who moved to Alta Lake with her mother in 1923 and another unidentified girl utilizing a railway velocipede, a three wheeled handcart that ran along the tracks.

Pictured: Sala Ferguson (on the back) and another unidentified girl using a railway velocipede. Photo Courtesy of J’Anne Greenwood.

Even after the railway had been constructed, and trips to either Squamish or Vancouver made significantly less arduous and time consuming, walking remained the primary form of transportation for those living in Alta Lake. However, instead of using the Pemberton Trail, instead, they walked the newly installed railway. While walking the rails both then and now is both dangerous and illegal, at the time, it was often an efficient way for residents to get to where they needed to be.

Jean Tapley and Katie McGregor in 1918 or 1919, making a trip to Green River Falls via speeder. Phillips Collection.

Bob Jardine and Jenny Jardine (Betts), who first came to Alta Lake in the 1920s as a child recalled that the fastest way to get to school was to walk two and a half miles along the tracks. While their parents and other adults did warn them about the dangers of using the railroad in such a way, Bob recounted that everyone in the community was aware of how the tracks were used, stating that “the train crews kept an eye out for us kids.” As the years went on, using the tracks remained the most popular way of traveling, as John Burge, who first visited Alta Lake with his parents in 1956 recalled that “So there were only really two ways of moving around. One was the railway tracks, which was the most popular way, and the other was the back road is what we called the Pemberton Trail.”

Pictured: Myrtle Philip with two P.G.E. Executives, John Quick and Robert Wilson, superintendent of the line. They stand next to a Ford motor car converted to ride the rails with flanged wheels. Phillip Collection

A symbol that exemplifies how the residents of Alta Lake adapted to their changing environment is the handcart built by Bob Jardine. According to Jenny Betts, the cart was built out of pinewood and was pushed along the track using handmade wooden spools, which were later replaced by metal wheels donated by another local, Ross Barr. Betts recalled that “Henry Horstman when we came, used to have a cart, it had two wheels to rune of one rail and one wheel to run on the other end, and you hat to load it with all your stuff and then you wheeled it down from the station to his farm.” Betts attributes Horstman’s cart as inspiration for their own hardcart.

Group photo on the tracks near Parkhurst. Bob Jardine is on the far left, Wallace Betts is holding the handcart, Lousie Betts is the baby in the cart. Betts Collection
The cart on the tracks, the two men with their backs turned appear to be Wallace Betts and Bob Jardine, with baby Lousie Betts in the handcart. Betts Collection.
Pictured: Bob Jardine in Air Force uniform standing next to the hand-cart built by Wallace Betts. Betts Collection

Even though rail service was somewhat infrequent during the early years, the utilization of the tracks as a footpath allowed the residents of Alta Lake to improve their daily routines. This is best exemplified by how they utilized handmade carts and mechanized speeders to travel the tracks on their own terms.

Whistler's Answers

Whistler’s Answers: June 7, 1984Whistler’s Answers: June 7, 1984

June 8, 2023 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer). Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1984. Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.

Some context for this week’s question: In early June 1984, Council approved a proposal for Ruth Buzzard’s 148-space KOA campground in White Gold. Whistler had no campground at the time and affordable accommodations were a topic that had often been brought up by and with visitors. While this approval was a step forward for the KOA campground and dealt with some of the zoning issues, there were other changes and approvals that were needed to make sanctioned camping a reality in Whistler. By the end of June, a different campground in today’s Creekside area had been quashed and another project near Tamarisk had been put on hold due to strong objections by residents. In the end, no KOA campground was built in Whistler either, though the Riverside Camping & RV Resort currently operates in the proposed area.

Question: How do you think a campground will affect Whistler?

Dick Bishop – Entrepreneur – Brio

I think it will be good. It will help direct more trade through Whistler, and create more opportunity for people to come here. The location of the campground will ensure that people drive in for entertainment at night, or for lunches and shopping. It’s tapping a whole new market. The hotel market won’t be affected.

Buffy Woods – Executive Secretary – Alpine Meadows

It’s great. I know lots of people who travel by recreational vehicle, and some who have gone elsewhere because they couldn’t find a place here. It will be good in both summer and winter. People who would otherwise pass right through will stop for a night.

Paul Dellanzo – Golf Professional – Whistler Cay Heights

My immediate reaction is that I think it will provide an additional market that we haven’t had yet, providing that the people using it support the economy here.

A Well-Oiled RoadA Well-Oiled Road

June 6, 2023 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

You may spend the day breathing in dust while you are riding in the Whistler Bike Park, but it is unlikely you have to worry about dust every day while hanging out in your yard. However, when Whistler’s roads were all gravel, dust was a major problem throughout the Valley.

Brent Wallace grew up spending weekends at his family cabin in Alta Vista throughout the 1960s and 1970s. When describing the oiling process he said, “Here’s something that people will not believe – used motor oil from cars, trucks and buses was spread on the highway to keep the dust down. Oil trucks would go up and down the highway and through the subdivisions spreading oil to keep the dust down. It was done on an industrial level, you would hire a company or the highways department would oil the highway.” Drivers on Highway 99 would feel lucky when the road had been recently oiled before their trip.

*Highway 99 before it was paved. Leidal Collection.*

Highway 99 was paved during the summer of 1966 from Squamish to Mons. However, the paving of local roads came far later. You can imagine the mess that the oil would make for cyclists and pedestrians. In 1979, the Whistler Question wrote, “By now, those of you who have dogs, small children, baby strollers, 10-speed bicycles, fast cars and white jogging shoes will have realized that the recently-gravelled shoulders of Highway #99 have been liberally laced with oil from Cheakamus Canyon to Alpine Meadows.”

Despite following the spirit of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, the oiling of the roads was not cheap. In 1979, residents on the west side of Alta Lake were disappointed to hear that Alta Lake Road was not going to be oiled with Whistler’s other residential streets. The municipality decided against it because the process was going to cost $4000 to oil just the residential section of the gravel road.

Even once the town centre was developed, many of the local roads remained dirt. It was not until 1982 that the roads around Alpine were paved to improve access to the newly created Meadow Park. Roads throughout the other local subdivisions followed, while north of Whistler the Duffy Lake Road was not paved until 1992.

*You can really see the oil covering the gravel on the side of the road in July 1979. Whistler Question Collection.*

It is almost impossible to imagine pouring truck loads of motor oil around Whistler’s pristine lakes and forests today, although this method for dust dampening is still used on dirt roads in some more remote regions of Canada.

While you may come across the odd pothole, dampening the dust on suburban streets is not something we have to worry about anymore. Instead of being poured on the road, used motor oil can be recycled at many of the automotive shops in Function Junction.

Whistler's Answers

Whistler’s Answers: May 31, 1984Whistler’s Answers: May 31, 1984

June 1, 2023 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer). Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1984. Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.

Some context for this week’s question: By 1984, quite a few roads in Whistler neighbourhoods were still unpaved, making for some very dusty/muddy/bumpy rides depending on weather and conditions. However, other areas such as the entrance to the Whistler Village, also needed more work done. With a limited budget to spend on roads, the municipality had to choose between paving the roads in Alpine Meadows or working on the Village/highway entrance.

Question: Should Council spend its road budget on paving Alpine Meadows streets or on channelizing the Village highway entrance?

Hugh Hancock – Marketing Manager – Alpine Meadows

As a resident of Alpine Meadows I would love it if they pave my street. I would also like them to channelize the highway because it gets dangerous there. They should put a control light at the village entrance – if not a three-way stop light at least a flashing stop light.

Sid Young – Travel Agent – Alpine Meadows

There’s no doubt that channelization takes priority over paving my cul de sac.

Bob Hufsmith – Unemployed – Alpine Meadows

I think they should spend it on Highway 99. People in Alpine Meadows will shout, sure they will. But a proper turning lane into the village is critical. You have to provide certain facilities for the tourists.