As many of you are aware, David Wilkie was one of the foremost rail photographers in
Western Canada for many years until his passing a few years ago. David was known for his
efforts to take dramatic steps (and climbs) to get in position for the perfect shot—and for the
high quality images that he did achieve.
Ian Smith writes the following comments on our November issue photo….
“The description of the Dave Wilkie photo on page 31 of the November issue, regarding the scene at Squamish on June 4, 1978, with both 2860 and 3716 present, observes that 3716 was on a "special of some sort". What an understatement!
In fact, the two had just finished pulling a double-header from North Van, and 3716 was about to continue north to Pemberton. It was billed as the first double-header in western North America in many years (forgotten exactly, but it could have been 10 or more).
At the time, I was just getting back into the railway hobby and thought I'd set out to follow the train. I had spent most of my schooldays in West Van, living in no fewer than five homes right beside the PGE tracks, and figured I knew the lay of the land pretty well. So I motored over from Kitsilano on the day (a Sunday), thinking I would go to the pedestrian overpass near Dundarave. I'd lived right by there as a kid.
As I drove along the north side of Bellevue Avenue, I noticed something strange. It was absolutely lined with parked cars, many with U.S. plates from distant states. As I was processing this, I looked ahead and saw that the footbridge was jam-packed with people,
and the penny dropped. I continued on through West Van looking for a solitary spot, and finding none. What really drove home the significance of the event was coming up the road near Ten-Mile Trestle, with the intent of hiking in. The scene was the same, with all manner of "foreign" cars parked haphazardly beside the road. I stopped long enough to see fans up in the trees with video cameras, and I began to realize I was out of my depth.
So I pressed on up Howe Sound without getting a photo yet, and was soon engulfed by fans catching up and passing me in the chase. To this day, I have never again seen such irresponsible driving in a train chase -- some of those guys were real desperadoes, and I'm
sure most of those American fans had never driven that highway, which deserves the utmost respect at the best of times, as you know.
I still have my prints and I see that I got some shots at Porteau during a long stop for a meet and then again at Squamish. 2860 had led the doubleheader, so Dave's photo shows the scene after 2860 had cut off and coupled to its portion of the train. The event was a big enough deal that the Vancouver TV media were out in force, so it didn't go unnoticed by the public. So, yeah, you could say that 3716 was on a special of some sort!”
And, there is more to this story…...the March 1978 issue of WCRA News notes, “The Association has received approval to operate a steam excursion on the BCR, scheduled for Sunday, May 28 and Sunday, June 4, 1978. We will run a doubleheader with locomotives 3716 and 2860 on the regular Royal Hudson train to Squamish where the trains will split. Our party, using 3716, several coaches and the WCRA’s open car, will continue on to Pemberton and return to North Vancouver, preceded by the abbreviated regular Royal Hudson train. We attempted to arrange this trip for the fall of 1977 but could not make the arrangements in the time available.”
There is no further note covering the actual trip in subsequent issues, but this issue we see Dave Wilkie’s photo of the doubleheader along the Howe Sound shore at Britannia Beach on Sunday, June 4, 1978, en route Squamish where the trains would be split.
