No insulator tour of British Columbia could be complete without reference to the Collins Line. Western Union, in an effort to connect telegraph service between America and Europe, attempted to construct a telegraph line through British Columbia, Alaska, and Siberia starting in 1864. The project was halted after the Trans-Atlantic Cable was laid in 1866. By then, though, hundreds of miles of telegraph line had been constructed and put into service. At the Merritt swap meet, Aidan Morgan displayed insulators and insulator shards found during three decades of hunting along the line.

Insulators, and pieces of insulators, found along the Collins Line and branch lines include CD 735 Tillotson's (above), CD 735 Chesters (below), CD 735 Mulford & BiddIes, CD 734 McMickings, CD 123 EC&M's, CD 130 Cal Elec Works, and CD 130.1 Cal Elec Works (both cobalt & aqua). Threaded insulators were likely replacement insulators on sections of the line that remained in service after Western Union abandoned its trans-world effort.

Take note of the tie wire on the insulators shown. Many are found with wire attached. In fact, the wire often leads to their discovery as collectors have learned that metal detectors are an indispensable tool in insulator hunting.

Historic artifacts. Here Aidan Morgan displays some of the history found along the Collins Line. There's a section of original pole, a fairly intact threadless side pin, a broken CD 735 Chester and a piece of telegraph wire.

Note the separation of the wire at the top of the loop. Early telegraph wire, such as that used on the Collins Line, was "rolled wire", that is two flat pieces of wire rolled together. If you are on a hunt and start finding that kind of wire, you know you are on to something old. Linda & I had a great time at the Merritt swap, and recommend it to anyone. But our Canadian adventures were just beginning....

Leaving Merritt we headed north to Kamloops, and then east on Canada's transcontinental Highway #1. In this part of British Columbia, the route is the same as Canada's transcontinental railroad.

In Canada, the railroad was constructed somewhat on blind faith. The railroad was progressing westward at a rapid pace, but no route had yet been found across the mountains. While it was known there was a passable route hundreds of miles to the north, the Canadian Pacific Railway needed a more southerly route to reduce competition from American railroads. A man named Albert Rogers finally discovered a pass in 1882. Construction gangs could then work from both directions, and the last spike was driven at Craigellachie on October 8, 1885.

A dozen miles west of Revelstoke is the striking Three Valley Lake Chateau. The dream of Gordon Bell, the chateau is much more than just a dramatic resort. This place is a repository of historical artifacts of Western Canada. From original buildings to antique automobiles, trains and rolling stock, many historical objects have been saved from destruction or "progress" and brought to this location.

When you drive through the area, plan to stop at the chateau and visit the Heritage Ghost Town. Oh, and don't forget to check out the extensive collection of insulators displayed in the museum.

Rogers Pass, where the Canadian Pacific eclipsed the continental divide and united Canada, is silent today. No train whistles can be heard. No sounds of iron wheels on iron tracks. Cars and trucks, yes. But trains? No where in sight.

That's because the tracks are underground. When an avalanche killed 70 railroad workers in the early 1900's, the railroad tunneled deep beneath the pass to avoid future disasters. The tunnel resulted in miles of abandoned tracks. Telegraph poles standing since 1885 were felled like timber and left to nature.

The tourist town of Glacier was no longer convenient to get to. The once bustling resort community fell into disuse, then disrepair and finally dismantled altogether. Today, the old railbeds are paths for tourists to hike and imagine days gone by. Were the CD 143's that once were on the poles royal purple in color? One can dream.

The train going north into the tunnel above is the same train coming out of the same tunnel heading west 270-degrees later. This is part of a figure-eight of two tunnels. If a train is long enough, it can actually be traveling west, north, east, south, west, north, east, north again, east again, south and west all at the same time.

Before the Spiral Tunnels were built, extra locomotives were needed to haul trains up and down a 4.5% gradient. The location is in Kicking Horse Pass near Field.

Arguably, one of the most beautiful stretches of railroad tracks anywhere is along the Bow River in Banff National Park, Alberta.

Even with poles and insulators removed, the scenery is still worth taking note.

In Banff, most people are familiar with Lake Louise. We found another crown jewel that captured our attention and our hearts. Just a few miles from Lake Louise is Moraine Lake with turquoise blue waters, much smaller crowds, and a greater sense of solitude.

Not far from Moraine Lake we spotted fallen poles on some talus slopes. Too steep and rocky to climb down to satisfy our curiosity at that location, we drove to a timbered area.

Sure enough, we found an abandoned line with two wires, two sidepegs and two insulators running tree to tree through the woods (look about half-way up the tree on the right). We only walked three trees down the line, but all the insulators we saw were CD 154 Dominion 42's in straw colored glass.

Near the city of Banff is a ghost town, a former coal mining center. Historic photos from the early 1900's show dozens of power and telephone poles. To reduce the chances of a spark setting off an explosion inside the mines, the ore trains (below) were powered by compressed air.

We started our Canadian adventure camping in a tent. As inclement weather moved in we began staying in motels and camping cabins. We held out hope of using our tent again towards the end of the trip. But the forecast for September 14th called for rain, so we chose another motel room. As you can see the forecast was wrong, but I think we made the right decision.

Local residents told us it can snow any month of the year in Banff. It's no wonder that, despite global warming, only 50% of the fresh water in Canada can be found in lakes and rivers. According to National Park Service employees, the rest remains locked up in glacial ice.

Linda & I wish to thank Bob & Bev Scafe (that's Bob above) for their hospitality in hosting the Merritt Swap Meet and for giving us advice on sights to see and places to go on our Canadian adventure.

     Howard & Linda Banks