Rogers Pass

Rogers Pass was named for Major A. B. Rogers (1829–1889), an American surveyor who had won his military title in the Sioux uprising of 1861 in the United States and his professional reputation as “The Railway Pathfinder” as a locating engineer for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St.Paul line across the prairies.

Rogers was hired by James Jerome Hill in April of 1881 to find a way through the Selkirk Mountains for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Hill made him the promise of fame (naming the pass after him) and fortune, $5000, a lot of money at a time when construction workers were paid $1 a day. He was to get both, yet he confounded the CPR’s auditor when he steadfastly refused to cash the cheque, framing it instead.

Rogers was a tough task master and was hated by those who worked under him. They suffered under basic and meagre food supplies while being driven to continue on. One party avoided starvation by shear luck when they were able to quickly canoe downstream. He failed to reach his goal in the 1881 season by a mere eighteen miles due to the lack of food supplies and was forced to turn back west.

William Cornelius Van Horne was hired as General Manager of the CPR, began work January 2, 1882 in Winnipeg and promptly changed the route, choosing the Kicking Horse Pass instead. The railway to the Pacific had crossed the prairies and was rapidly approaching the mountains, yet there was no known suitable way through them. Although the mountains of British Columbia are often referred to as the Rockies, there are in fact three mountain ranges. East to west they are, Rocky Mountains, Selkirk Mountains (the most rugged) and the Gold Range, later known as the Monashee Mountains. Gambling a way would be found the work continued as Rogers once again searched for the elusive pass. It was discovered on July 24, 1882.

Like many another explorer or inventor Rogers claim to fame was not without controversy. Some felt that the pass had already been discovered years earlier by Walter Moberly who had previously discovered Eagle Pass in the Gold Range when surveying for British Columbia in 1866 simply by watching eagles fly through the mountains. He blazed these words on a tree: "This is the pass for the Overland Railway". Many years later, he said the pass should have been named Perry Pass for his assistant who he believed had actually seen the pass first.

Rogers Pass with snowfall of fifty feet was the deadliest area of all in the mountains for here unpredictable avalanches came down without warning wiping out and killing everything in its path. The station was relocated in 1899 and again in 1909 when a 2.6 mile line revision was made to expand the yard, to get way from the danger. It wasn’t until the Connaught Tunnel opened in 1916, and the Rogers yard closed that the worst danger was finally ended.

The danger was known when the line was first built and during the winter of 1885-86 the line was closed after a token freight shipment followed the Last Spike, so parties could observe the slides. Extensive snow sheds (31) were planned to ward off the slides but observation of the avalanches showed even further sheds were needed. By 1887 there were more than 20 miles of sheds, 25% of the track!

The way west from Calgary to Revelstoke, currently a distance of 262 miles, is one of constant up and down grades. The first 85 miles up the Bow River valley to Banff has no major grades but, from Banff six miles of 1.43% upgrade is followed by about a further 30 miles upgrade. Next came a helper grade from Lake Louise up 7 miles of 2.2% over the Continental Divide to Stephen (5332 feet) in the Kicking Horse Pass at the Alberta-British Columbia boundary. Originally, a dangerous 4.5% grade over the Big Hill was encountered before the famous Spiral Tunnels in 1909 reduced it to 2.2% on the way to Field.

From there it was downgrade (1260 feet) on average 1.96% with a maximum of 2.2% through Field to Beavermouth and 18 miles upgrade from Beavermouth through Rogers Pass (4351 feet) to Glacier and 40 miles downgrade to Revelstoke much of it 2.2% with lots of 10 degree curves. Beavermouth to Stoney Creek was a helper grade.

This of course made for a strenuous climb eastward of 2, 284 feet over this mostly 2.2% grade followed by 22.4 miles of mainly 2.2% downgrade to Beavermouth, 27 miles under 1% to Golden, 35 miles to Field climbing 1,489 feet at a maximum grade of 2.2%. Eastbound, helper engines were used from Revelstoke to Glacier, Golden to Field and Field to Stephen.

The Connaught Tunnel of 1916 and the Spiral Tunnels of 1909 eased conditions, with the latter eliminating the dangerous Big Hill. The Downie Diversion of 1937 further improved the line. It wasn’t until the latter part of the 20th. Century that further improvements were made, with grade reductions at Notch Hill, Clanwilliam and Stephen, followed by the record-breaking Mount MacDonald Tunnel under Connaught Tunnel.