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Summerland museum shares a look back at the Kettle Valley Railway building of the Trout Creek Trestle Bridge

Early KVR construction

The Summerland Museum & Archives Society shared a story about the iconic Trout Creek Trestle Bridge, paying homage to the building of the landmark.

The over-hundred-year-old bridge was the highest structure of its kind on the Kettle Valley Railway at the time.

According to the museum, as the KVR was built between 1910 and 1915 it started covering valleys and mountains between Hope and Midway and connected the Okanagan to the major railroad networks.

"Before the construction of the KVR, freight and passengers could travel as far as Okanagan Landing by rail, then would have to rely on the sternwheeler ships that travelled south down the lake to Penticton," they wrote in their post.

"The construction of the KVR was revolutionary for the orchardists who needed to transport their fresh fruit to wider markets and for the development of towns like Summerland."

The Trout Creek Trestle Bridge was designed by Andrew McCulloch and thought of as a major engineering achievement.

The bridge was built between 1912-13 to span the canyon through which Trout Creek runs.

Stretching 619 feet across and 238 feet above the canyon floor, the bridge was also the third largest of its kind in North America at the time it was built.

To discover more about the history of the KVR and the stories of the people behind it, head to Dirty Laundry Winery on Friday for the museum's pop-up event.

The Summerland Museum & Archives Society shares photos and information from their archives every week for Throwback Thursday on their social media, which can be found online here.



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