Went out for a drive this morning, looking for photo ops and ended up at an old favorite of mine. The Othello Tunnels near Hope, BC were originally constructed between 1913 and 1916 for the Kettle Valley Railway to punch its way through the Coquihalla Canyon when the Canadian government decided they needed a railway to link the Kootenay region, which was full of minerals, with the coast. With American railroad companies running rail lines directly up north relatively unimpeded into the Kootenays, the government knew they needed something so they helped KVR with funding for this line.
The Coquihalla canyon was a major problem for passage so engineer, Andrew McCullough, devised this tunnel system to get the rail line through. The railway is long since gone, having ceased operating in 1961 but it's now a provincial park and you can walk through and explore the tunnels. I like coming here in the fall - the soft, warm light really complements the tunnels.
Here's a few of my favorite images from the day. With the weather looking good for tomorrow, I'm excited to get back out again and shoot some more landscapes. I love being home this time of year!
The Othello Tunnels lie in the Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park, east of Hope on Highway 5.
The engineers were forced to blast directly through the walls of the canyon, quite the feat at the turn of the century.
The canyon walls are quite steep and made construction treacherous for the workers.
The combination of the tunnels and bridges allowed the railway to make a straight shot through the winding canyon.
The third tunnel features this concrete archway to hold things up.
View to the second tunnel and the Coquihalla river.
All four tunnels are lined up in a straight row through the canyon.
Aside from the tunnels themselves, the whole surrounding area is beautiful and makes for a nice walk.
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