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Twenty Years of the P. G.E. Dr. L. F. S. Upton The following item was printed in the Caulfeild Chronicle, July 1976, St.Francis-In-The-Wood,Anglican Church, and may bring back some past memories. The last train moved through West Vancouver on Nov. 29, 1928, or so everybody thought. The Pacific Great Eastern Railway kept its terminus at Squamish and moved its cars to Vancouver by barge. The line that had once run from North Vancouver to Whytecliff was abandoned; the tracks were taken up, trestles and retaining walls crumpled into dust and the right of way returned to nature. Gardens encroached on it, roads crossed it, and new homes edged ever closer. The bridge at 31®* and Marine Drive, lone and disconnected, stood as the sole reminder that the rails had ever run through the community. In January, 1954, Premier W.A.C. Bennett announced that the PGE would be extended from North Vancouver to Squamish. Incredible though it seemed, it slowly dawned on West Vancouverites that the old right of way might be involved in the plan. The West Vancouver News had to explain just where the right of way ran, through parks, along beaches and in the midst of the residential area. There were immediate protests: extension would destroy a peaceful community and devalue property by 10%, or twenty million dollars. Reeve Hugo Ray conceded that if the rail link were of general benefit to the Province, then West Vancouver “would adjust itself with as good grace as possible”, but he wanted the Government to hold an “economic enquiry” first. None was held. “Talk about railroading. This is certainly a prime example of it.” “You will get used to it,” Railways Minister Ralph Chetwynd told anxious residents, and light-heartedly agreed that some homes were so near the tracks that their owners would be able to spit in the engineer’s eye when the time came. West Vancouver, the News explained, had no wish to become a through street to the north. The first of a long series of protest meetings was held at the Junior High School in February and brought together 600 people who established two themes, tirelessly repeated: the dangers of a railway in a residential area and the hope that the line would go somewhere else. A “Society for the Extension of Good Address” was formed to win over the Government by non-political and courteous argument that the rails should go up the Indian River. Why not wait until the highway to Squamish was finished and then see if the rail was still needed? The May Day parade of 1954 featured a prize-winning float that parodied what might happen to West Vancouver if the PGE went through. The prospect still had an aura of whimsy about it. The first steel was laid in West Vancouver on November 30, 1955. The first train to set wheels in the municipality since 1928 crossed from North Vancouver at 9:23a.m. on January 19, 1956, pushing a caboose and two camper cars. Its destination was 19*** Street; the train got as far as 13***, where the caboose snagged the guy wires of a telephone pole. After disentangling itself it proceeded another two blocks where it encountered Cont’d. next column. Twenty Years - cont’d. Another low wire. Still short of its objective, the intruder retreated across the border. The event was watched by a large and mostly silent crowd. A police car shadowed the train, but there were “no incidents.” As work progressed, the residents could only stare and fume; houses were isolated by the new track, a flood on the 1500 block Bellevue was blamed on construction. But not everyone was unhappy about the Extension: a developer bought the only flat land north of Horseshoe Bay â€" Lions Bay â€" for $400 an acre and was preparing to sell 50’ waterfront lots at $2000 apiece. By the middle of 1956 the line was completed to Squamish. On June 11, a sixty seven year old foreman. Bill Smetanuk, drove the last spike with a single one-handed blow. The official opening of the line took place August 27, 1956. Three hundred provincial leaders were invited for the ride from North Vancouver to Squamish. A motorcade started from the Vancouver courthouse and reinforced by marching bands, arrived at the new terminus to the cheers of 2500 North Vancouverites. Acting Mayor J.M. Bryan proclaimed PGE Day, the day North Vancouver had waited for forty years. The Province issued a special supplement to honour the occasion. The West Vancouver News editorialised: “We blast and bludgeon a railway ... through a pleasant residential district with the avowed intention of making life fuller for someone and while doing so impair the health and sanity of all who live within blasting range.” But, everything considered. West Vancouverites behaved quite decently as the trainload of dignitaries rolled by, “They gathered in colourful groups at every crossing and lined gardens and sundecks to wave. A few stood grimly silent and motionless.” Six miles north of Horseshoe Bay, two thousand tons of rock cascaded over the new line. The inaugural train never reached Squamish. ‘*You are Invited .....” The History-Onics, Newsletter Editor, invites members to submit articles, ideas, and suggestions on the past history of West Vancouver families, schools, churches, commercial ventures and anything that you may consider of interest to our readers. All items will be very welcome. You may submit these to the attention of “Peter” - E-mail: strelka@telus.net or fax number 604-922-0005. Page 8