Andrew McCulloch (June 16, 1864 – December 13, 1945) was born in

Lanark County Lanark County is a county and Census divisions of Canada, census division located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is Perth, Ontario, Perth, which was first settled in 1816Brown, Howard Morton, 1984. Lanark Legacy, Nineteenth ...

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

and died in

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan Lake, Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Skaha lakes. In the 2021 Canadian Census, its population was 36,885, while its Census geographic un ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. was a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

with the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

(CPR).

Biography

A native of

Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...

, after graduating from the Dominion Business College in Kingston, Ontario in 1888, McCulloch moved to the West Coast of North America. There he got a job as an axeman on the

Great Northern Railway Great Northern Railway or Great Northern Railroad may refer to: Australia * Great Northern Railway (Queensland) in Australia * Great Northern Rail Services in Victoria, Australia *Central Australia Railway was known as the great Northern Railway ...

. Several other jobs followed, and in 1884 he was employed by the CPR on bridge repair work. He eventually became a Resident Engineer on the construction of the

Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad The Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad , is a Class iii railroad, Class III railroad U.S. railroad offering service from Marquette, Michigan, to nearby locations in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It began operations in 1896. The LS&I continues to ...

, and this was followed in turn by work for the

Nakusp and Slocan Railway The Nakusp and Slocan Railway (N&S) is a historic Canadian railway that operated in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The N&S initially connected Nakusp and Three Forks but soon extended to Sandon. Proposal The 1891 disc ...

, for the CPR's line through the

Crowsnest Pass Crowsnest Pass (sometimes referred to as Crow's Nest Pass, ) is a low mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta–British Columbia border. Geography The pass is located in southeast British Columbia an ...

, for the

Columbia and Western Railway The Columbia and Western Railway (C&W) was a historic, and initially narrow gauge, railway in southern British Columbia. Heinze ownership Proposal and planning Fritz Augustus Heinze, who opened a smelter at Butte, Montana, in 1893, was seeking in ...

and for the

Grand Trunk Pacific Railway The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway running from Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a Pacific coast port. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National ...

. He returned to work for the CPR as Divisional Engineer of Construction, Eastern, based in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In early 1910, McCulloch was appointed Chief Engineer for the CPR's

Kettle Valley Railway The Kettle Valley Railway was a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that operated across southern British Columbia, west of Midway running to Rock Creek, then north to Myra Canyon, down to Penticton over to Princeton, Coalmont, B ...

, a project which was to be the most challenging of his career and included the 18 Myra Canyon Trestles, 14 of which that were destroyed in 2003. Following completion of the line in 1916 he was appointed Superintendent of Operations. One of Canada's leading construction engineers, he left the KVR in 1933 and continued as a consultant for many years up to his death in 1945. In 1934 he was Chief Engineer for Consolidated Mining and Smelting's Northeastern Railway in

Stewart, British Columbia Stewart is a district municipality at the head of the Portland Canal in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, near the Alaskan panhandle. In 2021, it had a population of 517. History The Nisga'a, who live around the Nass River, called th ...

. Andrew McCulloch is buried in the Lakeview Cemetery in

overlooking the

that was such an important part of his life. His gravestone , which is laid flush with the ground, can be found in section D, about 20 m south of the main entrance and about 5 m to the west of a fire hydrant on the adjacent Lower Bench Road.

Legacy

''McCulloch Station'', ''McCulloch Lake'' on the

, ''McCulloch Road'' in the nearby city of

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

, and Kelowna's ''McCulloch Station Pub'' are all named after McCulloch.

Biography

Legacy

References

Further reading