The Kinsol Trestle, also known as the Koksilah River Trestle, is a wooden

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

trestle located on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

, north of Shawnigan Lake, in

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It is a crossing of the

Koksilah River The Koksilah River () is a river on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, flowing northeast to enter Cowichan Bay just southeast of the City of Duncan, British Columbia, Duncan. Part of the river is protected as Koksilah River Provincial Park ...

Description

The bridge's dimensions measure high and long, making it the largest wooden trestle in the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

and one of the highest railway trestles in the world. It was constructed out of old-growth

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

timbers, and has an unusual seven-degree curve.

History

It was built as part of a plan to connect Victoria to

Nootka Sound Nootka Sound () is a sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Pacific Northwest, historically known as King George's Sound. It separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island, part of the Canadian province of ...

, passing through

Cowichan Lake Cowichan Lake is a large freshwater lake located on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is located along the Cowichan Valley in the Cowichan Valley Regional District, with its eastern shore about west of Duncan, British Colum ...

and

Port Alberni Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. Port Alberni currently has a total popu ...

, when forestry had gained some ground on Vancouver Island and a more efficient way to transport the region's huge, old-growth timber was needed. It was not built, as some mistakenly believe, to serve any nearby mines. It was named after the nearby Kinsol Station which, in turn, took its name from a nearby mining venture grandiosely named "King Solomon Mines", a very small mining venture that produced or of copper and of silver (from of ore—hardly enough to fill 3 rail cars) between 1924 and 1927. The line was started in 1911 by the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway (CNoPR) and while it was designed by engineers, it was built by local farmers and loggers, with investment funds from the Canadian Western Lumber Company, which was the largest lumber company in the world at that time. The trestle was never completed by the CNoPR, and the line only reached Youbou before construction was terminated. The CNoPR was taken over by

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

in 1918, and its line and the trestle were completed in 1920 as part of the " Galloping Goose" rail line. The rail carried both passenger and freight traffic, including primarily timber and other forest products. The last train to cross the Kinsol was in 1979, and the trestle fell into disrepair afterwards.

Preservation Effort

CN's rail service on Vancouver Island was abandoned in the 1980s and the right of way given to the provincial

Ministry of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

. Due to the deteriorated structure of the Kinsol Trestle, the bridge was not usable by walkers or bicyclists on the Trans-Canada Trail, and was in danger of being torn down because it posed an environmental concern and danger to the public. This created some disagreement in the community. Some community groups set out to raise money to preserve the trestle for its historical and tourism value, whereas others simply wanted to repair the break in the Trans-Canada Trail as quickly and cheaply as possible. At that point in time crossing the Koksilah required an detour through difficult terrain. The

Cowichan Valley Regional District The Cowichan Valley Regional District is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia that is on the southern part of Vancouver Island, bordered by the Nanaimo and Alberni-Clayoquot Regional Districts to the north and north ...

(CVRD) held a special meeting on June 7, 2007 to determine the fate of the Kinsol. During this meeting the CVRD Board received presentations from a local firm that specializes in building conservation: Macdonald & Lawrence Timber Framing Ltd proposed a conservation strategy that would see the bridge fully restored for pedestrian use as part of the Trans-Canada Trail network. On September 20, 2007, the CVRD voted to move ahead with a feasibility study concerning the feasibility of the Kinsol Trestle. Three firms had responded to the CVRD request for proposals for restoration and the Vancouver firm Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Limited won the contract. Commonwealth has joined forces with Macdonald and Lawrence, the local timber construction firm that proposed a conservation strategy in June, 2007. M&L is local in the sense it is established in Cobble Hill (a community close to Shawnigan Lake and the Kinsol), but is world-renowned and has built many unique structures in Great Britain, received a commendation from Queen Elizabeth for its work in restoring

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

following the disastrous fire, and is working to restore the British explorer Shackleton's shack in the Antarctic and other unique projects. In November 2007, Macdonald and Lawrence completed a major inspection of the trestle, drilling hundreds of test holes. The final report showed that 80% of the major timbers were still sound, and that it was feasible to restore the structure. M&L's report comprised the major portion of Commonwealth's report, which was presented to the CVRD on January 23, 2008. The Board members voted overwhelmingly to have Commonwealth proceed with Phase 2 of the study to provide a detailed plan of restoration, including a full evaluation of costs. This report was delivered in November 2008. The rehabilitation of the trestle cost approximately $5.7 million. M&L would ultimately collapse due to cost over-runs, but there would be benefits brought on by the rehabilitation of the Kinsol Trestle. The Kinsol Trestle is one of the few accessible and visible reminders of the early mining and logging industries in the Cowichan Valley, and increased tourism and recreation has created long-term economic and recreational benefits in the community. The rehabilitation also generated over 22 years of employment for the local population with direct and indirect work on the Trestle, engineering, and project management. The official reopening of the trestle was July 28, 2011.

The Kinsol Trestle Capital Campaign

With the recognition that the Kinsol Trestle would be preserved and rehabilitated, an official community based campaign was created in order to promote the Trestle and to raise the remaining $2 million necessary to complete the Kinsol Trestle. An official fundraising campaign was launched in June 2009 in order to raise the remainder of the funds needed to rehabilitate the Trestle. The official "Save the Historic Kinsol Trestle Campaign" came through with the support of the Cowichan Foundation and the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD). The campaign was launched on June 10, 2009, and the Trestle reopened to the public after major renovations on July 28, 2011. It is now a part of the

Trans-Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longest recreational, multi-use trail network in t ...

and the

Vancouver Island Trail The Vancouver Island Trail (formerly also known as the Vancouver Island Spine Trail) is a near-completed 800 km-long hiking trail stretching the length of Vancouver Island, from its southern terminus on Anderson Hill in Oak Bay, British Columbia, ...

Gallery

File:Trestle 1.jpg File:Trestle 3.jpg File:Trestle 4.jpg File:Trestle 5.jpg File:Trestle 6.jpg File:Kinsol-Trestle-From-Riverside-Road.JPG File:Kinsol-Trestle-Looking-North.JPG File:Kinsol-Trestle-Looking-Southwest.JPG File:Kinsol-Trestle-Timbers.JPG File:Kinsol-Trestle-Down.JPG File:Trestle 2.jpg File:The Kinsol Trestle.JPG, The Kinsol Trestle

References

External links

{{Commons category, Kinsol Trestle
Construction time lapseSave the Historic Kinsol TrestleKinsol ForumTrans Canada Trail Home
History of Vancouver Island Railway bridges in British Columbia Bridges completed in 1920