Kicking Horse Pass

A restricted view of one of the many freight trains about to enter the Spiral Tunnels at Kicking Horse Pass. Linking Vancouver to Banff and onwards to Eastern Canada, the tunnels were built between 1881-1885 as part of the route crossing British Columbia to Southern Alberta. The original gradient at 4.5% proved to steep and required up to four additional locomotives to haul each train. Following a two year build, in 1909 the spiral tunnels were opened, which achieved a reduction to a more manageable 2.2%.