Logging by Rail: The British Columbia Story

Ken A. Armson, a former executive co-ordinator of the Ontario Ministry
of Natural Resources’ Forest Resources Group, is currently a forestry
consultant.

This readable book can be enjoyed as a true part of Canada’s
development. Dedicated to Gerry Wellburn, founder of the British
Columbia Forest Museum at Duncan, it contains more than 500 photographs
(some in color) from many collections, including a number taken by
Wellburn. It is also well illustrated with maps and drawings of camps,
railway layouts, and bridges and trestles.

The six chapters describe the evolution of railroad logging from the
late 1800s to the present, and discuss the last surviving railway in the
Nimpkish Valley. Early steam engines enjoyed a heyday in the 1920s and
1930s. Surprisingly, although no new steam locomotives were built after
the Depression, only two railroads switched to diesel engines. The
demise of railroad logging came from the introduction of truck logging.

An appendix lists the status of preserved logging locomotives in
British Columbia, and the documentation of the text and bibliography is
most comprehensive.

The book is as much about the people and the conditions of railroad
logging as about the equipment. The text is livened by extracts from old
company documents and by first-hand accounts. A dramatic and fascinating
part of British Columbia’s history.