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Kicking Horse Pass, Banff National Park And Yoho National Park, Alberta And British Columbia

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Model Showing The Route Of The Railway Line At The Spiral Tunnels

This model is on display at the Spiral Tunnels overlook on the Trans-Canada Highway in Yoho National Park, British Columbia.

• Silver: The present-day railway line. Less steep than the original route, because of the longer distance made possible by the spiral tunnels.

• Red: The two spiral tunnels.

• Black: The old, steep route used before the building of the spiral tunnels. Also the present-day route of the Trans-Canada Highway.

An ascending (eastbound) train first passes from left to right far below the overlook. However, it may not be visible at this stage due to the large number of trees and frequent low cloud cover in the area. The train can then be seen entering the lower spiral tunnel (in the distance and not easy to spot from the overlook at first). It can then be seen, probably rather more clearly, exiting the lower tunnel. After a few minutes the train then passes immediately below the overlook, now travelling from right to left. It then passes through the upper spiral tunnel (but I couldn't make out the entrance or exit of the upper tunnel from the road). Finally the train can be seen high above the overlook on the other side of the road, passing from right to left (because the observer has turned round). This sequence probably takes fifteen to twenty minutes or so in all to complete and is obviously reversed for descending (westbound) trains.

British Columbia

Canadian Rockies National Parks

Mountain Roads

Photographs

Scenic Railway Journeys in the Canadian Rockies

Yoho National Park, British Columbia (includes some more information on Kicking Horse Pass and the Spiral Tunnels)

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Most recently modified 21-Apr-07