"Field a village where railway history was made." Field by Waalewiener

Field Travel Guide: 21 reviews and 42 photos

Field is a beautiful little village in a valley.

'' Field ''This is the Village where railway history was made , a small Village with fantastic surroundings ,to make the West accessable the Railway Engineers had to find a way to get the trains past these enormous mountains.
It will be explained by the pictures in this page all pictures are taken by me with camera from the information centre.

The Spiral tunnels

As trains snaked their way up the Kicking Horse Pass and the continental divide ,they circle deep into the mountainson both sides of this valley.
The two giant underground loops they follow are the Spiral Tunnels.
Because each tunnel makes a complete spiralling turn,trains actually cross over themselves.
From this viewpoint you might see an engine emerge from the upper portel while 15 km below it ,the last cars are still entering the lower portal.!
The trains did not always have the benefit of this gentle ,winding grade
up to the pass. From 1885 until the Spiral Tunnel opened in 1909, steam engines inched up the treacherously steep track.
Coming down was a nightmare .
Plunging at the rate of 45 meters to each kilometer, this was the steepest part of the entire Canadian Pacific mainline.
Wrecks and runaway trains were common on the so called '' Big Hill ''.

A Plaque for Dr James Hector.

Plaque on a Rock.

Yoho's rugged mountains created headaches for the trainmen
But the railway opened the way for tourist,and for the tourist the Canadian Rockies meant inspiration and adventure.Their enthousiasm prompted the creation of Yoho National Park.

The plaque here explains that
Dr James Hector ,surgeon to the expedition,was kicked by a horse while exploring this expedition.
Click on picture for explanation.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Field is a nice little Village with fantastic views all around.
Cons:the Village is vey small ,and not much going on there
In a nutshell:Stop ,have a look ,enjoy the view ,and be on your way.

Last visit to Field: Jun 2003
Intro Updated Jul 25, 2003
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Reviews (17)

The Field information Centre. Favorites (17)

This is a picture of the Field Information Centre ,off course all the information on this Field page I found at, and... more travel advice

Another Spiral tunnel picture. Favorites (17)

In this picture it looks like a train will go through the tunnel beneath ,and it also looks like a train track is above... more travel advice

This is a Picture of the '' Real Spiral... Favorites (17)

This is a picture of a Spiral tunnel exit or entrance I am not sure , it must have been really difficult building these... more travel advice

A close up sketch of Spiral... Favorites (17)

This sketch gives a better look at the Spiral Tunnel how these tunnels made train travel much safer through this... more travel advice

Travelogues (1)

Written Jul 28, 2003

8 photos

'' Field '' a Village between Lake Louise & Golden

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Comments (16)

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kymbanm Sep 5, 2005 at 3:14 PM

Love the railroad history on these pages Hansi! Thanks for visiting my little piece of field, minus the history of course :)
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JetlagCity Mar 20, 2005 at 3:48 PM

Nicely done, Hans! The history of the West is always interesting to me, both in the U.S. and Canada. This page shows me that I really should explore around British Columbia more!
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LoriPori Feb 12, 2005 at 4:34 AM

I have to agree with all the other comments. This really was interesting to read. Well done Hansi. Hugs. Lori.
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freya_heaven Jan 6, 2005 at 1:08 PM

What a unique page not at all what I was expecting! Very interesting Hans. Thank you (~_~)
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piccolina Jan 3, 2005 at 8:36 AM

I was captured from the name of this place, Field, .......it is an unexpected page Hans, very informative and accurate........Thank you.....
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Karolina01 Aug 14, 2004 at 9:57 PM

Very interesting page about Field. Very well done.
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Sweetberry1 Mar 17, 2004 at 4:08 AM

Hi Hans, very informative page.. and lovely photos. Thanks for your visit.. ;-)
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pepples46 Oct 6, 2003 at 10:08 PM

wonderful areaand interesting data....I enjoyed that. thanx for a fine page
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eden_teuling Sep 15, 2003 at 4:46 AM

HI Hans: fantastisch projekt and door jou zo duidelijk weergegeven: zo interessant en 'n plezier te lezen en te bekijken! Ondernemingslust heet dat!!! Wat 'n durfals.... bes-elisabeth. 15th - 9...schiet al op!! Tot gauw!
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Jyrki Sep 4, 2003 at 3:12 PM

well done, 28 pictures in field and you didnt use the same one twice...now that is impressive...i missed out on the VT meeting in Van! Maybe next time!