An Historical Guide to Canadian Pacific Railway Stations in British Columbia by Ian Baird
Heritage Architectural Guides, 86 pp., $24.95
The Uchuck Years By David Esson Young
Harbour, 304 pp., $24.95
DAVE OBEE
Transportation systems helped shape British Columbia, making it possible to move goods and people from one spot to another as quickly as possible.
Today, many of us rely on cars, ferries and airplanes - but not that long ago, railway and coastal vessels were the best options.
These two books are as different as the ways of getting around that they represent, but both are sure to bring back memories of the not-too-distant past.
Ian Baird's An Historical Guide to Canadian Pacific Railway Stations in British Columbia includes a remarkable collection of photographs showing the stations along the various lines run by the CPR, including the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway.
As Baird notes, the railway station was often the focal point of the community it was in. It was designed to be functional, and was built at the lowest possible cost. And few of them could really be considered unique, because the same plans were used over and over again, with little variation in the design.
Sad to say, many of the CPR stations on Vancouver Island were demolished years ago. There were two distinct styles, with the buildings of the original E&N quite different from the ones built after the line was taken over by the CPR in 1905.
Stations are disappearing because we simply don't use the trains as much as we used to. But the romance of the railway will always be with us. And so will some of the stations, which have survived, for the most part, as museums, tourist information offices and restaurants.
This book includes a couple of essays on the history of the CPR and on railway station architecture. The photographs are divided into five sections, one for each CPR division: Vancouver Island, Vancouver, Kettle Valley, Kootenay and Rocky Mountain.
The collection of photos is impressive, although at times it is difficult to read the captions. Text works best on a white background, not placed over a photograph.
David Esson Young's The Uchuck Years deals with another transportation service that has faded with time - the coastal passenger and cargo ship.
For many years, these steamships were a vital part of life on Vancouver Island's west coast, moving everything from people and animals to groceries, freight and even cars from one community to another.
Young was part of that rich history, spending most of his life as part of the company that operated the Uchuck vessels.
Young's family is closely tied to the development of British Columbia. The Young Building at Camosun College was named after his grandparents, Henry Esson and Rosalind Watson Young.
His father, also named Henry Esson Young, got a job on a cargo ship in 1933. Thirteen years later, he and partner George McCandless took over the Barkley Sound Transportation Co.
The company operated a service linking Port Alberni and Ucluelet, and points in between, three times a week. Passengers and freight were carried on the Uchuck I.
Their next vessel, Uchuck II, was originally owned by the City of West Vancouver, and was used as a ferry between there and Vancouver. The conversion from ferry to a ship capable of carrying passengers and good on the west coast took four months.
Uchuck III, which arrived in 1955, was a converted American minesweeper. That transformation took three years.
Young was at home on all three Uchucks. He first travelled on the Uchuck I before he turned eight, worked for the company for many years, and became a co-owner in 1979. He sold his shares in 1994.
By that time, the business had changed dramatically. As roads were opened and coastal population fell, there was less demand for the service the Uchucks provided, even after the company shifted its base to Nootka Sound.
The Uchuck III continues, however, to serve the rugged west coast, and is known for adventure cruising.
Do today's Uchuck kayakers - who are hoisted over the side of the vessel in what is known as a wet launch - appreciate the rich history that the vessel represents? Possibly not - but The Uchuck Years might help to fill them in.
The reviewer is the editorin-chief of the Times Colonist, and author of The Library Book: A History of Service to British Columbia.
