Kaslo and Slocan Railway

The Kaslo and Slocan Railway was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge railway between Kaslo, Slocan, and the mining community of Sandon in the Kootenay region of British Columbia between 1895 and 1955 totalling about 53 km (33 mi) of track. It was operated originally by the Great Northern Railway and later by the Canadian Pacific Railway.

After silver was found in the mountains near what is now known as Sandon in 1891, several investors obtained a provincial charter in 1892 to build a railway between Kaslo and the new mines. Kaslo, on the shore of Kootenay Lake was served by steamers connecting with railways near Creston and Nelson, British Columbia.

The railway was built west up Kaslo River to the pass with Seaton Creek, passed across the hill above the boom town of Three Forks to Sandon. The Canadian Pacific Railway had already reached Three Forks in late 1894 by building from the west from Nakusp on the Arrow Lakes with its Nakusp and Slocan Railway. Both railways reached Sandon in late 1895.

Construction on the railway started in 1895 after obtaining financial backing from the Great Northern Railway which was seeking advantages against the Canadian Pacific Railway and traffic for its mainline at Spokane. Great Northern had gained control of the Nelson and Fort Sheppard Railway in 1893 which gave it access to Kootenay Lake. Great Northern bought out the original investors in 1897 making the railway part of the Great Northern system under the Kootenay Railway and Navigation banner. Much of the ore from the K&S was shipped to US smelters, providing traffic for the GN.

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