Kootenai Valley Railway

Kootenai Valley Railway (HM2AZB)

Location: Bonners Ferry, ID 83805 Boundary County
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Country: United States of America
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N 48° 41.861', W 116° 18.693'

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Inscription

1899-1971

The Kootenai Valley Railroad, a subsidiary of the Great Northern, connected the main line from a spur near Bonners Ferry to the southern end of Kootenay Lake in British Columbia. Completed in 1899, its purpose was to connect with the Canadian Kaslo & Slocan Railroad and James J. Hill's steamboats on Kootenay Lake. With the closing of the Slocan silver mines, a major forest fire that burned most of the K & S, and strong competition from the Canadian Pacific Railway, Hill removed the KV's Canadian tracks.
The town of Porthill at the Canadian border became the northern termination point. The railway carried supplies, mail, and passengers from Bonners Ferry and returned with ore, logs, and agriculture products. The journey took about four hours and was often delayed by derailments or to give the crew and passengers time for some hunting or fishing. Locals nicknamed the line, "Keep Vaiting Railroad."
The railroad discontinued regular passenger service in 1914, but it continued to deliver supplies and mail to valley residents until the early 1970s. The line also transported ore from the Continental Mine in northwest Boundary County to regional smelters.
Although the railroad removed the bridges, trestle, ties and rails, remnants of the roadbed and faded advertisements painted on the rock walls are a reminder of an earlier



time.

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In the early 1900s, loggers cut huge stands of virgin timber in Boundary County. Workers lived in remote logging camps owned by the lumber companies. Logs were skidded by horses and hauled on wagons, or sleighs in the winter, to company owned railroad sidings. The railway transported flat cars of logs to area mills.
Details
HM NumberHM2AZB
Tags
Placed ByBoundary County Historical Society
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, August 31st, 2018 at 11:02am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)11U E 550658 N 5394078
Decimal Degrees48.69768333, -116.31155000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 48° 41.861', W 116° 18.693'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds48° 41' 51.66" N, 116° 18' 41.58" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)208
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 7229 Main St, Bonners Ferry ID 83805, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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