Nelson British Columbia:  "We have some of the rail system's toughest terrain," says Kootenay Division Superintendent Martin Lypka. "Steep grades, dramatic climate changes, there can be snow in June, and washouts in January, you name it."

Located in the southeastern corner of British Columbia, the Kootenay Division is surrounded by mountains with numerous waterways throughout.

Its 700 miles (1,127 kilometres) of track and 800 employees serve a resource-rich part of the province. It has been one of the most productive regions on the CP Rail system for a number of years.

MINERAL WEALTH

The Kootenays were connected to the transcontinental rail line in the late 1800s when extensive coal and silver deposits were discovered in the area.

Today, the economy of the region is heavily dependent on its mineral deposits, notably coal. The southeastern coal fields, which went into production in the late 1960s and early 1970s, are largely responsible for revitalizing the economy of the region.

With the introduction of the unit coal trains in 1970, the division's revenue has soared from $65.6 million in 1970 to $348 million last year. "The division accounted for a little more than 15 percent of CP Rail's total revenue in 1982," Mr. Lypka said. "We've been first in earnings for a number of years, we're not big but we're productive."

The division serves five coal mines in the East Kootenays:  Balmer Ridge, Line Creek, Fording River, Byron Creek, and Greenhills.

"Besides coal, our major traffic is from other producing mines in the area, notably Kimberley, and the Cominco smelter at Trail," said the 37-year railway veteran who has been at the helm of the Kootenay Division for over five years.

The forest industry is vital to the economy of the Kootenays as well. Crestbrook Forest Industries have sawmills at Cranbrook, Canal Flats, and Creston, and a bleached kraft pulp mill at Skookumchuk. There are other major forest companies at Midway, Grand Forks, and Kraft also.

The employees on the division constantly wage battle with the elements in order to keep these bulk commodities moving. There's the heavy snowfall and high spring runoff which, when combined with steep grades, rockslides, and avalanches, pose a seemingly insurmountable challenge.

The run along Kootenay Lake and the run to Midway are especially prone to rock slides during certain times of the year," Mr. Lypka said. The steep grades are a story in themselves.

"Grades are more than 2 percent in some places," Mr. Lypka explained. "There's Poupore Hill with a 3.8 percent grade between Trail and Castlegar. At Warfield we have a three-mile (4.8 kilometre) hill with a 4.29 percent grade. Between Farron and Wesley it's 2.4 percent for 29 miles (46.6 kilometres) and on the other side between Farron and Cascade the grade is 2.4 percent for 24 miles (38.6 kilometres)."

Along the railway's coal route, the Fording River sub-division rises 1,750 feet (533 metres) in 33 miles (53 kilometres) to the highest elevation on the CP Rail system, 5,383 feet (1,640 metres).

SEASONED STAFF

Mr. Lypka credits the competence of his staff for the division's performance over the years. "We have an excellent group of people here. Our support staff and supervisory people do a first-rate job in managing the day to day operations," he said.

Office Manager Bill Pytlarz, Car Foreman Al Miller, Locomotive Foreman Bill Lunn, and Roadmasters Bud Viers, Ev Coschizza, and Ed Jankowicz are but a few.

Mr. Lypka is backed up by two well-seasoned assistant superintendents, Mike De Girolamo who works in the west end out of Nelson, and Ernie Fulton on the east out of Cranbrook.

WORK PROGRAM

Mr. De Girolamo, with the railway since 1969, has been a trainman, locomotive engineer, and trainmaster before his promotion a year ago. He continues a family railroad tradition. His father George is a locomotive foreman at the diesel shop in Revelstoke and has been with the railway 39 years.

Mr. Fulton, meanwhile, has 28 years of experience working on the Calgary, Alberta South, Revelstoke, and Alberta North Divisions.

The division's extensive work program to maintain and upgrade existing plant this year is the responsibility of Division Engineer Larry McKee, a 14-year veteran who has worked in Moose Jaw and then with Special Projects where he was involved with the construction of the Fording River sub-division and Byron Creek spur.

Included in the $17.8 million 1983 program are three new bridges, bunkhouse, and resthouse construction, 46 miles (74 kilometres) of ballasting, the replacement of 65,000 ties, new rail, the widening of banks, rail welding, bridge culvert and retaining wall repairs, hot box detector installations, and slope stabilization work.

U.S. CONNECTIONS

"Chief Dispatcher Jerry Jenkins and his staff have their work cut out for them, co-ordinating train movements and the maintenance program," Mr. Lypka remarked.

At Nelson, the division's maintenance and administrative headquarters, the 45 Customer Service Centre employees under Supervisor Bert Robison haven't been idle. The centre performs car tracing, billing, and car ordering services for customers throughout the division 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Mobile supervisors work out of Nelson, Fernie, Windermere, Cranbrook, and Grand Forks.

In addition to serving the export market through Vancouver, the Kootenay Division has connections to the United States through three interchange points, Nelson, Grand Forks, and Kingsgate where CP Rail connects to the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern railroads.