KVR Trestle 17

This is the first of six trestles in the “continuous bridges” section.

In the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire, 12 of the 16 wooden trestles burned; only numbers 1, 12, 16 and 17 survived.

During the railway’s operation, trestles were replaced every 15 years, often while trains still ran, rebuilt timber by timber from the inside out. When creosote, a wood
preservative, became available trestles were replaced roughly every 30 years.

The 2003 replacements echo the originals, though bents now stand 30 feet apart, no longer needing to carry heavy locomotives