Upper Fraser station is on the Canadian National Railway mainline in Upper Fraser, British Columbia. Via Rail's Jasper – Prince Rupert train calls at the station as a flag stop.
History
Upper Fraser lies at Mile 104.0, Fraser Subdivision. Previously designated as Mile 194 and the Hudson Bay Spur, it was the closest railway point east of Willow River for accessing the Fraser. During 1914, Edward Andrew Seebach (1880–1932) (Seeback alternate spelling) and Albert James Huble (1872–1947) (Hubble alternate spelling), and farmerFort George Herald, 9 Jan 1915 George McDowell, their agent, regularly advertisedFort George Herald: 13 Jun 1914 to 26 Sep 1914 their weekly passenger and freight motorboat service to Giscome Portage, which connected with the waterways to the Peace Country via Finlay Forks. Five years later, the opening of the Prince George–Summit Lake wagon road superseded this route.Prince George Citizen: 8 Oct 1919 & 7 Jul 1922
A steamboat service from Prince George operated into the 1920s. The spur also provided the best link to the outside world for mining and hunting activities to its north and northwest that encompassed the river and its tributaries. Unlike the unsafe and difficult Giscome Rapids downstream, calm waters prevailed upstream to the spur.Prince George Leader, 24 Jun 1921Prince George Citizen, 13 Sep 1921 However, winter freezing, limited river use to summer months.Prince George Citizen, 20 Feb 1920
In May 1913, during the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway construction, the Smith and Ramsay camp was just northwest at former Mile 195, and their engineer, F. Purvis, was just southeast at former Mile 193.Fort George Herald: 9 Nov 1912 & 17 May 1913 Although variations of the name Hudson Bay Spur were in use until the 1930s,Prince George Citizen: 23 Jun 1932, 7 Jul 1932 & 5 Mar 1936 the 1920 description as the Hudson Bay’s old spur suggests the actual spur had fallen into disuse by that time. Largely known as Upper Fraser Spruce Mills from the early 1940s, the Canadian National Railway station was called Upper Fraser from 1964.
During the 1945/46 winter, when a brush with a freight train broke a moose's leg, a rifle shot put the hobbling animal out of its misery.Prince George Citizen, 31 Jan 1946 Rather than plunging into the deep snow flanking the roadbed, moose often ran ahead of trains for miles, which delayed services and hindered section crews (track maintenance).Prince George Citizen, 21 Feb 1946 Vicious moose not only challenged trains, but also charged children on their way to school,Prince George Citizen, 1 Aug 1946 or adults walking along the tracks.Prince George Citizen, 17 Aug 1985 During the 1948/49 winter, a snow plow travelling at scooped up William John Zuck lying on the tracks. The plow train's crew car carried the victim to Prince George, where a hospital examination found no injuries.Prince George Citizen, 23 Dec 1948
A westbound freight train instantly killed deaf George Whitford (1885–1965), who was sitting upon the track at Upper Fraser.Prince George Citizen, 25 Jun 1965 The following year, a washout west of Aleza Lake terminated a westbound passenger train at Upper Fraser. The mill cookhouse fed the passengers, who remained on board. Towed through heavy mud and deep holes by bulldozers near Giscome, three buses brought eastbound passengers from Prince George, and returned with the westbound ones.Prince George Citizen, 29 Mar 1966 In 1968, a railway accident cost H. Dyck two toes.
In 1978, Upper Fraser was one of the 11 communities between Prince Rupert and the Alberta border, where the CNR replaced its agent-operator positionPrince George Citizen, 2 Aug 1978 with a resident serving as a CN Express agent.Prince George Citizen, 3 Oct 1978
Service 1943–c.1947 c.1948–c.1953 c.1954–c.1958 c.1959–1961 1961–c.1962 c.1963–1965 1965–1977 1977–present 1943 Timetable. Northern BC Archives. p. 91945 Timetable. p. 61. 1949 Timetable. p. 59. 1960 Timetable. Northern BC Archives. pp. 21–22 1964 Timetable. Northern BC Archives. p. 44 1965 Timetable. Northern BC Archives. pp. 25–261967 Timetable. Northern BC Archives. p. 381968 Timetable. Northern BC Archives. pp. 25–261972 Timetable. Northern BC Archives. pp. 25–261973 Timetable. Northern BC Archives. p. 18 1990 Timetable. Northern BC Archives. pp. 95–971992 Timetable. Northern BC Archives. pp. 103–105Recent timetables Passenger Flag stop Flag stop Flag stop Flag stop Flag stop Regular stop Flag stop Way freight Flag stop probably Flag stop Flag stop Flag stop probably Flag stop Flag stop Regular stop
Assumedly, a remeasurement confirmed the spur switch was closer to Mile 104.0
Footnotes
External links Via Rail Station Description