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SOOKE HISTORY: Winds batter former Charters River railway trestle

Railway trestle was taken over by the Capital Regional District in 1987 and became the Galloping Goose Regional Trail

The railway trestle over the Charters River, rebuilt with steel reinforcing after it was taken over by the Capital Regional District and became the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, suffered some damage when the recent windstorm continued to pummel our coastal rainforest area.

A notice posted Dec.18 by the CRD says: “The Galloping Goose Regional Trail at Charters Trestle is closed due to windfall damage.”

Our photo, dated 1993, shows the trestle in calmer days. In its working life, the timber trestle was part of the Canadian National Railway line built during the First World War. The line carried logs, lumber and poles from the uplands of the Sooke Hills and Leechtown to Victoria destinations. After its logging railway period, the line also briefly carried munitions to Rocky Point, finally closing down about 1970.

Taken over by the Capital Regional District in 1987, the rails and ties were removed, and much work has been done over the years to make the rugged terrain into a user-friendly route. It has become a very popular walking and cycling trail, extending 54 kilometres end to end.

Many local folks have fond memories of hiking, fishing, and camping at the Charters River, known in our earlier history as “East Branch” (which meant the east branch of the Sooke River, as opposed to DeMamiel Stream, on the west side). T’Sou-ke Chief Larry Underwood remembers “‘We all used to run across that trestle back when we were kids, we used to camp up there and would catch brook trout in the creek.”

Another well-known Sookite, Kevin Pearson, who fished in the river, recalls hearing a story many years ago from his father-in-law, Gerry Davies. Employed as a concrete truck driver by Butler Brothers, Gerry recalled driving a concrete truck over the Charters Trestle. Questioned by Kevin Pearson, “Weren’t you worried about the weight?” his father-in-law answered, “If it could carry a locomotive and loaded flatdecks, it could surely carry a cement truck!”

Railings did not initially exist, as you can see from the photo; my own memory of hiking on the railway in those days was, if a fellow hiker was nervous on a trestle, we would walk in a trio, one on either side of the nervous friend, reassuring them of their safety.

A changing odyssey!

Elida Peers is the historian with Sooke Region Museum.