When the wreck occurred in 1956, government officials at the time deemed the cleanup cost too high and made the decision to leave the 7 box cars as they lay in the woods next to the Cheakamus River, where they remain today. The area has since evolved into a pretty epic playground for bikers as well as local artists. Not surprisingly it is quite the party spot nowadays as well. Maybe save the cache hunting for a weekday if possible!
The full story on how the wreck occurred is this - as copied from the Whistler Question newspaper:
"The crash occurred in 1956 shortly after the Valleau family had moved to the area. The wreck happened in a rock cut and there were three boxcars loaded with lumber jammed in there, blocking the line. The PGE railway equipment wouldn't budge them so the company approached the Valleau family.
The Valleaus took their logging machinery (a couple of D8 Cats) down to the site, put a hitch (luff) on with two moving blocks to the boxcar and pried them out. They then dragged the cars up the track and into the forest, where they lie today. To all those who were confused by the fact that there is no damage to the trees around the wreck, this is because the train did not come off the rails at this point, but the boxcars were moved there after the fact.
The train was assembled in Lillooet by John Millar, conductor of that train. Millar told the story to Howard Valleau, as follows: The train had four engines. There was a mistake made on the tonnage of the train, making it too heavy and they had to split the train to get up the grade to Parkhurst (on Green Lake); and by doing that they were put behind schedule. Because of this, they were trying to make up time by speeding through an area under repair on the tracks. The speed limit was only 15 mph (24 km/h). The fourth engine turned a rail, causing the train wreck. They checked the tape in the engine, which told how fast they were going - the crew had thought the speed was 15mph, but in fact it was 35 mph (56 km/h).
Millar told Howard Valleau that had they known the actual speed, they would have taken the tapes out. The engineer and crew were subsequently fired after the investigation into the wreck."
Directions:
UPDATED JULY 22/2016
After years of anticipation, the time has finally come! As of this day there need be no more Indiana Jones style river crossings, Stand By Me re-enactments or dodging the big bad railroad bulls! Ladies and gentlemen, at long last... the Whistler Train Wreck suspension bridge is here!
The parking area and trailhead is located a short distance down the gravel portion of Jane Lakes road. From here it is a 500m walk to the bridge/wreck site. Go right at the first intersection and left at the second, both are signed. Good luck!
