Remembering the Edmonton Incline Railway Multi-Cache

This multi-cache is to remember the original Edmonton Incline Railway. The path for the 3 stages isn't long (only 15 to 20 min walking) but does include a number of stairs in the river valley. The final cache is a micro so BYOP. Use extreme stealth on your way.

Edmonton Incline Railway

The Edmonton Incline Railway was Edmonton's first funicular. It went from McDougall Hill up to the intersection of 101 Street and MacDonald Drive. If you look north from the posted coordinates the incline railway would have gone through the middle of the Chateau Lacombe parkade. This picture shows it in relation to McDougall United Church.

The Incline Railway was first proposed in April, 1905. At that time, moving products from Strathcona and the river valley to Edmonton meant a trip over the North Saskatchewan River either by John Walter’s ferry or the Low Level Bridge, followed by a long march up McDougall Hill Road, which was especially treacherous when slippery and muddy due to rain and snow. For only a small price, fifteen cents per trip for automobiles and wagons and five cents per trip for pedestrians, the proposed railway was to transport individuals up and down McDougall Hill using two rail cars, moving in alternate directions.

In late September 1907, construction had begun. By November all the walls, rails, and rail cars had been installed. Originally the railway was to be powered by electricity supplied by the City, but due to Edmonton's rapid growth the City's power plant could not supply the needed power. Local coal mines were not as productive as they once were so the railway was to be powered by steam. By May 1908 the 75 hp steam engine had arrived was installed and the railway opened for business. It became the only railway of its kind west of Hamilton, Ontario. When it opened it was a big hit and over 500 passengers and many wagons made use of the railway in its first 2 days of operation. Despite this initial excitement the railway's revenue expectations were never met and it went into liquidation in 1909.

Stage 1 - Donald Ross Edmonton Hotel

The posted coordinates are for a little known monument for the Donald Ross Edmonton Hotel. Donald Ross arrived in Edmonton in 1872 and purchased 70 acres of land around what is now Rossdale, where he built one of the community's first houses. Ross rented the second floor of his house to newly arrived settlers, creating Edmonton's first hotel. As more people came to Edmonton, Ross needed more space and expanded the home three times.

Donald Ross was one of the supporters of the Incline Railway which was just north of his hotel and eventually took it over when it was liquidated in 1909. The Incline Railway was shut down by the City in 1212 due to safety concerns. The Donald Ross Inclined Railway Company tried to convince the City to take it over as it performed an important service to Edmonton's citizens but the City declined. Due to the safety concerns and the competition from the soon to be opened High Level Bridge no other purchasers came forward.

You can see the Edmonton Hotel at the base of McDougall Hill in this picture. When he died in 1915 the Edmonton Hotel was turned into a rooming house, but burned down in 1925.

The Donald Ross Edmonton Hotel monument is a replica of the Edmonton Hotel fireplace and has a plaque. On the monument:

• The memorial was erected in 19AB.
• C is the number of chairs shown on the plaque.
• D is the number of wheelbarrows shown on the plaque.
• E is the number of horizontal bars in the replica fireplace grate.

From these calculate the following:

• F = D + E
• G = C + E
• H = A - C
• I = A - D
• J = A + B

Use these for the Stage 2 coordinates:

N53 32.FGH

W113 29.IDJ

Stage 2 - Top of Edmonton Incline Railway

The Stage 2 coordinates are near where the top of the Incline Railway would have been.

This picture shows the Edmonton Incline Railway in operation from the top.

Look around from the Stage 2 location to note the following:

• K = number of columns to the south
• L = number of fire hydrants to the east
• M = number of windows in the top level of the building to the north (not the towers)

From these calculate the following:

• N = M - L
• P = M + E
• Q = A + E
• R = M - B
• S = A + L
• T = K - L

Use these for the Stage 3 coordinates:

N53 32.NPQ

W113 29.RST

Stage 3 - View of Edmonton Funicular

From the Stage 3 coordinates you can the new Edmonton Mechanized River Valley Funicular Access (or funicular) that opened December 9, 2017.