{"product_id":"9781927051139","title":"Carving the Western Path: By River, Rail, and Road Through Central and Northern B.C.","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe history of British Columbia's transportation systems north of the Canadian National Railway's mainline may not be well known—but it certainly is colourful. Continuing the story he began in the first volume of \u003ci\u003eCarving the Western Path\u003c\/i\u003e, R.G. Harvey describes the development of river, road and rail routes that crossed the northern two-thirds of BC. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis was a land of dreams and schemes that seemed to feed on each other. It started with the Collins Overland Telegraph, a communication link that was to connect Europe and America in the 1860s. Though this plan collapsed with the success of the trans-Atlantic cable, the telegraph surveyors established patterns for future roads and settlement. They also sparked the Omineca gold rush. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was a land full of larger-than-life characters, including: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e \u003cli\u003eCharles Hays, who dreamed of a major seaport at Prince Rupert but died on the Titanic before he could realize his vision \u003c\/li\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cli\u003eCharles Bedaux, who in the 1930s carved his 416-mile path into the northern Rockies \u003c\/li\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cli\u003eRailway promoters Warburton Pike, Sir Edward Phillipps-Wolley, William Mackenzie and Donald Mann, who got gifts of land and money but couldn't always meet their promises. \u003c\/li\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir stories mingle with those of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, the Alaska Highway, the White Pass and Yukon Railway and those of the sternwheelers, fur traders, gold miners and other adventurers who were drawn to this last frontier. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Heritage House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47154093064432,"sku":"9781927051139","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781927051139_p0.jpg?v=1763636280","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781927051139","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}