Description of Historic Place

This historic place includes a portion of the BC Electric Railway narrow gauge track and a remaining single row of a previous double set of span wire power poles which follow the curve of the rail line and define the corner of Moncton Street and No. 1 Road in the Steveston neighbourhood of Richmond. The historic place includes these remaining tracks and poles.

Heritage Value

Part of a transportation system that operated between 1902 and the late 1950's, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) power poles and remaining stretch of track are landmarks which convey the historical and symbolic importance of the BC Electric Railway to the City of Richmond. With an intact relationship between their location tracing the original rail right-of-way, the setting of Steveston and the symbiotic relations between transportation and electricity generation, these artifacts provide a tangible link to the early development of Steveston when the community's economy was dominated by fishing, canning, agriculture and sawmills and the need to transport these products to Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Helping the community grow and prosper, the electric railway also played a social and symbolic role in the lives of Vancouver and Richmond residents as they traveled back and forth between the two communities for work or leisure.

Part of an important regional transportation network, the materials, construction techniques such as the narrow gauge rail, and the functional ordering of these artifacts illustrate a system which used the most current technological innovation available to power the electric trams, at a time when the generation of electricity through the construction of hydro-electric dams and power plants was becoming common throughout the province.

Source: City of Richmond Clerk's Department File #4200-02.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements of the CPR Power Poles and Railway Tracks include:
- The location of the utilitarian tracks and poles which follow and define the original BC Electric Railway right-of-way
- The physical relationship between the tracks and poles which operated as one cohesive unit to power the electric trams in the context of the original right-of-way
- The remaining materials including wooden posts, electrical wiring, hardware, and rail of narrow gauge design and construction
- The relationship of the poles and tracks to Moncton Street and surrounding park