UVic Pair Pen Hiking and Biking Guide to Old Railway Grades

Where steam engines once chugged along the tracks across Southern Vancouver Island, now it's joggers and bikers doing the huffing and puffing. And their numbers are soon to swell, with the recent publication of Ghosts on the Grade: Hiking and Biking Abandoned Railways on Southern Vancouver Island by railway buffs and hiking enthusiasts Ian Baird (microforms supervisor) and Dr. Peter Smith (recently retired Greek and Roman studies professor).

The 56-page book grew out of the authors' leisurely rambles over the past dozen years along all eleven of the railway lines described in their guide, including the 134-kilometre CN line from Victoria to Youbou.

Packed with information on railways from Victoria to Nanaimo the book is profusely illustrated with maps, historical photographs (some quite rare and published here for the first time), and old timetables and news clippings providing a rich sense of the region's railroad history. It includes a useful index and bibliography.

Baird is the author of three other books and numerous newspaper feature articles on British Columbia railways and railway stations.

Ghosts on the Grade is available in local bookstores for $12.95.

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