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Field is an unincorporated community of approximately 169 people located in the Kicking Horse River valley of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, within the confines of Yoho National Park. It is west of Lake Louise along the Trans-Canada Highway which provides the only road access to the town. ==History== The Canadian Pacific Railway formally established the town of Field, originally known as "Third Siding", in 1883 as a work camp. The camp was needed for the local operations preparing the railway line from Laggan (Lake Louise, AB) over the Kicking Horse Pass and down the Kicking Horse river valley toward where Field stands today.〔W. F. Lothian, A History of Canada’s National Parks, Vol. III, Ministry of Supply and Services Canada, 1979. p. 35〕 The Kicking Horse Pass, also known as the “Big Hill”, was one of the most challenging obstacles along the mainline of the railway because of its intensive grade. For reason of economy, the government allowed the CPR to build the railway line stretch between Wapta Lake (Hector Siding) and Field (Third Siding) with a 4.4% grade. Seen as a temporary solution, this grade was twice the percentage normally allowed for a downhill train track. ''The first construction train to go down the pass ran away off the hill to land in the Kicking Horse river, killing three''.〔Graeme Pole, The Spiral Tunnels and the Big Hill: A Canadian Railway Adventure. Canmore : Altitude Publishing, 2000, p. 50〕 The CPR soon added three safety switches (runaways) on the way down to help to control the train speed and avoid accident. Between 1907 and 1909, two spiral tunnels were built into Cathedral Mountain and Mount Ogden to reduce the hill’s grade to 2.2%. The railway reached Third Siding in 1884 at an exorbitant cost. Going through financial difficulties, the CPR searched for private investors. Donald A. Smith (one of the original financiers of the railway syndicate) and William Cornelius Van Horne (then vice-president of the CPR) got a hold of Cyrus West Field (a wealthy Chicago business man and promoter of the trans-Atlantic cable) to encourage him to invest in the CPR. When Cyrus West Field came to visit the area in 1884,〔W. F. Lothian, A History of Canada’s National Parks, Vol. III, Ministry of Supply and Services Canada, 1979. p. 36〕 Van Horne named both the little town and a mountain after him. However, Mr. Field did not take the bait; he went back to Chicago without writing any cheques. Thus, ironically, the town and the mountain got their name after a man who, in the end, had no involvement with the CPR. The railway route through Canada was completed on November 7, 1885 near Craigallachie, BC and Van Horne sees tourism in the Rockies as the best way to generate revenue and reduce the burden of their debts. So, as an important divisional point and engine servicing area,〔(class locomotive at railway yard in Field, B.C. ) - http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/1600-class-locomotive-at-railway-yard-in-field-b-c;rad〕 Field was the first town to be chosen (in 1886) to have a luxurious hotel – the Mount Stephen House〔Mt. Stephen House and mountain, Field, B.C. - http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/mt-stephen-house-and-mountain-field-b-c;rad〕 – to welcome weary travellers. Also, a restaurant〔Dining room, Mount Stephen House, Field, BC, 1887 - http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scripts/large.php?accessnumber=VIEW-1658&Lang=1&imageID=157079〕 was needed as it was impossible for the steam locomotives to carry a heavy dining car up the 4.4% hill. The Mount Stephen House was the focal point from which visitors set out in horse-drawn carriages to view the wonders of the Yoho Valley and Emerald Lake. From 1883, it was known that the area had potential for mining and logging activities. If Field was the main town, two smaller sister locales existed until the 1950s & 60s; the town of Monarch and Kicking Horse Mines and Amiskwi Village. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Field, British Columbia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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