BC Army Railway Regiment

The BC Army Railway Regiment (AAR reporting mark RYR) is a branch of the British Columbia Army dedicated to the provision of rail transport on a network of 24.4 miles split between two bases, and occasionally during BC Army deployments abroad. Although as a branch of the Army it is formally subordinate to the Ministry of Defence, but in operational matters it coordinates closely with the Ministry of Labour, Industry, and Railways.

= Organisation = The Railway Regiment is an operating branch of the Army; like the Royal BC Navy Railway Flotilla's relationship with the Navy, it is fully a military organisation within the Army chain of command, with all staff being sworn members of the Army and undergo the same basic training as all other Army personnel. However, as they are "hired" specifically for railway work, they are not subject to reassignment or transfer to other duties as other personnel are.

= History = The Department of the Army contracted the Canadian Pacific Railway to build a 5.5 mile long railway line from Spuzzum on the CPR's transcontinental mainline to the site of Fort Inkawthia in 1929 to ease the movement of the materials used in construction of the base. During construction of the base, finished in 1933, the CPR handled maintenance of the track and the operations of trains along it; once work was complete, these responsibilities were passed on to the newly formed Railway Regiment, which received three new steam locomotives from the Vancouver Locomotive Works.

Similarly, a 2.3 mile branch line was built from Rocky Point Station on the Vancouver Island Railway's Victoria–Port Alberni line to Army Depot Rocky Point in 1932. The VIR built the line, which has subsequently been operated and maintained by a detachment of the Railway Regiment.

During Second World War, the Railway Regiment was deployed to the European theatre to assist in the repair of damaged rail lines and to run trains for Allied forces; between 1943 and the end of the war it was subordinate to the United States Military Railway Service. The Railway Regiment filled a similar role in the Korean War as well, and is ready for deployment if and when needed.

The Fort Inkawthia story was revisited in the 1970s at Fort Tsayta near Takla Landing in the North of BC, this time with the assistance of the British Columbia Railway. Since the base had been opened in the 1950s, lorries were used to move freight between the base and the nearest railway at Fort St James. The BCR began construction of a railway from Fort St James to Dease Lake, dubbed the Stikine Line, in 1971, and immediately Takla Landing Station was reached, work began on construction of an 18.9 mile line from the mainline to the base; later, a 6.0 mile branch was added when the base was expanded in the 1990s.

= Motive Power =

= Operations = The Railway Regiment operates freight trains on the Army's network of 32.7 miles on an as-needed basis exclusively for its own needs. However, it does own a fleet of boxcars, flatcars and tank cars that are used in interchange service on the general North American railway network. In addition to their use to move equipment, they are used to move materiel from factories to the bases; in this role, Railway Regiment freight cars can be seen in various locations in BC, Canada, and the United States.

= Order of Precedence =