The Dolly Varden Railway was a small 3ft. gauge railway built in the rough mountainous country of Northern British Columbia. The railway extended from the town of Alice Arm to the Dolly Varden silver mine located 18 miles north. The railway followed the path of the Kitsault River.
The railway was built between 1917-1920 and was only operational from
1919-1921.
The Dolly Varden silver mine was the prize all the work was for. Having deposits of silver ore as rich as 2200 ounces of silver per tonne, this deposit of silver, as well as other mines in the area, may be the largest source of silver in North America.
Vancouver Public Library Photo #20905
Why the Dolly Varden is intriguing to modellers is the method of construction. Built with the primary goal of keeping the expenses to a minimum, almost all construction material was fabricated locally. All

external supplies were delivered by ship, then moved from the wharf to the construction area.
University of British Columbia Special Collections
The sheer ruggedness of the railway is another appeal to many modellers.
The railway wandered through the dense hemlock forest, clawing to the sides of canyons, sharing the path in stretches with the Kitsault River and finally, grinding upgrade to its final terminus at Camp 8.

Vancouver Public Library Photo #20928
Even the structures show the skill of pioneers at using what is available on site. The ore tipple at Camp 8 is mostly made of logs. The mining company’s office uses a tree trunk to hold one corner of the building. Even the turnouts are built using standard ties lengths interlaced between each other to provide the width for a turnout. The photos also show the amount of junk left wherever some space was available.
The Dolly Varden is a prototype railway that can be modelled near completely in a limited space with a limited amount of rolling stock (58 cars at its peak in 1920) and 5 locomotives. Because I model in On30, some of the models are already available; 30 ton Climax, little 0-4-0T Porters and
Roger dump cars. The detailed photographs and blueprints allow for detailed scratchbuilt structures.

University of British Columbia Special Collections Alfred Taylor Collection

Many small railways disappear into history. The Dolly Varden would have suffered this fate if not for events that saved it’s records for posterity.
1.
The excellent book on the mine and the railway called “Steel Rails and Silver Dreams”, which explores the history, the politics, and the business aspects of the Dolly Varden. This book includes most of the pictures available on the railway, as well as plans, maps and drawings
2.
An extensive photo record of the railway, exceeding 100 photographs of high quality to give modellers a variety of reference material to make accurate models.
3.
The record of conversations between investors and businessmen that contained many details to help us understand today what business was like in the 1920’s, as well as government hearings that documented the railway in great detail..
4.
The resurrection of the career of the chief engineer, Alfred Taylor, from his bankruptcy building the railway to his fame during and after
World War II. His records are now preserved, including many pieces from the Dolly Varden.
Sources of Information on the Dolly Varden
Anyone wishing to learn more about the Dolly Varden Mine Railway and associated mine should read the book “Steel Rails and Silver Dreams” by Darryl Muralt, recently re-released by
Benchmark Publications. This book goes into great detail on the discovery, development, operation, and demise of the railway. The book also contains many photographs, maps and plans.
Vancouver Public Library has many photos available on their website ( www.vpl.ca
)
Their collection contains a set of 60 high quality 8x10 glass negatives of the Dolly Varden
University of British Columbia Library, Rare Books and Special Collections,
Website: http://www.library.ubc.ca/spcoll/
A.J.T. Taylor Collection.
This contains blueprints of the railway survey, structural blueprints of the ore bunker.
TN439.D65 D644 1918
TITLE(S):*The Dolly Varden Railway, 1918
PUBLISHER: 1918.
DESCRIPTION: 12 leaves : all ill., map, ports. ; 30 cm.
Picture book from 1918 on the Dolly Varden RR

Magazine Articles:
Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette
September – October 1986
May – August 1990 Alexander Zelkin Sn3 Degulbeef and Cradding
November – December 1991 pg.23 Dick Patterson Dolly Varden RR
March – April 1999 pg. 24 Daniel Houel /Alexander Zelkin
Ragger Creek Lumber Company
July – August 2006 pg. 42 Alexander Zelkin Sn3 Degulbeef and Cradding
Narrow Gauge Down Under
April 2009 DVMR History
July 2009 DVMR Construction
Model Railroader
March 1997 pg 116 Dick Patterson
Photographs :
North Pacific Seaplanes Website
Videos:
City Of Vancouver Archives
Dolly Varden video
Wings Over Canada Series
Episode #212 Ghost Towns of Alice Arm and Kitsault
Youtube:
Dolly Varden Mines Railway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAsqi5evRPk
Web Forums:
Freerails.com 2009 Thread
Railroad-line.com 2009 Dolly Varden Thread
Web Sites:
Dollyvardensilver.com
Dollyvardenrr.com
Present owners of the property
Resource site for Dolly Varden Railroad information