iN PHOTOS: Remnants of historic rail town near Merritt includes last KVR water tower

The remnants of a small but historically significant former railway town are located south of Merritt in an unincorporated community called Brooksmere, including the Kettle Valley Railway’s last surviving water tower.

Located on Coldwater Road, the site was once a busy railway junction for trains with the Great Northern Railway and Kettle Valley Railways, with trains running north to Copper Mountain, south to Princeton and east to Penticton.

Originally called Otter Summit, the site became a settlement before the First World War, according to Kettle Valley Model Railway.

Kettle Valley Railway tracks reached the area from the west in 1911 and a few years later, they joined Great Northern Railway tracks from the east.

Freight and passenger service developed and the site became a Division Point for the KVR.

There were engine terminal facilities and houses for staff built at the site, and in time, a hotel, a community centre, school and store with a gas pump were added.

In the early 1950s, diesel engines replaced steam engines, reducing the need for train crews and many of the homes in Brookmere were taken down while staff was relocated.

In the next decade, fixed rail routes were being replaced by busses and cars, further reducing the use of trains. The rail industry left Brookmere and the community dwindled to few remaining retired veterans.

The remains of a few buildings still stand in the area.

A water tower at the site is the last surviving water tower on the Kettle Valley Railroad, according to the SS Sicamous Marine Heritage Society.

Water towers were once regular sights along the railways as they were needed to supply steam locomotives with large volumes of water. Composed of tanks raised on steel or wooden structures, the towers had pivoting spouts to deliver water directly into the locomotive to be heated by coal to make steam. According to the Toronto Railway Heritage Museum, the towers were typically connected through underground pipes to one or more bodies of water in the area.

Brookmere is a scenic stop for those exploring the southern Interior and can be reached by car via the Coquihalla and Coldwater Road.