tree tunnel

"The Tidewater Subdivision was built by the Canadian National Railway in 1925 to shorten the distance from Lake Cowichan sawmills to the tidewater shipping port at Cowichan Bay to facilitate their lumber exports."

"Prior to 1925, Cowichan Valley lumber had to be shipped all the way to Victoria, BC, then out the Saanich Peninsula to Patricia Bay where it was loaded onto ships from the 600 metre-long pier built out into the bay for this purpose."

"The Tidewater Pier at Cowichan Bay exists to this day as WestCan Terminals Ltd., but its glory days have long-since ceased. The CNR right-of-way -- which covered the seven kilometre distance westward from Cowichan Bay to the CNR Cowichan Subdivision at Deerholm -- likewise exists to this day." (Bill Irvine)