Photographers
Bert Mills (Dad) came to Canada in late 1948 and had a camera in hand when he got off the boat. He started with the CPR in Drake Street Roundhouse in 1949 and had camera in hand and took many photos of the changing railway world of the time. By 1954 the railways were fully switching to diesels and crew reductions meant that dad was out of a job because he did not have the seniority. He came to Squamish and started working for the Pacific Great Eastern. By this time he had switched to Kodachrome film and took colour slides for the rest of his life. He passed away in 1977 and left a great collection of photos of the railway at the time.
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Dad and Pat Hind were great friends. Here is a photo of dad running and Patrick standing. This was in the 1970s after dad retired. |
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Patrick Hind was a good friend of my father. He came to Canada in 1947 and worked for the BC Forest Service starting in 1951 out of Squamish and travelled using a speeder on the railway as part of his job watching for fires. This kindled a lifelong interest in the Pacific Great Eastern and BC Rail. Patrick moved to Vancouver Island for work but made many trips to Squamish with photographers like Dave Wilkie who ended up using our house as home base for photography trips and camping out in our driveway. His collection is extensive and I will do my best to highlight the best on these pages.
Trevor Mills started taking photos in the late 1970s while on trips out with dad and his friends. The highlight of my collection is the last 10 years of steam on BC Rail and the activities leading up to the sale of BC Rail in 2004.