Description of Historic Place

The Wellington Colliery Railway is a former triangular-shaped railway line that connected Union Bay, Royston, Cumberland and Bevan, transferring both passengers between these places as well as coal from Mines 1 through 8 to Union Bay for trans-shipment. Surviving evidence of the line exists in unbuilt, open areas on all four sides of the Village of Cumberland, B.C., as well as in areas outside of Cumberland's boundaries.

Heritage Value

The Wellington Colliery Railway holds historical value for its association with the coal mining industry in the Comox Valley in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Its first track from Union, the former name of Cumberland, to Union Bay was completed in 1889. The railway line is valued for its association with the mining campsite of Union, established by Robert Dunsmuir and Sons just west of the settlement that would soon after become known as Cumberland, as well as with civil engineer William George Pinder, who surveyed the rail line, and with engineer Joseph Hunter, who supervised the construction of the railway.

The Wellington Colliery Railway has historical and social value as a transportation system that supported important extraction economies in the Cumberland area. The surviving railbeds are testament to the transfer of local coal, timber and freight to the wharf at Union Bay; the movement of mining company staff, miners and their families between Bevan, Cumberland, Royston, Union Bay, and Mines 1 through 8, as well as of general passenger service between the mid-1890s and 1931. When the Comox Valley mines gradually closed in the mid-20th century, and the tracks of the Wellington Colliery Railway were lifted in stages between 1935 and 1953. Some of the remaining railbeds were adapted as logging roads, serving yet another important regional extraction economy for many decades.

The Wellington Colliery Railway has cultural value for its association with formal and informal outdoor recreation in Cumberland. Seeing the value of this former transportation network as hiking, walking and biking routes used for decades by both locals and visitors, the railway rights in Cumberland were purchased by the Village in 1976 and portions outside Cumberland were purchased by the Comox Valley Regional District in 2014. Today, sections of the railbeds of the former Wellington Colliery Railway are protected as parks and greenways, valued for offering public access to Cumberland's natural environment and to former industry, settlement and transportation sites of importance.

Character-Defining Elements

The elements that define the heritage character of the Wellington Colliery Railway are its:

- Original location of lines in the Cumberland area
- Flat rail beds that traverse the natural wetlands, forests and environments of the Cumberland area, and any evidence of their construction, including the grading and ballasting of the beds
- The geometry of the railing gridlines and curves
- Industrial transportation use from 1889 to 1953
- Passenger transportation from mid-1890s to 1931
- Recreational use - both historic and contemporary