This shows Ashcroft Terminal in March 2021.

Image Credit: Google Maps

Back in the days of the Cariboo Gold Rush, Ashcroft became a major shipping port after CP rail tracks were laid down nearby.

Now, with the help of Canadian Tire, it’s moving towards becoming a major shipping centre again, not that it ever really stopped.

“In 1885, CP rail came through town and built their depot and station in what is now downtown Ashcroft,” current Ashcroft Mayor Barbara Roden told iNFOnews.ca. “Steve Tingling moved the headquarters of the BX Express from Yale up to Ashcroft. In 1886, a bridge was built across the river to connect downtown Ashcroft with the CP line.”

That made Ashcroft Mile 0 on the Cariboo Wagon Road to Barkerville.

The old Barnard Express office.

Image Credit: Submitted/Village of Ashcroft

“Ashcroft was the northern-most point on the railway before it hung a right and went through Kamloops so anything, in 1886 and later, that was going to and from the Interior and the North of B.C., had to came through Ashcroft,” Roden said.

That meant anything headed to Barkerville had to be hauled by rail then loaded onto stage coaches, wagons or pack trains for the journey north. And, anything coming out of Barkerville – and there were five million ounces of gold that came from there – had to go to Ashcroft to be loaded onto the trains.

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“Ashcroft was basically an inland port and hub terminal for 140 years,” Roden said.

It’s becoming that again.

Twenty years ago, Vancouver businessman Bob Landucci bought land straddling not only the CP Rail line but the newer CN Rail line in an oxbow of the Thompson River across from downtown Ashcroft and tried to develop it into an inland port.

This shows the Ashcroft Terminal site.

Image Credit: iMap

In 2018, the Landucci family sold the land to PSA International. That company has more than 60 deep sea, rail and inland terminals around the world.

In 2021, Canadian Tire – billed in an Ashcroft Terminal news release at that time as “the single largest container importer in Canada” – bought a 25% share of the terminal.

“The partnership with Canadian Tire now allows Ashcroft Terminal to further invest in infrastructure and capacity growth for the long-term,” the news release said. “Ashcroft Terminal has become a hub to serve the needs of a broad range of industries and customers moving their products by rail. Canadian Tire will further diversify the customer base.”

The terminal has been constantly growing over the past few years. There is one large warehouse and a new one under construction, Roden said.

This was taken in February 2022

Image Credit: Goggle Maps/Jamus Matthews

All rail freight destined to and from Vancouver’s port – the busiest in Canada – runs through Ashcroft and it’s the only industrial property between there and Alberta that has both rail lines running through it.

This is increasingly important given the huge supply chain disruption after the Lower Mainland was cut off from the rest of Canada during the fall 2021 washout of all the major road and rail links.

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"We have the potential to increase the efficiency and sustainability of the supply chain for containers imported and exported through the marine terminals in Vancouver,” the 2021 news release says. “Ashcroft Terminal facilitates the shift from truck to rail and significantly reduces the movement of trucks in the busy Metro Vancouver area."

Where once there were 10 to 15 workers they’ve been hiring steadily in recent years, Roden said. Since some people are employed by the terminal directly and some work for other companies, she could not say how many were working there now but estimated there to be several dozen.

“Ashcroft Terminal is British Columbia's largest inland port,” the 2021 news release says. “In operation since 2001, today the Terminal handles 7,000 railcars and 6,000 trucks annually. Its strategic location helps shippers, manufacturers and producers prepare their commodities for export or import.”

It is one of five major inland ports in Western Canada, the others being in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Regina.

The Ashcroft Terminal has 320 acres of industrial land with a 350-acre buffer zone. It is the only industrial property between Vancouver and Alberta that both rail lines run through and is near Highway 1.

Image Credit: Google Maps

“Ashcroft Terminal provides railcar storage and transloading services for multi-modal transportation, materials handling, railcar inspections and repairs and cargo solutions for its customers’ supply chain needs,” the news release says.

All this activity means there’s a housing crunch in the Village of Ashcroft but, Roden said, that’s not much different than most small towns in B.C.

Over the 2016-21 census period Ashcroft grew by 7.2% to a population of 1,670.

“Ashcroft terminal is a huge deal for Ashcroft and the surrounding areas,” Roden said. “I’m a big believer in 'a rising tide floats all boats.’ If the Ashcroft Terminal is employing a lot of people and a lot of people are moving to Ashcroft, then they’re going to be buying houses in the region. They’re going to be shopping in the region. They’re going to be volunteering. Their kids are going to be going to our schools.”

This photo was taken in March 2021.

Image Credit: Google Maps/Jesse Hopfl

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