Boston Bar is an unincorporated village of about 190 people (2016) in the Fraser Canyon in the Thompson-Nicola region of British Columbia.
The name dates from the time of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush (1858–1861). A "bar" is a gold-bearing sandbar or sandy riverbank, and the one slightly down river and opposite today's town was populated heavily by Americans, who were known in the parlance of the Chinook Jargon as "Boston men" or simply "Bostons". A settlement developed on the east bank of the river to the north of the confluence with Anderson River. This was later moved to the present site with the construction of Canadian Northern Pacific Railway (modern-day Canadian National Railway).
Across the Fraser River is the small settlement of North Bend, which could only be accessed by rail or by aerial ferry until January 1986 when the two lane bridge was built. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) has a small terminal here that is the half way point between Vancouver and Kamloops.
Boston Bar is located on Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) between Vancouver and Kamloops. It is approximately 3 hours from Vancouver and 45 minutes north of Hope.
VIA Rail Canada. Operates The Canadian up to three trips per week between Toronto and Vancouver with stops in both directions in medium to large cities and tourist destinations such as Sudbury, Winnipeg, Portage la Prairie, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper, and Kamloops. This route can offer a scenic view of the Canadian Rockies, depending on the train schedule, as the train operates day and night. This service connects with another route that travels between Jasper and Prince Rupert. 2022-03-31
This split in service is due to CN and CPR sharing tracks through the Thompson and Fraser Canyon. Westbound trains are on CN tracks and eastbound trains are on CPR tracks.
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