穿越落基山脉（2011）

威廉·科尼利厄斯·范·霍恩
William Cornelius Van Horne
出生在伊利诺斯州的破落农场
was born on a dirt farm in Illinois.
作为一名年轻人
As a young man, he was given the task
他被赋予在地球上建造最长
of building the longest, toughest wilderness railroad
最严酷的荒野铁路
on the face of the earth,
许多人认为这是不可能完成的任务
a task many considered impossible.
他们数万人来自地球不同地方
They once roamed the earth by the tens of thousands.
用不同的口音诉说着
Their whistles spoke of distant places,
旅程的艰辛和浪漫
of adventure and romance.
荒废了几十年
Abandoned for decades,
只留下依稀的记忆
what memories might still be evoked,
是什么样的召唤
what spirits conjured up
让落后时代的灵魂重新出现
from an age left behind so long ago?
他们长♥期♥生活在这里
Their crews considered them living things,
每个人都有独特的经历
each with a unique personality.
有的人脾气暴躁难以相处
Some were cranky and difficult;
有的人性情善良精神抖擞
others, good natured and spirited.
加拿大太平洋铁路公♥司♥
2816 has been resurrected
2816列车的恢复运行
by the Canadian Pacific
是一次非凡的尝试 召唤过去的灵魂
in an extraordinary attempt to illuminate history itself,
照亮历史的本身
to summon the spirits of the past.
他们是探险家 工程师
They were explorers, engineers,
测量师和向导
surveyors and guides.
他们用船或者步行
They traveled by boat and foot,
用马驮或者木筏
packhorse and raft.
他们穿过了
They passed through landscapes
地球上独一无二的景观
the likes of nothing else on earth.
他们从冰上滑落 从悬崖上掉下
They fell through ice, slipped from cliffs,
死在山崩里 消失在急流中
died in rockslides and were lost in rapids.
他们经过无数的河流
They followed countless rivers
没完没了的阻途山脉
and many a promising route that ended nowhere.
多年来 他们在加拿大西部
For years, they searched for an ideal passage
广阔的山野中寻找一条理想的通道
across the vast mountain wilderness of western Canada.
有些人工作到了深秋
Some worked too late into the fall
遭到暴风雪的袭击
and were ambushed by snowstorms.
被困在临时避难所中
Trapped in makeshift shelters,
他们挣扎着生存
they struggled to survive winters
冬天可能持续超过六个月
that could last over six months.
经过二十年的探索
After 20 years of exploration
跨越了几十万平方英里
spanning hundreds of thousands of square miles,
至少牺牲了四十人
at least 40 men had died
仍然没有找到理想的路线
and still no ideal route had been found
通过那些山脉
through the mountains.
不列颠哥伦比亚是加拿大一个省
The province of British Columbia had joined Canada
需要通过一条横贯
on the condition that it would be connected to the east
大♥陆♥的铁路连接到东部
by a transcontinental railway.
无奈的是 联邦政♥府♥于1881春季
In desperation, the federal government began construction
在弗雷泽河边上的一座
beside a small church on the edge of the Fraser River
小教堂旁边开始设立
in the spring of 1881.
从温哥华出发 前方的道路
Departing from Vancouver, what lies ahead is
是世界上最长最艰苦的铁路之一
one of the longest, toughest railways on earth.
相当了不起 三千英里的路程
An extraordinary, 3000-mile journey
第一次转动车轮的机车
for a locomotive that first turned a wheel
超过八十年的历史
over 80 years ago.
沿着弗雷泽河泛滥形成的平原最初几英里
The first few miles along the Fraser River flood plain
对建设者来说是很容易
were easy going for the builders,
直到线路向北
at least, until the line turned north
进入弗雷泽峡谷的谷口
into the jaws of the Fraser Canyon.
高达三千英尺高的坚硬花岗岩山体
Hard granite walls towering 3,000 feet above the river
使铁路建设陷入了一种
brought construction to a painful crawl
持续六年缓慢的痛苦爬行
that would last over six years.
十九世纪八十年代初
10,000 men worked the Fraser Canyon
有一万个工人在弗雷泽峡谷工作
in the early 1880s.
其中有六千五百人是中国华工
6,500 were Chinese.
他们钻探隧♥道♥放置炸♥弹♥
They blasted night and day,
日夜炮轰花岗岩山体
drilling tunnels into the granite rock,
在陡峭的悬崖两侧雕刻路基
carving roadbeds on the sides of vertical cliffs.
他们使用简单工具和黑色炸♥药♥
Working with hand tools and black powder,
平均每天只前进五英尺
they averaged barely five feet a day.
在这段峡谷 每一英里的铁轨铺设死亡六人
In these canyons, six men died for every mile of track laid,
其中大部分是中国人
most of them Chinese.
我们只能瞥见这些人
We can only glimpse the courage of these men
在非凡工作中留下的勇气
in the extraordinary work they left behind.
到1882年
By 1882,
铁路沿着弗雷泽峡谷
construction moved out of the Fraser Canyon
和汤普森河以东
and east along the Thompson River
逐渐上走进入内陆
as the railway climbed inland
到不列颠哥伦比亚中部高原
up to the central plateau of British Columbia.
这里的土地变得干燥
Here the land becomes arid
坚硬的岩石变成松软的砂岩
and the rock gives way to softer sandstone.
建造路基更容易
It made for easier construction,
但是贫瘠的荒漠几乎没有水
but this barren desert absorbs little water.
暴雨的侵蚀和雕刻砂岩悬崖
Torrential rains erode and sculpt sandstone cliffs
形成崩塌泥石流的山脊
into hoodoos that can collapse into mudslides,
埋葬了这条线路
and bury the line.
在这里 工程师和铺轨工人
Here, engineers and tracklayers
遭遇到了一系列新的障碍
encountered a new set of obstacles
既不能填补又不能桥连
that could be neither filled, nor bridged,
也不能用隧♥道♥穿过
nor tunneled through.
当筑路工人到达这些湖时
When construction crews arrived at these lakes,
直接想用桥连通并继续下去
they fully intended to bridge them and continue.
他们把重物绑在绳子上
But when they dropped weights
放入湖中四百英尺
attached to 400 feet of rope,
都还没有到达湖底
they never reached the bottom.
这湖实在太深了无法架桥
The lakes would be simply too deep to cross.
火车必须绕过这条长长的路线
Trains would have to take the long route around...
就像今天一样
As they do to this day.
地面平坦的地方铺架容易
Where the ground was flat and the grades easy,
总经理范·霍恩竭力弥补
General Manager Van Horne pushed hard
在峡谷和山脉中
to make up for time and money
丢失的时间和金钱
lost in the canyons and mountains.
他们是加拿大人 美国人
They were Canadians, Americans,
英国人 欧洲人和亚洲人
British, Europeans, and Asians.
在严寒中冻僵
They froze in bitter cold
在酷暑中辛勤劳作
and toiled in fierce summer heat,
被虫子叮咬
eaten raw by insects.
他们全凭手工操作
Yet, with bare hands,
每天铺设多达六英里的轨道
they laid as many as six miles of track every day.
1882年
In 1882,
在一个季节里铺设了
nearly 500 miles of track
将近五百英里的轨道
were laid in a single season...
这是一项世界纪录
A world record and a source of enormous pride
也是筑路工人的骄傲
for the track crews.
在雷夫尔斯托克的铁路小镇
At the railroad town of Revelstoke
峡谷 湖泊和荒漠
the canyons, lakes and deserts
都甩在后面
of the interior lay behind.
相比之下 塞尔扣克相对简单
Relatively easy going, compared to the Selkirk
落基山脉遥遥在望
and Rocky Mountains looming ahead.
总经理范·霍恩是业余地质学家
General Manager Van Horne was an amateur geologist,
天才艺术家 也是一位有成就的小提琴家
a talented artist, and an accomplished violinist.
虽然他最出名的是
Though he was best known
通宵喝威士忌的扑克牌手
as an all-night, scotch-drinking poker player.
然而他最大的赌注在于
Perhaps his greatest gamble, however,
选择雷夫尔斯托克东部的路线
lay in the route chosen east of Revelstoke.
范·霍恩 铁路公♥司♥和政♥府♥
Van Horne, the CPR, and the government
急于引进强大的美国铁路
were anxious to keep powerful American railroads
进入加拿大南部
from moving into Southern Canada.
有两条穿过山脉的路线
There were two routes through the mountains being considered:
一条由测量师推荐的北路
a northern route recommended by the surveyors,
一条几乎每个人都认为
and a southern route considered much more difficult