穿越落基山脉（2011）

驾驶一列来自东部的特快列车
made his way in total blackness
在一片漆黑的夜色中
across rocks the size of apartment buildings
试图穿过公♥寓♥大楼大小
in a frantic attempt to stop an express train
坍塌落下的岩石
coming from the east.
在最后一刻 他停止了
At the last possible moment,
驶往华盛顿的斯波坎特快列车
he stopped the Spokane Flyer bound for Washington...
拯救了数百名乘客的生命
saving the lives of hundreds of passengers.
他得到了铁路公♥司♥二十五美元的奖励
He received an award from the railroad of $25.
小镇附近大约有九十个人
Roughly 90 souls on the edge of town
就没有那么幸运
were not so lucky.
他们现在仍然埋葬在坍塌下
They remain buried under the slide to this day.
穿过这些山脉
There would be no easy route
没有一条简单的路线
through these mountains after all,
在最大的挑战面前
but there is an easy stretch along the Kicking Horse River
踢马河有一条缓冲的地带
before the greatest challenge of all...
就在高耸入云的落基山脉前
The towering Rocky Mountains ahead.
菲尔德铁路小镇就位于
The railroad town of Field is at the foot
落基山脉最陡峭的铁轨脚下
of the steepest stretch of track in the Rockies.
1886年费城鲍尔温机车厂
In 1886, the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia
设计了一系列特殊的机车
designed a special series of locomotives
帮助铁路公♥司♥运送重型列车上下大山
to help move heavy trains up and down the CPR's Big Hill.
除了314号♥机车以外
These Consolidation-class engines
这些联合引擎机车是非常成功
were enormously successful, except for number 314.
1♥8♥9♥9年314号♥机车在下山过程中
Descending the Big Hill in 1♥8♥9♥9,
脱轨掉落 车上全体乘员死亡
314 ran away and jumped the track, killing its crew.
重新建造和重新命名
Rebuilt and renumbered,
但这次攀爬大山时
but this time climbing the Big Hill,
机车发生爆♥炸♥ 再次杀死全体乘员
it blew itself to pieces, killing another crew.
再次修好机车 在大山上下运转
Repaired again, it worked up and down the Big Hill
差不多三十年
for 30 more years,
一直以来所有的乘员都担惊受怕
all the time feared and despised by its crews.
到目前为止 前方二十英里的
The 20 miles ahead remain, to this day,
距离仍然是铁路中
among the most challenging stretches of track
最具挑战性的轨道
in all of railroading.
铁路开通二十年后
20 years after the railway was opened,
大山上可怕的高坡
the terrible grades on the Big Hill were reduced
被铁路历史上
by one of the most famous engineering projects
最着名的工程之一
in the history of railroading...
螺旋隧♥道♥取代
The spiral tunnels.
隧♥道♥增加了线路距离
The tunnels give the line additional distance
以攀登落基山脉陡峭的西面
to climb the steep western face of the Rocky Mountains.
通过上山下山隧♥道♥
Through both an upper and lower tunnel,
长长的货运列车
long freight trains cross over themselves
在山里环行而过
by looping around inside the mountain.
1885秋季 最后一口钉是在
The Last Spike was driven at Craigellachie
克雷盖拉希打上 对于加拿大这个小小的新国家
in the fall of 1885... An extraordinary accomplishment
这是一项非凡的成就
for the tiny new country of Canada.
但不久后横跨大♥陆♥的
But soon after transcontinental trains
火车开始连通大海的运行
began running from sea to sea...
铁路公♥司♥犯了个严重错误
it was apparent the railway had profoundly miscalculated
忽略了一个重要的细节
one significant detail...
冬天
Winter.
在冬天几乎没有人
Virtually no one had ever ventured
冒险闯入罗杰斯山口
into Rogers Pass in the winter,
这是有充分理由的
and for good reason.
那里是世界上最深的降雪之一
It had among the deepest known snowfalls in the world...
在一个季节内高达六十英尺
As much as 60 feet in a single season.
1910年2月28日 一伙六十人
On February 28, 1910, a gang of 60 men were working
正在清理山口时雪崩了
to clear an avalanche in the pass.
在午夜 山谷的另一边
At midnight, another slide came down
发生山体滑落
the opposite side of the valley
只有一人生还
and killed all but one.
大多数都是日本人
Most of the men were Japanese.
在最初几年的运行中 至少有二百五十人死于
At least 250 men would die in avalanches in Rogers Pass alone
罗杰斯山口的雪崩
in the first few years of operation.
当建设开始时 很少有人能够
When construction began, few could have imagined
想象南部路线所带来可怕的牺牲
the terrible sacrifices the southern route would entail.
新的铁路 新的国家
The new railway and the country itself
本身就挂在最薄的线上
hung on the thinnest of threads.
这些路段运行起来非常昂贵
The mountain sections were ruinously expensive to operate
铁路公♥司♥濒临在破产边缘
and the company teetered on bankruptcy.
拯救加拿大太平洋铁路需要奇迹
It would take a miracle to save the Canadian Pacific Railway.
奇迹确实发生了
A miracle did occur.
就在大♥陆♥分水岭的顶部
Just over the top of the Continental Divide,
在落基山脉的东面
on the east face of the Rocky Mountains,
测量师称之为地球上最美丽的地方
was a place the surveyors called the most beautiful on earth.
他们把它命名为班夫
They named it Banff.
穿过山脉最艰难的路线
The toughest route through the mountains
也是最壮观的路线
was also the most spectacular.
极具讽刺拯救铁路公♥司♥
This simple irony would help save the railway
不如说是拯救国家本身
and perhaps the country itself.
铁路联♥系♥上了国家公园网络
A national park system followed the railway.
班夫国家公园 露易斯湖
Banff, Lake Louise,
贾斯珀国家公园 冰川国家公园 约霍国家公园
Jasper, Glacier, Yoho.
荒野香格里拉的消息传遍全球
News of a wilderness Shangri-La spread around the globe,
铁路公♥司♥有了蓬勃发展的新业务 旅游业
and the company had a thriving new business: tourism.
范·霍恩建造了一系列很棒的酒店
Van Horne built a series of great hotels,
包括最着名的 在路易斯湖边
including the most famous, at Lake Louise...
紧接着是一大批着名的
followed by a fleet of legendary passenger trains
旅客列车来吸引游客
to bring in the tourists.
从落基山脉的峰顶开始
From the summit of the Rocky Mountains,
大轮式哈得逊机车沿着
the big-wheeled Hudson locomotives ran down
长而陡的山坡向下面的草原奔去
the long, fast mountain slope to the prairie below.
在蒸汽时代 时速达到
A hundred miles an hour was routine
一百英里才是大特快列车
for the great express trains in the Age of Steam.
随着铁路的发展和繁荣 国家也跟着发展起来
As the railway grew and prospered, the country followed.
火车开通带来了定居者 开拓了大量土地
Trains brought in settlers, opening up the land.
他们把农产品推向市场
They hauled produce to market,
建造了城镇和城市
they built towns and cities.
他们把士兵送到战场去
They took soldiers away to war...
纪念那些留下的
remembered by those left behind
寂寞的哀号♥
by the sound of a lonesome wail.
范·霍恩的铁路发展成为庞大的网络
Van Horne's railway grew into a vast network.
大特快列车日夜穿梭
The great express trains flowed day and night
越过高高的草原
across the high grass prairie,
穿过苏必利尔湖的花岗岩湖滨
the granite shores of Lake Superior,
趟过圣劳伦斯山谷的肥沃农田
the rich farmland of the St. Lawrence Valley,
终于到了蒙特利尔的海港
and finally down to the seaport of Montreal.
范·霍恩在合同规定的一半时间内
Van Horne completed the impossible railroad
完成了不可能完成的铁路
in half the time required by the contract.
他是美国土农的儿子
The son of an American dirt farmer,
后来成为了加拿大历史上
he rose to become one of the greatest figures
最伟大的人物之一
in all of Canadian history.
在罗杰斯山口 在伊勒西维特山谷
But here in Rogers Pass, in the valley of the Illecillewaet,
范·霍恩和他的铁路传奇
the legend of Van Horne and his railway
可能有着截然不同的结局
might have had a much different ending.
他们的名字是由木头和石头磨成的 永远消失了
Their names are worn from wood and stone and lost forever.
他们年轻强壮
They were young and strong.
他们赤手空拳 忍♥受着难以想象的困难
With bare hands they endured unimaginable hardship.
改变路线几乎是不可能的
The route chosen was nearly impossible,
他们对未来充满信心 会找到方法的
yet they had faith in the future and they found a way.
我们知道的只有铁路
We know them only by the railway
以及建造铁路的非凡国家
and the extraordinary country they built:
加拿大
Canada.