There is a fake house in Burnaby that has fooled even some of its closest neighbours since 1967. Rumours have spread that it’s everything from a government safe house to an animal crematorium, but the truth is far more interesting.
From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History
The Fake House:
The house is actually a huge ventilation shaft that’s hidden in plain sight. It is set in a nicely landscaped garden, and sits about 45 metres above the CN tracks at the midpoint of the Thornton Tunnel. Instead of a kitchen and dining room, ventilation machines and very big fans operating inside. The tip-off is the metal “keep out” wrought-iron fence, the absence of windows and the concrete barriers where a front porch would typically be.
The Tunnel:
The Thornton Tunnel took CN two years to build. It opened in 1968. The tunnel is 3.4 kilometres long and runs from the south end of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, under Burnaby and comes out at Dawson Street behind some warehouses.
Larry Lundgren was a switchman for CN from 1967 to 1972 and frequently found himself stuck at the wrong end of the train after a 10 to 15 minute ride through the tunnel. “As sure as heck a ship would come along and the bridge span would be lifted and you’d be sitting in the caboose just gasping,” said Larry.
The Bridge:
Then, as now, marine traffic has the right-of-way and the wait could be up to 40 minutes for a train wanting to cross Burrard Inlet. Larry says when he worked for the railway it wouldn’t be unusual to take an 80-car coal train through the tunnel with a crew of four—two in the front and two in the back. “It was pretty hazardous because the engine is spewing stuff and there is only so much the fan could take out of there,” he says.
Nowadays, there are two crew members per train and they sit in the front. It takes up to 20 minutes to clear the exhaust so that there’s enough air for the occupants of the next train. That limits use of the tunnel to about two trains an hour. People who live above the tunnel tell me that you can hear a “clickety-clack” or a “banging” sound and feel the vibrations when the trains go through.
© All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all blog content copyright Eve Lazarus.
30 comments on “The Fake House and the Thornton Tunnel”
kind of new it was there but had never seen any pics………interesting as usual ,,,,thanks Eve
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it
I’m fairly new to BC. I love reading these articles. Thanks for sharing
Welcome to BC and I’m so happy that you’re enjoying my stories!
Wow! Another great blog post from you, Eve! As a railfan I found this post to be utterly fascination. I knew marine traffic had priority but I didn’t it took 20 minutes to blow the exhaust out of the tunnel. Fascinating!
Thanks Will, so glad you enjoyed it!
we lived in Burnaby from 1958 to 1980.
I remember that the train would gently rock my watered when it went thru the tunnel. we were on the 3900 block of Parker between Ingelton and Macdonald.
In recent months, there appears to have been a lot of construction activity on that lot. Any idea what they have been adding to it?
I have seen this house when shopping in the Burnaby area many times. Never thought it was anything but a house that owners definitely wanted their privacy. lol
Yes I found this very interesting thank you for spending your time doing this lI was a long time resident of North Burnaby and I live in northern BC but I like to keep in touch with what’s happening in the old hood
How far down underground is the tunnel located?
About 150 ft or 45 m
I bought your book and found a surprise photo of my wife’s father at the post office tunnel with a bike. Excellent reading for the entire family now has a copy. Thanks for a great book.
There used to be a tunnel that ran from the main Post Office building on Homer to the Waterfront Station. In the era before “airmail”, it was sent on “trainmail” to the north and east.
I worked graveyard shift there from 1977 to 1986 and one of the guys I worked with knew where the keys were to just about anthing or any place you wanted to go to in that big building.
Back then, in the summer, the mail would slow down so that we would run out of work till the next truck would come in. The supervisor, wary of HIS supervisor coming down and finding us just standing around with our thumbs up out butts chatting, would tell us to “shoo” and we’d hang out in the back room playing cards or whatever till the next truck came in.
One morning we decided to check out the tunnel to see where it ran. 5 or 6 of us entered the pitch black tunnel and turned on the lights. We had “borrowed” a fork lift and attached a cart to it so we could ride. It went north for what seemed like 100 or so feet then turned left and sloped downward gently. We walked for what seemed like 3 or 4 blocks then the tunnel sloped downward towards Waterfront Station. It was at that point we ran into a locked gate. So, we did what any intrepid explorers would do: we all signed an empty mail bag with our names and the date we were there saying that “we intrepid travellers braved epic darkness, leaks and fences to arrive at a cement wall where we smoked a joint and then went back to work”.
Love this story. Here’s a blog I did on the tunnel from my book Vancouver Exposed: https://evelazarus.com/the-canada-post-tunnel/ Eve
Dave Maciean also known as JJ? I remember those tunnel trips well!
That would have been me. Of course Leho was the ring-leader. Were you along for that little jaunt?
I guess I should have read your post just a little closer. I missed your saying you remember them well.
yes I made a few trips down there always with Leho leading the way and ending with a doobie at the end of the tunnel
Another great piece of history Eve, thank you as always. I knew a bit about this and the required design but nothing about the questionable venting for those working the trains.
My Grandfather and Grandmother owned that property for many years, before it was expropriated by the railway, as well as their neighbours property. We lived behind them on Pender St.
Interesting,
Thanks!
The path of the tunnel under Burnaby is on many maps as a single thin diagonal line nowadays.
There was a huge amount of refurbishing of the ventilation system this summer, they blocked the streets and lane to bring in some equipment to lower down.
Fascinating, I have chased trains all over BC and had never heard of this.
Thanks
I did a bit of research on the tunnel a few years ago, Managed to get plans and drawings from back east, let me know if your interested in adding to your article
Absolutely! I sent you an email, if you didn’t receive please get in touch with me at eve@evelazarus.com
[…] On November 1, 1975 the Royal Hudson took 800 passengers on a trip from North Vancouver to Seattle for a meet-up with the stream-powered American Freedom Train, which was on a 21-month tour through 48 states. It was the first time a passenger train had crossed the new Second Narrows railroad bridge and travelled through the Thornton Tunnel. […]
I spent a year and a half rewiring this tunnel back in 2021..they installed 16 new jet fans to clear the tunnel of fumes more quickly so that more trains can pass through quicker
How many trains can go through in an hour?
I’m not sure of the capacity now but definitely a big increase , I remember during a night shift in the tunnel, we were still being transported to the 1500m point when we passed 2 coyotes !!.