Details of the find

A documentary film was made about this incident, including underwater search footage. It tells the story of 99-year-old Bill Chapman, the last surviving crew member of that train.

As the authors note, the train with side number 3512 has been at the bottom of the lake for 77 years, at a depth of more than 1,000 feet (300 meters). In the video, you can see the body of the coal-fired locomotive, the huge snowplow, and the wooden cars, but the wood itself has long been exhausted.

During his journey, he had to cross Lake Slocan in British Columbia. However, when he reached almost the middle of the lake, the barge he was on tipped over and tons of metal fell to the bottom. No one knew where the cars went because it was very difficult to follow them. The chance to find the lost locomotive only now appeared thanks to modern technologies.

The first image searchers saw when they found the remains of the train / 24 Channel Screenshot

The first image searchers saw when they found the remains of the train / 24 Channel Screenshot

What now?

Now that the train has been found, the plan is to bring it to the surface, pull it out, get it back up and running again. This seems like a big deal, but the authors say it’s pretty realistic.

This is likely to take more than a year of work, as experts will need to perform many complex operations to lift the multi-tonne wagons.

Video

If you have an hour and a half to spare to watch the full movie in English and you’re not a fan of Dragon House, here’s a great way to spend your evening.

Full movie about the search for the missing train: video