The Guy on the Line

We met Jim on a sunny spring day on Cambie Street. A group of us, along with reporters and camera crews, were outside the construction fence, all decked out in our safety equipment - hard hats, high visibility vests, steel toed boots - and we were all taking a look at the excavation. We noticed a man with a camera and figured he was part of the media group. To our surprise, Jim told us he was a resident of south Vancouver and not a photographer from a local paper. He went on to tell me his story...

Jim is retired and retirement is a time when you can indulge your passions. He has a passion for photography and loves big engineering projects. He told me that he wanted to document the building of the Canada Line for his children and grandchildren because one day they would point to the Canada Line and say Jim was there at the beginning. Many of us on the Project know we're working on something that will last 100 years and have a legacy. But this legacy is personal for Jim. He wants to leave future generations of his family with something that will say "Jim was there". So unbeknownst to us at the Canada Line, Jim started taking pictures. And that's why he was in the Little Mountain area - taking pictures of the Canada Line. He’s been around the construction sites so much some of the crews know him as “the Guy on the Line.” After hearing his story, we asked Jim if he would mind sharing his pictures and his stories of the construction with us. Here then is Jim's construction diary of the construction of the Canada Line.

September 2006 - Message from Jim

I have been taking pictures of the Canada Line for 10 months now and would like to take this opportunity to thank all the personnel on the line.  You have been a tremendous help.  In particular, I appreciate your time to explain the many aspects of the building of the line and the use of proper terminology.

I especially want to thank my wife Debbie who has spent many hours on the computer organizing and editing the pictures I have taken and will be taking.  Also, a big thank you to my friend Alan who has used his computer skills to lighten images that would have otherwise been too dark to view. 

Thank you all!

Jim "the guy on the line"