Glen MoffordB次元官网网址檚 new book, Along the E&N, captures the history of Vancouver Island through the lens of its various hotels and saloons that lined the now-dormant rail line.

Along the E&N tells the story of 32 establishments from Esquimalt to Campbell River. Of all the establishments detailed in the book, only nine remain today.

B次元官网网址淚t was actually going to be a book about 100 hotels on Vancouver Island, and then I realized rather quickly as I was doing my research that itB次元官网网址檚 a lot of work,B次元官网网址� Mofford said. B次元官网网址淚 boiled it down to 32 and I tied it together with the E&N, because theyB次元官网网址檙e both nostalgicB次元官网网址� When you pick this book up, thatB次元官网网址檚 your ticket on to the E&N train 140 to 160 years ago, on a steam train from Esquimalt to Campbell River with 32 stops along the way.B次元官网网址�

While the book does a lot to detail the various establishments along the E&N, Mofford also weaves interesting anecdotes and the history of the communities where the hotels existed. Chapters detail a murder suicide on Mount Sicker, a bartending dog in Bowser, and visits from John D. Rockefeller to a Chemainus hotel.

One chapter details the history of the Abbotsford Hotel that stood in Ladysmith from 1900 - 1935. The hotel was originally built by Andrew J. McMurtrie in the town of Wellington, which was once a booming coal town between Nanaimo and Ladysmith. When James Dunsmuir founded Ladysmith in 1900, the hotel was deconstructed and transported on the E&N to Ladysmith where it was reconstructed.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 kind of neat in itself, especially if youB次元官网网址檙e not from around here, or even if you are and youB次元官网网址檙e not familiar with that story,B次元官网网址� Mofford said. B次元官网网址淭hey took the whole hotel and put it on flat cars of the E&N, which was really appropriate for this book, then they put it all back together again, and it did fairly well for awhile.B次元官网网址�

Along the E&N is MoffordB次元官网网址檚 second book. His first book, Aqua Vitae, follows the history of drinking establishments in Victoria. Both were published by Touchwood Editions. Mofford is currently travelling Vancouver Island doing readings and presentations. HeB次元官网网址檚 currently deciding whether to write his next book on drinking establishments of Nanaimo, Vancouver, or BC as a whole.

Outside of his books, Mofford writes for his blog, , and contributes regularly to his Facebook page, as well as the Facebook group Historic Hotels & Pubs of British Columbia.