BCER train in the Fraser Valley shortly after the new subdivision was built in 1910. The company was formed in 1897, amalgamating the separate interurban and street railway systems in Vancouver, New Westminster and Victoria. Passenger service through the Fraser Valley to Chilliwack ended in 1950 when the BCER dieselized and became a freight-only carrier. In 1962 the British Columbia Hydro & Power Authority absorbed the BCER and its freight operations. The government-owned railway was sold in 1988 and became Southern Railway of British Columbia (SRY).