[dmuzika]

I think Vancouver still becomes a major city, but the question becomes what is the easiest route to the coast for a railway north of the 48th parallel? I once read that the Okanagan was a major route to the coast back when the British controlled modern-day Washington and Oregon, but that shifted to the Fraser Canyon when the border shifted to the 49th parallel. If the transcontinental railroad could have gone to the 48th parallel, maybe it bypasses the Fraser Canyon and goes through the Okanagan (Kamloops doesn't become as prominent) and goes west further south. I don't know about the harbours, but maybe it terminates at Burlington/Mount Vernon.

Taking it a step further, Crowsnest Pass is lower and more gentle pass than Kicking Horse Pass or Rogers Pass. Maybe the Transcontinental Railroad would have not angled NW at Medicine Hat, but rather continued due west through Lethbridge, Crowsnest Pass, and possibly a better corridor through northern Washington. As a result, Lethbridge probably would be the preeminent city in Alberta, instead of Calgary, and the settlement patterns of interior BC would be quite different.