This is the story of the Dolly Varden Mine and the Dolly Varden Mines Railway, 18 miles of improbable narrow gauge iron reaching north from the little community of Alice Arm to this rich silver property, now a legend in the annals of mining in British Columbia. In the years between 1916 and 1922, the Dolly Varden Mine was both the brightest hope and the greatest disappointment of the mining industry of Northwest Canada.