The Calgary and Edmonton Railway (C&E) was an early pioneer railway in what was then the Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

, now Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada. It connected the towns of Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

 and Strathcona

Strathcona, Alberta

Strathcona was a city in Alberta, Canada, located on the south of the North Saskatchewan River opposite of the City of Edmonton. It amalgamated with Edmonton on February 1, 1912....

 (also called South Edmonton) and opened in 1891. The line was the first major transportation connection for the isolated Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

 settlement, and the development of the line was responsible for the creation of many railway town

Railway town

A railway town is a settlement that originated or was greatly developed because of a railway station or junction at its site.In Victorian Britain, the spread of railways greatly affected the fate of many small towns...

s along the line such as Red Deer

Red Deer, Alberta

Red Deer is a city in Central Alberta, Canada. It is located near the midpoint of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor and is surrounded by Red Deer County. It is Alberta's third-most-populous city – after Calgary and Edmonton. The city is located in aspen parkland, a region of rolling hills...

 and Wetaskiwin.

Initially, the northern terminus of the line was the old wooden Srathcona train station, now the Calgary and Edmonton Railway Station Museum, until the Edmonton, Yukon and Pacific Railway company was created to run a shortline across the North Saskatchewan River

North Saskatchewan River

The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows east from the Canadian Rockies to central Saskatchewan. It is one of two major rivers that join to make up the Saskatchewan River....

 in 1902. In 1907 the new Strathcona Canadian Pacific Railway station

Strathcona Canadian Pacific Railway Station

The Strathcona Canadian Pacific Railway Station was built by the Calgary and Edmonton Railway in what was then the City of Strathcona, Alberta. It was started in 1907, completed in 1908, and expanded in 1910, and is located at what is now 8101 Gateway Boulevard, just south of Whyte Avenue.The...

, now the Iron Horse Night Club, became the new depot for Strathcona.

The line's primary raison d'être to move in settlers from the east coast to Edmonton where they would congregate at immigration halls and land titles offices before setting out into the rural areas to start homestead

Homestead (buildings)

A homestead is either a single building, or collection of buildings grouped together on a large agricultural holding, such as a ranch, station or a large agricultural operation of some other designation.-See also:* Farm house* Homestead Act...

s. Some limited export of grain

Grain trade

The grain trade refers the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, maize, and rice.-History:The grain trade is probably nearly as old as grain growing, going back the Neolithic Revolution . Wherever there is a scarcity of land The grain trade refers the local...

 happened from farms near the line, but the real grain boom in the area required the construction of many more branch line

Branch line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

s lined with grain elevator

Grain elevator

A grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator, which scoops up, elevates, and then uses gravity to deposit grain in a silo or other storage facility...

s.

The line was later acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

, and Strathcona merged with Edmonton in 1912. The line itself still exists, although passenger service has been discontinued.