Canadian Pacific Railway in BC
Encyclopedia
>
|}
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...
is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Class I Railroad
Class I railroad
A Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...
that stretches from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. The BC
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
portion of the railway was constructed between 1881 and 1885, fulfilling a promise extended to British Columbia when it entered Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
in 1871. For decades, it was the only practical means of long–distance passenger transport in Canada.
Background
The Confederation League (which included such figures as Amor De CosmosAmor De Cosmos
Amor De Cosmos was a Canadian journalist, publisher and politician. He served as the second Premier of British Columbia.-Early life:...
, John Robson
John Robson
John Robson was a Canadian journalist and politician, who served as the ninth Premier of the Province of British Columbia.-Journalist and activist:...
, and Robert Beaven
Robert Beaven
Robert Beaven , son of James Beaven, was a British Columbia politician and businessman. Beaven moved to British Columbia from Toronto, where he had been educated at Upper Canada College, because of the gold rush. He entered business in Victoria, which was then the capital of the Colony of Vancouver...
) led the chorus pressing for the colony to join Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, which had been created out of three British North American colonies in 1867 (the Province of Canada
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
). Several factors motivated this drive—fear of annexation by the United States, overwhelming debt created by rapid population growth, the need for government-funded services to support this population, and the economic depression caused by the end of the gold rush. With the agreement by the Canadian government to extend the Canadian Pacific Railway to British Columbia and to assume the colony's debt, British Columbia became the sixth province to join Confederation on 20 July 1871. The borders of the province were not completely settled until 1903, however, when the province's territory shrank somewhat after the Alaska boundary dispute
Alaska Boundary Dispute
The Alaska boundary dispute was a territorial dispute between the United States and Canada . It was resolved by arbitration in 1903. The dispute had been going on between the Russian and British Empires since 1821, and was inherited by the United States as a consequence of the Alaska Purchase in...
settled the vague boundary of the Alaska Panhandle
Alaska Panhandle
Southeast Alaska, sometimes referred to as the Alaska Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of Southeast Alaska's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...
.
The Pacific Scandal
Pacific Scandal
The Pacific Scandal was a political scandal in Canada involving allegations of bribes being accepted by the Conservative government in the attempts of private interests to influence the bidding for a national rail contract...
. Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie, PC , a building contractor and newspaper editor, was the second Prime Minister of Canada from November 7, 1873 to October 8, 1878.-Biography:...
succeeded Macdonald as Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
and embarked on a very slow building process in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. At this time there was also a severe financial depression, due to the Credit Mobilier scandal and the building of the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
in the US. Also at this time, the government of Canada embarked on many surveys across the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
searching for the best route. Half a dozen routes were investigated, among them Pine Pass
Pine Pass
The Pine Pass, 875 m , is a mountain pass in the Hart Ranges of the Northern Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. It is used by BC Highway 97 and the Canadian National Railway formly BC Rail to connect the Peace Country of the province's Northeastern Interior, and is the location of the...
, Rocky Mountain Canyon, Yellowhead and Kootenay Crossing. These myriad surveys took time, effort and money—money which would have been better spent on just one or two surveys.
Macdonald returned to power in 1878 and truly began to get on with the job of the railway. The government of Canada contracted with Andrew Onderdonk
Andrew Onderdonk
Andrew Onderdonk was a construction contractor who worked on several major projects including the San Francisco seawall in California and the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia. He was born on August 30, 1848 in New York to an established Dutch family. He received his education at the...
to build a railway two hundred miles from Port Moody on the Pacific tidewater to Savona's Ferry, some thirty miles west of modern Kamloops. Public Works Minister Sir Sandford Fleming had chosen the Fraser Canyon
Fraser Canyon
The Fraser Canyon is an 84 km landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley...
route with its fearsome Hell's Gate torrent, steep granite chasms, winding valleys and rockfalls. Other surveys had been conducted down Bute Inlet
Bute Inlet
Bute Inlet is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. It is 80 km long from its head at the mouths of the Homathko and Southgate Rivers to the continental headlands at its mouth, where it is nearly blocked by Stuart Island, and it averages about 4 km in width...
, Dean Channel, Howe Sound
Howe Sound
Howe Sound is a roughly triangular sound, actually a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver.-Geography:Howe Sound's mouth at the Strait of Georgia is situated between West Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast. The sound is triangular shaped, open on its southeast towards the...
and Harrison Lake but were found wanting. Fleming favoured the Yellowhead Pass
Yellowhead Pass
The Yellowhead Pass is a mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies. It is located on the border between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and lies within Jasper National Park and Mount Robson Provincial Park....
as the best route. At any rate the blasting and tunnelling through the tortuous Pacific Cascade Mountains would take half-a-dozen years, and the route could drive from Kamloops to Jasper after Onderdonk's crews had finished.
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway Bill was approved by the House of Commons, and in February 1881 the company came into existence. It agreed to build the railway in exchange for $25,000,000 (approximately $625,000,000 in modern Canadian dollars) in credit from the Canadian government and a grant of 25000000 acres (101,171.5 km²) of land. The government transferred to the new company those sections of the railway it had constructed. The government also defrayed the cost of surveying, and exempted the railway from property taxes for 20 years. The Montreal-based syndicate officially consisted of five men—George Stephen, James J. Hill, Duncan McIntyre, Richard B. Angus, and John Stewart Kennedy. Donald A. Smith and Norman Kittson were unofficial silent partners with a significant financial interest.Chinese workers
Due to a shortage of workers, Onderdonk contracted labour agents in KowloonKowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...
to supply thousands of Chinese coolies for the project. The province was outraged at the mass transfer of labour and "Asiatics", fearing that both would upset the white Anglo-Saxon classes in British Columbia. Macdonald ceded to Onderdonk, due to the savings in labour costs. BC at the time only had a population of two or three thousand Europeans—not nearly enough to build such a large project. Macdonald quipped that BC could either have Chinese workers and a railway, or no Chinese workers and no railway. Historians estimate he brought in several thousand Chinese from China and many thousands more from California. Chinese workers were kept on crews separate from the white workers and often given the most dangerous jobs, including tunnel-blasting using highly unstable nitroglycerin. Many Chinese laborers were killed in accidents or died of scurvy during the winter, though part of the blame for the scurvy deaths lay with the workers' reliance on rice as a staple. Unlike white workers, injured Chinese workers were not given access to the company hospital and were abandoned to the rest of the workers for help. Discrimination and racism led to fights between Chinese and white workers, including white foremen of Chinese crews. Chinese workers were generally seen by management as efficient, hardworking and well-behaved.
The Chinese crews worked year-round in the cliffs and forests, leveling grades. Navvies
Navvy
Navvy is a shorter form of navigator or navigational engineer and is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects...
received between $1 and $2.50 per day but had to pay for their own food, clothing, transportation to the job site, mail and medical care. After two-and-a-half months of back-breaking labour, they could net as little as $16. Chinese navvies in British Columbia made only between $0.75 and $1.25 a day (not including expenses), leaving hardly anything to send home. They did the most dangerous construction jobs. The families of the Chinese who were killed received no compensation—not even notification of loss of life. Many of the men who survived did not have enough money to return to their families in China and spent years in lonely, sad and (often) poor conditions.
Michael Heney
Onderdonk engaged Irishman Michael James HeneyMichael James Heney
Michael James Heney was a railroad contractor of international renown, best known for his work on the first two railroads built in Alaska, the White Pass and Yukon Route and the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. The son of Irish immigrants, Heney rose to the top of his profession before his...
, a superior foreman. Heney saw the problem of the rivers, gorges, and cliffs and realized that Onderdonk would need extensive bridging. To solve this problem, Heney built a steam-powered sawmill at Haney
Haney, British Columbia
Haney, British Columbia was historically a town in Southern British Columbia and is now part of the larger district municipality of Maple Ridge, British Columbia.-Features:...
to cut standardized timbers. Crews also cut bridge bents (framework reinforcements), so the advance crews only had to submit measurements to Heney and he would custom-build a woodwork for that mile marker of track. The prime Douglas Fir of the Fraser Valley
Fraser Valley
The Fraser Valley is the section of the Fraser River basin in southwestern British Columbia downstream of the Fraser Canyon. The term is sometimes used to refer to the Fraser Canyon and stretches upstream from there, but in general British Columbian usage of the term refers to the stretch of the...
provided ideal timber. Lumber for ties was also cut at Texas Creek, and timber was cut at the Chehalis river near Kilby. Other crews were engaged around the province cutting and squaring crossties by the million.
1885: the critical year
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...
completely undid construction estimates and the CPR was nearly bankrupt in 1885. To prevent financial ruin CPR crews stopped building in masonry and steel, opting for tree-pole construction with bridge trestles built from nearby trees. Snowsheds, easy routings and sidings were omitted to reduce costs. Only the intervention of Lord Revelstoke of Barings Bank
Barings Bank
Barings Bank was the oldest merchant bank in London until its collapse in 1995 after one of the bank's employees, Nick Leeson, lost £827 million due to speculative investing, primarily in futures contracts, at the bank's Singapore office.-History:-1762–1890:Barings Bank was founded in 1762 as the...
of London with another loan gave the CPR enough financing to finish the job. The greatest disadvantage of the route was in Kicking Horse Pass
Kicking Horse Pass
Kicking Horse Pass is a high mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta/British Columbia border, and lying within Yoho and Banff National Parks...
. In the first 6 km (3.7 mi) west of the 1,625-metre(5,330 ft)-high summit, the Kicking Horse River drops 350 metres (1,150 ft). The steep drop would force the cash-strapped CPR to build a 7-km(4.5 mile)-long stretch of track with a very steep 4.5% gradient when it reached the pass in 1884. This was over four times the maximum gradient recommended for railways of this era; even modern railways rarely exceed a 2% gradient. However, this route was far more direct than one through the Yellowhead Pass and saved hours for both passengers and freight. This section of track was the Big Hill
Big Hill
The Big Hill on the Canadian Pacific Railway main line in British Columbia, Canada, was the most difficult piece of railway track on the Canadian Pacific Railway's route. It was situated in the rugged Canadian Rockies west of the Continental Divide and Kicking Horse Pass...
. Safety switches were installed at several points, the speed limit for descending trains was set at 10 km per hour (6 mph) and special locomotives were ordered. Despite these measures, several serious runaways still occurred. CPR officials insisted that this was a temporary expediency, but this state of affairs would last for 25 years until the completion of the Spiral Tunnels in the early 20th century.
Strike at Golden
Money problems triggered a strike at a construction camp near Golden in late 1885. Work crews had not been paid for months, and downed their tools. The North-West Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
and company foremen attempted to calm the situation. Promises were made by the company which ameliorated the stalemate, and the crews went back to work.
Last spike
Red River Rebellion
The Red River Rebellion or Red River Resistance was the sequence of events related to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by the Métis leader Louis Riel and his followers at the Red River Settlement, in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba.The Rebellion was the first crisis...
on the Red River
Red River of the North
The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...
was quickly put down with troops travelling over the CPR. Perhaps because the government was grateful for this service, it subsequently reorganized the CPR's debt and provided a further $5,000,000 loan—money which was desperately needed by the CPR. On November 7, 1885, the Last Spike
Last Spike (Canadian Pacific Railway)
The Last Spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was the final spike driven into the Canadian Pacific Railway at Craigellachie, British Columbia at 9:22 am on November 7, 1885...
was driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia
Craigellachie, British Columbia
Craigellachie is a locality in British Columbia, located several kilometres to the west of the Eagle Pass summit between Sicamous and Revelstoke...
, making good on the original promise. Four days earlier, the last spike of the Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
section was driven just west of Jackfish, Ontario. While the railway was completed four years after the original 1881 deadline, it was completed more than five years ahead of the 1891 deadline issued by Macdonald in 1881.
Extension of the line from Port Moody
After the completion of the through line to MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Sir William Cornelius Van Horne
William Cornelius Van Horne
Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, KCMG was a pioneering Canadian railway executive.-Life and career:Born in 1843 in rural Illinois, he moved with his family to Joliet, Illinois when he was eight years old...
looked at Port Moody and Burrard Inlet
Burrard Inlet
Burrard Inlet is a relatively shallow-sided coastal fjord in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the low-lying Burrard Peninsula from the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, home to the communities of West...
and decided to move the terminus to Gastown and False Creek
False Creek
False Creek is a short inlet in the heart of Vancouver. It separates downtown from the rest of the city. It was named by George Henry Richards during his Hydrographic survey of 1856-63. Science World is located at its eastern end and the Burrard Street Bridge crosses its western end. False Creek is...
. Land was secretly obtained from the provincial government and landowners to prevent speculation, and work crews extended the line 11 miles west to the City of Vancouver. Engine 374
Engine 374
Engine No. 374 was the steam engine which pulled the first transcontinental train to arrive in Vancouver, arriving on May 23, 1887. This was a year after its sister Engine No. 371 brought first Canadian Pacific Railway train to cross Canada into Port Moody. No...
pulled the first passenger train into Vancouver on May 23, 1887; it was a banner year for the city.
Canadian Pacific agents operated in many overseas locations. Immigrants were often sold a package that included passage on a CP ship, travel on a CP train, and land sold by the CP Railway priced at $2.50 an acre and up. Immigrants paid very little for a seven-day journey to the west. They rode in cars with sleeping facilities and a small kitchen at one end of each car. Children were not allowed off the train, lest they wander off and be left behind. The directors of the CPR knew that not only were they creating a nation, but also a long-term source of revenue for their company.
Founding of Vancouver
Vancouver was founded in 1886 as an adjunct to the arrival of the railway. The CPR was given extensive lands in the Vancouver area—the West End, lands west of Cambie Street, False Creek and the SouthlandsDunbar-Southlands
Dunbar-Southlands is a neighbourhood in the City of Vancouver that stretches north from the Fraser River across much of the peninsula between the mouth of the Fraser and English Bay...
area stretching to the Fraser River. Posh subdivisions were built, due to the railway's influence. The Drake Street Roundhouse was built on False Creek, and Yaletown
Yaletown
Yaletown is an area of Downtown Vancouver approximately bordered by False Creek, Robson, and Homer Streets. Formerly a heavy industrial area dominated by warehouses and rail yards, since the Expo 86, it has been transformed into one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in the city...
emerged. The City of Vancouver was incorporated on 6 April 1886, the year the first transcontinental train arrived. The name (honouring George Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
) was chosen by CPR president William Van Horne, who arrived in Port Moody to establish the CPR terminus recommended by Henry John Cambie. A massive "slash burn" (clearing fire) broke out of control on 13 June 1886, razing the entire city. It was quickly rebuilt, and the Vancouver Fire Department was established that same year.
Enter the CPR Pacific Steamers
Profitability
The completion of the line and extension of the steamers put the railway in the black. From this, it began a program of infrastructure upgrades; the temporary trestles were changed to stone and steel. Snowsheds were built, as were rail yards, spurs, coalsheds and watertowers. The CPR sought cargo for its trains—lumber from the Hastings mill, fish from Steveston, fruit from the OkanaganOkanagan
The Okanagan , also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as Okanagan Country is a region located in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. As of 2009, the region's population is approximately 350,927. The...
, minerals from the Kootenays and immigrants from Europe. With this in mind, the railway expanded with spurs to the Okanagan, the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway, and a southern link from Port Coquitlam to New Westminster and Eburne.
Various disasters
While the CPR was doing well on the financial front, heavy slides in the Rogers Pass would often close the line in the month of March. Crews were dispatched to the area to shovel snow, which worked until 1910 when another slide came down on a work crew. Rains in 1894 washed out bridges and rail lines in a number of places. The line also had ongoing trouble with the Big Hill, including several runaway trains.
Turn of the century
By the turn of the 20th century, the railway was a going concern and made its mark on the world stage. Major hotels were begun, such as the Empress HotelThe Empress (Hotel)
The Fairmont Empress is one of the oldest and most famous hotels in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Located on Government Street facing the Inner Harbour, the Empress has become an iconic symbol for the city itself...
in Victoria, the Second Hotel Vancouver, Glacier House, the Banff Springs Hotel
Banff Springs Hotel
The Fairmont Banff Springs or simply the Banff Springs Hotel is a former railway hotel constructed in Scottish Baronial style located in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. The original hotel, designed by American architect Bruce Price, was built between spring of 1887 and 1888 by the Canadian...
and Chateau Lake Louise
Chateau Lake Louise
The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is a Fairmont Hotel on the eastern shore of Lake Louise, near Banff, Alberta. The original Chateau was gradually built up at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century by the Canadian Pacific Railway and was thus "kin" to its predecessors, the Banff...
. Heavier railway equipment was built and ordered to keep up with the increased tonnage, and with the heavier trains came heavier bridges. One ongoing problem was the onerous grade up the Kicking Horse Pass. The heavy trains needed batteries of engines to get over the Big Hill. From this the Spiral Tunnels evolved, and construction began to build the long tunnels under the mountains.
The Crow's Nest Pass
The CP empire had driven south from CalgaryCalgary
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...
in the 1890s to reach the coal mines of Lethbridge
Lethbridge
Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada, and the largest city in southern Alberta. It is Alberta's fourth-largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and the third-largest by area after Calgary and Edmonton. The nearby Canadian Rockies contribute to the city's...
; also, a link was made to the US lines in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. From this, the CPR wanted to build a line to the rich coalfields of Fernie
Fernie, British Columbia
Fernie is a city in the Elk Valley area of the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on BC Highway 3 on the eastern approaches to the Crowsnest Pass through the Rocky Mountains...
over the Rocky Mountains in BC. A line was built from Alberta across the Crow's Nest Pass to Fernie and Cranbrook
Cranbrook, British Columbia
Cranbrook, British Columbia is a city in southeast British Columbia, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary's River, It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the East Kootenay. As of 2006, Cranbrook's population is 18,267, and the...
, and the mountains became littered with colleries. By 1900, the CPR had purchased the smelter at Trail
Trail, British Columbia
Trail is a city in the West Kootenay region of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada.-Geography:Trail has an area of . The city is located on both banks of the Columbia River, approximately 10 km north of the United States border. This section of the Columbia River valley is located between the...
and sought to move Fernie coal around the Selkirk Mountains to Nelson and Trail. When the CPR bought the smelter, it also bought the large mining company of Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company
Teck Cominco
Teck Resources Limited known as Teck Cominco until late 2008, is a Canadian mining company. It was formed from the amalgamation of Teck and Cominco in 2001.-History:...
and their many properties in the Kootenays.
The Canadian Pacific Railway built a line from Lethbridge, Alberta, to a lakehead near Nelson, British Columbia
Nelson, British Columbia
Nelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the extreme West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Known as "The Queen City", and acknowledged for its impressive collection of restored heritage buildings from its glory days in a regional silver rush,...
; it opened in 1897. This line was built to develop coal deposits in the Elk River valley and help to assert Canadian (and CPR) sovereignty in an area into which U.S. railroads were beginning to build. CPR sought and received construction funding from the federal government, subject to a freight-subsidy arrangement for farm exports from the prairies; this came to be called the "Crow's Nest Pass Agreement". The tough lakeshore section around the Creston Mountains (from Creston to Nelson) was not built until 1927. Barges and lake steamers connected the railway.
Crow Rate
Crow Rate
The "Crow Rate" or "Crow's Nest Freight Rate" was a rail transportation subsidy imposed on the Canadian Pacific Railway by the Canadian government, benefiting farmers on the Canadian Prairies and manufacturers in central Canada.-Origin:...
or "Crow's Nest Freight Rate" was a subsidy offered to the Canadian Pacific Railway by the Canadian government. The subsidy was instituted by an 1897 agreement between the CPR and the federal government. The purpose of the subsidy was to enable the CPR to expand westward over the Canadian Rockies through the Crow’s Nest Pass, while reducing the transportation costs for farmers in the Canadian Prairies
Canadian Prairies
The Canadian Prairies is a region of Canada, specifically in western Canada, which may correspond to several different definitions, natural or political. Notably, the Prairie provinces or simply the Prairies comprise the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are largely covered...
. In exchange for cash and perpetual title to the CPR over the lands which the railway would run, the CPR would reduce shipping rates for listed agricultural products "forever".
CP in the Kootenays
The Columbia and Western RailwayColumbia and Western Railway
The Columbia and Western Railway was a historic Canadian narrow gauge railway located in southern British Columbia.Constructed in 1896, its route connected silver and gold mines at Red Mountain and Rossland and a smelter at Trail...
was a short-line, narrow-gauge railway running from the silver and gold mines at Red Mountain
Red Mountain (Rossland)
Red Mountain is the lower of two mountains that make up the Red Mountain Ski Area.-External links:*...
and Rossland down the hill to the smelter at Trail. It was bought by the CPR in 1898 for its charter; this gave it the authority to build westward to Grand Forks. Here it connected to the part of the original Kettle Valley Railway between Grand Forks and Midway which had also been purchased by the CPR. The Columbia and Western brought with it the smelter at Trail, which became the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company Limited (later Cominco Ltd). The CPR also purchased the Columbia and Kootenay Railway and Navigation Company, which had a charter to construct a railway from Nelson to Robson (Castlegar, BC). Another purchase was the charter for the BC Southern Railway, which authorized the construction of a railway from the Crow's Nest Pass to Nelson. This line was initially constructed as far as the south end of Kootenay Lake. The gap between there and Procter was not closed until around 1932.
The Arrow Lakes
Arrow Lakes
The Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the Columbia River. The lakes are situated between the Selkirk Mountains to the east and the Monashee Mountains to the west. Beachland is fairly rare, and is interspersed with rocky...
route was accessible from the north, by a rail connection with the Canadian Pacific Railway at Revelstoke, where the CPR crosses the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
. The Arrow Lakes Route was also accessible from the south—at Northport, Washington, (also on the Columbia River) where there was a rail connection. The Columbia River crosses the border near Boundary, Washington, which is about 749 miles from the mouth of the Columbia.
The CPR also built rail lines to Sandon
Sandon, British Columbia
Sandon is a ghost town in British Columbia, Canada. It is also the birthplace of hockey Hall of Fame member Cecil "Tiny" Thompson.-Location:Sandon is located in the Selkirk Mountains, about ten kilometers east of the town of New Denver.-History:...
. The Nakusp and Slocan line went from Nakusp to Summit Lake, then down to Slocan Lake, past Rosebery, then up to Denver Canyon (New Denver). Then it drove up the hill along Carpenter Creek, to the mountainous mining town of Sandon. After the disastrous forest fire of 1911, the CPR bought the charred remains of the GN narrow gauge line Kaslo and Slocan Railway
Kaslo and Slocan Railway
The Kaslo and Slocan Railway was a narrow gauge gauge railway between Kaslo, Slocan, and the mining community of Sandon in the Kootenay region of British Columbia between 1895 and 1955 totalling about of track...
and rebuilt parts to standard gauge. The CPR then ran lake steamers and rail-car barges to link these disconnected lines over the lakes—from Kaslo to Nelson on Kootenay Lake; from Rosebery to Slocan City on Slocan Lake; and from Robson to Nakusp to Arrowhead (near Revelstoke) on the Arrow Lakes. The CPR attempted to build a connecting line from Lardeau, past Poplar Meadow—fifteen miles up the Lardeau River to Marblehead. Low traffic caused the line never to be finished to Trout Lake, Beaton and Arrowhead.
Building the Kettle Valley Railway
Great Northern Railway (US)
The Great Northern Railway , running from Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington—more than 1,700 miles —was the creation of the 19th century railroad tycoon James J. Hill and was developed from the Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad...
, which had easy access to the area from low valleys in Washington state. Through a long series of purchases, political machinations, lobbying, and due to the appearance of the GN, the Kettle Valley Railway was constructed from 1910 to 1915. The Kettle Valley Railway
Kettle Valley Railway
The Kettle Valley Railroad was a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway that operated in the Thompson-Okanagan region of southern British Columbia....
began at Hope and transited the Coquihalla Mountains to Brookmere, Tulameen, Princeton, Summerland, Penticton, Beaverdell and Midway. An additional spur line from the junction at Brodie connected the line through Merritt, British Columbia
Merritt, British Columbia
Merritt is a city in the Nicola Valley of the south-central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Situated at the confluence of the Nicola and Coldwater rivers, it is the first major community encountered after travelling along Phase One of the Coquihalla Highway and acts as the gateway to all...
to Spences Bridge, British Columbia
Spences Bridge, British Columbia
Spences Bridge is a community in the Canadian province of British Columbia, situated 23 miles north east of Lytton and 32 miles from Ashcroft. In 1892, the population included 32 people of European ancestry and 130 First Nations people. There were 5 general stores, 3 hotels, one Church of England...
on the CPR main line. The Kettle Valley Railway operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the CPR until it was absorbed by the CPR around 1937 as the Kettle Valley Division.
Lake steamers
The CPR ran a fleet of lake steamers on the Arrow LakesArrow Lakes
The Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the Columbia River. The lakes are situated between the Selkirk Mountains to the east and the Monashee Mountains to the west. Beachland is fairly rare, and is interspersed with rocky...
, Kootenay and Slocan Lakes. They also had palatial ships on Okanagan Lake.
Coastal service in BC
BCCS was established when the CPR acquired the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company (and its large fleet of ships serving 72 ports along the coast of British Columbia, including Vancouver Island) in 1901. Service included the Vancouver-Victoria-Seattle Triangle Route, Gulf Islands, Powell River and a Vancouver-Alaska service. BCCS operated a fleet of 14 passenger ships made up of a number of Princess ships (pocket versions of the ocean-going Empress ships), a freighter, three tugs and five rail-car barges. Popular with tourists, the Princess ships were famous in their own right—especially the Princess Marguerite (II), which was the last coastal liner; it operated from 1949 until 1985. Three massive piers were built in Coal Harbour to service the boats—CPR Piers A, B and C, and D. B and C has since been converted to Canada Place Pier. Other impressive docks were built in Victoria and Nanaimo.Silk trains
Between the 1890s and the 1940s, the CPR transported raw silk cocoons from Vancouver (where they had been shipped from the Orient) to silk mills in New York and New Jersey. A silk train could carry several million dollars' worth of silk, and had its own armed guards. To avoid train robberies and minimize insurance costs, the silk trains traveled quickly and stopped only to change locomotives and crews (often done in under five minutes). The silk trains had right-of-way over all other trains; even passenger trains would be put in a siding to make the silk trains' trip faster.
Expansion
The CPR embarked on facilities expansion during the Edwardian era. Large service yards were built at Port Coquitlam, Drake Street, Coal HarbourCoal Harbour
Coal Harbour is the name for a section of Burrard Inlet lying between Vancouver, Canada's downtown peninsula and the Brockton Peninsula of Stanley Park...
, and Cranbrook
Cranbrook, British Columbia
Cranbrook, British Columbia is a city in southeast British Columbia, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary's River, It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the East Kootenay. As of 2006, Cranbrook's population is 18,267, and the...
. Small feeder lines were built, such as the Marpole Line from Drake Street to Eburne and then to Steveston. A bridge was built southwards across the Fraser River at Mission, and a line was constructed to connect with the US Lines at Huntington (named for Collis P. Huntington
Collis P. Huntington
Collis Potter Huntington was one of the Big Four of western railroading who built the Central Pacific Railroad as part of the first U.S. transcontinental railroad...
, a US railway executive). The CP also built a hundred miles of rail down the Rocky Mountain trench from Golden to Creston, to more easily move heavy coal trains than over the winding and mountainous Kettle Valley Line. The coal was also needed on the main line for the steam engines. The Connaught Tunnel
Connaught Tunnel
Connaught Tunnel, in the Selkirk Mountains under Rogers Pass on the Canadian Pacific Railway main line between Calgary, Alberta, and Revelstoke, British Columbia, at long was, at the time it was built, the longest railway tunnel in North America. Dug under Mount Macdonald to ease growing traffic...
was built under Rogers Pass
Rogers Pass
Rogers Pass is a high mountain pass through the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia used by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trans-Canada Highway. The pass is a shortcut across the "Big Bend" of the Columbia River from Revelstoke on the west to Donald, near Golden, on the east...
in 1913 to reduce grades there. Spur lines were built to various profitable mines around the province—to the Sullivan Mine at Kimberley, to copper mines at Phoenix, and south from Princeton to Allenby and Copper Mountain. A spur was built south of Penticton to Osoyoos. Large steel bridges were raised across the Fraser River at Hope and across the Columbia River at Revelstoke. The CPR embarked on a real estate expansion in Vancouver; it sold blocks of land to real-estate companies, which sold them for housing. The CPR also started the Shaughnessy Heights project of upscale estates, on a knoll at South Granville Street
Granville Street
Granville Street is a major street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and part of Highway 99.-Location:Granville Street runs generally north-south through the centre of Vancouver, passing through several neighbourhoods and commercial areas, differing appreciably in their land value and the...
overlooking the city. Granville Street was established, and the finer residential suburb with curved streets, tree-lined avenues and strictly-controlled title deeds. The project did not sell as well as was hoped, due to the First World War and the Great Depression.
Competition
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historical Canadian railway.A wholly owned subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway , the GTPR was constructed by GTR using loans provided by the Government of Canada. The company was formed in 1903 with a mandate to build west from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the...
and the Canadian Northern Railway
Canadian Northern Railway
The Canadian Northern Railway is a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its demise in 1923, when it was merged into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.-Manitoba beginnings:CNoR had its start in...
. Both lines arrived in BC but could not dislodge the CPR, which was firmly established in the southwest portion of the province. The CPR was given the Peace River Block
Peace River Block
The Peace River Block is an area of land located in northeastern British Columbia, in the Peace River Country. In exchange for building a rail line across Canada to British Columbia the Canadian Pacific Railway was given a belt, on each side of the rail, of land...
in a land swap for acreage in the south; these lands turned out to be very rich in oil and gas.
First World War
Its lines had been completed, and it had fleets of trains and ships; men, ships and machines were loaned to the war effort. Bridges and rail installations were guarded by Canadian troops. The CPR provided essential service moving men, food, and guns for the war. Railway shops were converted to shell factories.Powerful engines
Selkirk locomotive
The Selkirk locomotives were 36 steam locomotives of the 2-10-4 wheel arrangement built for Canadian Pacific Railway by Montreal Locomotive Works, Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
s were 36 steam locomotives of the 2-10-4 wheel arrangement built for the Canadian Pacific Railway by Montreal Locomotive Works
Montreal Locomotive Works
Montreal Locomotive Works was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer which existed under several names from 1883–1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For a number of years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company...
in Montreal. The first of these large engines with 2-10-4 wheel arrangement were built in July 1929. A total of twenty were constructed before the end of the year, bearing numbers 5900 to 5919. The Canadian Pacific Railway's classification was T1a. These locomotives weighed 375 short tons (340 t) fully loaded. They were the largest and most powerful non-articulated locomotives in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. The CPR also put on a crack train in the 1920s—the Trans-Canada Limited. it was popular with Americans, as it was fast and it served alcohol (then illegal in the US).
Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, which lasted from 1929 until 1939, hit many companies heavily. While the CPR was affected, it was not crippled to the extent of its rival CNR because it (unlike the CNR) was debt-free. The CPR continued building the tunnel under Dunsmuir Street in Vancouver, joining its passenger station at Granville with the Drake Street yards and separating freight trains and streetcar lines. The CPR scaled back on some of its passenger and freight services, and stopped issuing dividends to its shareholders after 1932. One highlight of the 1930s (both for the railway and for Canada) was the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Canada in 1939—the first time that the reigning monarch had visited the country in a Royal Tour. The CPR and the CNR shared the honours of pulling the royal train across the country, with the CPR undertaking the westbound journey from Quebec City to Vancouver. The CPR put semi-streamlined engines (among them Royal Hudson
Royal Hudson
The term Royal Hudson refers to a group of semi-streamlined 4-6-4 Hudson steam locomotives owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway and built by Montreal Locomotive Works . The engine was built in 1938. In 1939, King George VI allowed the CPR to use the term after Royal Hudson number 2850 transported...
engine 2850) to the task of pulling the royal train.
Legacy
For those living outside British Columbia, it is difficult to convey the extent that the CPR empire covered BC. The railroad changed the province; it owned (and dictated to) a large section of it. The CPR's empire became part of BC—from the faux-Pict-Gothic-Palaces of its hotels, to its Tuscan-red cars and engines; from the CPR owning the center of town, to the CPR bloc establishing timber and mineral interests. The clapboard section houses and water towers and rusty rails of spurs, the thousands of wooden wheat boxcars sitting at sidings with the arcing, powerful script announcing "Canadian Pacific Railway"—all left an imprint.In 1952, the CPR became the first North American railroad to introduce intermodal or "piggyback" freight service, where truck trailers are carried on flatcars. Containers later replaced most piggyback service. Beginning in the 1960s, the railroad started to discontinue much of its passenger service (particularly on its branch lines). Passenger service ended on its line through southern British Columbia and Crow's Nest Pass in January 1964. The Dominion was dropped in January 1966. On October 29, 1978, CP Rail transferred its passenger services to Via Rail, a new federal Crown corporation now responsible for intercity passenger services in Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney presided over major cuts in Via Rail service on January 15, 1990. This ended service by the Canadian over CPR rails, and the train was rerouted on the former Super Continental
Super Continental
The Super Continental was a transcontinental Canadian passenger train operated originally by the Canadian National Railway beginning in 1955 and subsequently by Via Rail from 1977 until its cancellation in 1981. Service was restored in 1985 but was again eliminated in 1990...
route via Canadian National without a change in name. Where both trains had been daily prior to the January 15, 1990 cuts, the surviving Canadian was (and is) a thrice-weekly operation.
The CPR was in a powerful position during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Canadian Pacific Railway currently operates three commuter services under contract. The West Coast Express
West Coast Express
West Coast Express is the interregional commuter railway in British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, it links Mission, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, and Port Moody with Waterfront Station in Downtown Vancouver, where it interchanges with SkyTrain rapid transit, SeaBus and...
comprises ten daily trains running into downtown Vancouver on behalf of TransLink, a regional transit authority. CNCP was created as a joint venture between Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway in 1967, replacing the different networks used by the two companies. CN Telegraph interchanged traffic with the Postal Telegraph Cable Company in the US, while CPR Telegraphs networked with Western Union
Western Union
The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
. The two networks—former rivals—had been cooperating increasingly since the 1930s. By 1980, CNCP was no longer a telegraph company and emerged as an early telecom company. A 40% stake was acquired by Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, home phone and internet with additional telecommunications and mass media assets...
in 1984, and CP acquired CN's stake. The network was dissolved in 1988, and Rogers renamed the company Unitel Communications Incorporated in 1989.
Other holdings
With the empire came timber, oil, gas, coal, airlines, and real estate. Much of the postwar holdings were in these fields, and the railroad moved into bulk commodities—wheat, potash, coal and sulphur. By the 1970s, the advent of jet aircraft and national highways finished the passenger business.In the 1980s and '90s the railway continued with traffic expansion.
It double tracked most of its mainline, where the mountains and valleys let it.
A large tunnelling project under Mount MacDonald tunnel
Mount Macdonald Tunnel
The Mount Macdonald Tunnel, located in the vicinity of Rogers Pass in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, is a railway tunnel constructed through Mount Macdonald by the Canadian Pacific Railway ....
in Rogers Pass lowered the height the trains had to ascend to, and many rivetted bridges were replaced with
heavier welded bridges. The Vancouver Intermodal Yard in Pitt Meadows opened in
1996.
See also
- Canadian Museum of Rail TravelCanadian Museum of Rail TravelThe Canadian Museum of Rail Travel, or its brand name "Trains Deluxe", is located in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada, a city of about 25,000 on the west side of the Rocky Mountains. The city was developed by the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1898, as the administrative centre for...