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This Train Rolls On

This Train Rolls On. The Need For a Canadian Railway. Until Now. If there was ever to be a viable trade network amongst the colonies there needed to be a good network of rail links.

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This Train Rolls On

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  1. This Train Rolls On The Need For a Canadian Railway

  2. Until Now • If there was ever to be a viable trade network amongst the colonies there needed to be a good network of rail links. • As of 1850 there was only 106 km of track in total in Canada. This is less than the distance of Prince Rupert to Terrace. • The Americans were getting in on the railway business, so why not the Canadians?

  3. A Good Start • Between 1850 and 1867 there was a total of 3570 km laid amongst the colonies of British North America.

  4. An Emerging Power • The company that oversaw all of this production was the Grand Trunk Railway. • Oh by the way, the head of this railway company? A guy by the name of Charles Hays.

  5. A Major Setback • The hope was for the Grand Trunk to be an all-British rail line that extended from Canada West, over the Atlantic to Nova Scotia. • By 1860 the line reached from Sarnia, Ontario to Riviere du Loup, Quebec. The dream had not quite been realized.

  6. The Solution? • The railway was on the verge of bankruptcy, as it was a great expense for the company to take on by itself. • It was assumed that if all the colonies were joined together they could split the cost of a railway. • They soon realized how valuable a trade route amongst themselves could be.

  7. The Canadian Dream • Some dreamed that one day the railway would reach across the continent to British Columbia, and to the Pacific Ocean. • As mentioned before, one of these people was John A. McDonald, hence the slogan “sea to sea” • More on that later…

  8. Another Good Reason • The other advantage of having a train line was a question of national defence. • In the winter the St. Lawrence froze over, and that meant the Canadians would lose a huge trade route. • A railway would mean that both troops and supplies could be sent out to the Atlantic provinces should the Americans attack.

  9. The End?

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