The Railway Conquest of the World

by Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot

WHERE THE “BIG HILL” WAS CUT OUT ON THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY, BETWEEN HECTOR AND FIELD

To secure easier gradients, over 8 miles of new line were built. The new track is shown at left.

To-day it is possible, from wider knowledge, to criticise the company upon their selection of this route, but at the time it was taken in hand there was no alternative. For a solid 100 miles along the shores of Lake Superior the work assumed a spectacular aspect. The high rocky cliffs either had to be tunnelled, blasted right out of the way, or deep long cuts had to be driven through the solid obstruction.

In those days the camps did not enjoy the comforts that are possible now. The food was of the coarsest description—in fact, often it was nauseous. Yet it was the best that could be secured under the circumstances. I met one of the men who had helped to drive the grade along the shore of Lake Superior, and he described the interest and curiosity that was provoked by the arrival of the first tin of condensed milk. To them, milk was a luxury indeed, and they as much anticipated its association with their tea or coffee as they would have entertained the possibility of receiving a glass of champagne. The tin of milk was produced, and when the first recipient had read the story of the label it was handed round to every man in turn. They scarcely could conceive the possibility of being able to preserve such a perishable product in a tin, and they refrained from investigating the contents. At last, one of the more daring spirits took out his ponderous pocket- or jack-knife and plunged it into the lid. Tipping the vessel slightly, he watched the contents exude in a thin viscous stream on to his finger. Hesitatingly he tasted it, and the intense satisfaction with which he smacked his lips showed that it was a tasty article at all events, although it might be rank poison for aught they knew. All in turn submitted the commodity to this preliminary test, and there was a unanimous exclamation as to its palatable qualities. Very little of that tin of condensed milk was employed for its avowed purpose: the majority of the men preferred to enjoy it in its raw condition, as it was something entirely new to their frontier table. As a result the greater part of the coffee and tea was drunk that morning in its black state, relieved with sugar only, as the contents of the tin disappeared in a far from orthodox manner.

The resistance which the rock offered was heart-rending. The men, by superhuman effort, could make their way forward only a few feet per day. Under these circumstances the task swallowed money as remorselessly as the muskeg absorbed dumped rock. Results proved that the construction of the line along this shore for about 100 miles was as expensive as threading the mountains, and in one instance the price mounted to as high as £140,000, or $700,000, per mile, rendering it easily one of the most costly stretches of road ever constructed.

But though the fight offered by the rock was stern, that presented by the muskeg was every whit as bad, though it was of a different character. The great danger against which the company had to contend was the creeping of the rails. The spongy nature of the soil over which the track was laid caused a movement of the metals under the weight of a passing train. It was just as if the rails had been laid on a mass of resilient india-rubber. The lines would move to one side or the other and often widen out sufficiently to permit a train to drop between them. It was observed that as a train passed the elastic soil rose and fell in a series of little waves, often attaining a height of six inches, while the engineers could see the rails moving under the passing of the train. It was quite out of the question to spike the rails firmly to the sleepers, since the movement was so great that the metals would have forced themselves from their foundation. As it was, the gangers had to overhaul the stretch of track crossing the muskeg once every week. The engineer strove valiantly to overcome the eccentric movement of the rails, and only succeeded by dint of great effort in rendering it perfectly safe. But in this work he had to use sleepers measuring 12 feet in length, instead of those of standard dimensions of 8 feet.

Then trouble arose with the contractors in regard to the cost of excavation. Naturally the expenditure under this heading varied according to the character of the material encountered, for obviously gravel, clay, and loam were far easier and cheaper to remove than rock, and this latter varied in its workability according to its geological formation. In one case this dispute became a bitter bone of contention between the company and the contractors. Upon the completion of the work the former came to the conclusion that it had been charged an excessive sum for the work, and upon consideration of the returns of the earth removed were convinced that an erroneous return had been made. Amicable adjustment of the difference proving fruitless, recourse had to be made to the courts, and the authorities ordered the cutting to be re-measured so as to determine the quantity of soil removed. In one instance the contractors were forced to return a sum of about £60,000, or $300,000, and many other firms of constructional engineers had to make repayments. It was not a question of fraud, but purely misinterpretation of the character of the soil handled; yet it served to promote inharmonious working between the company and its contractors.

On the prairie, constructional effort was not taxed to a supreme degree except in regard to water. This was found to be scarce in many parts, and is even so to-day. The country threaded is a continuation of the arid stretches of North Dakota and Montana, and where the land can only be brought to a state of remunerative productivity by recourse to irrigation. Science, however, has discounted the deficiency of nature, and to-day this dry belt is as generously supplied with water as those more favoured with ample natural resources farther north, though of course the settler is compelled to pay his quota to the expense of irrigation in the form of a higher price for the land.

It was when the mountains were met, however, that the real troubles of the company commenced. The battle against the rocky bluffs round Lake Superior was as mere child’s play to what was encountered when the mountain barrier was entered. The Government had surveyed a route through the mountains, and its choice had fallen upon the Yellowhead Pass, the lowest summit in the range, which is only 3,723 feet above the level of the ocean. It was the obvious portal through the mountains to the coast, but the company decided to thread the chain farther to the south. This decision aroused considerable criticism, and the Government only relented by stipulating that if the Rockies were penetrated at any other point it should be at least 100 miles north of the International Boundary. When the project was consummated it was stipulated that grades should not exceed 1 in 52.8 feet, and the Yellowhead fulfilled this requirement strictly to the letter.

However, the Government’s requirements being fulfilled, the line was forced through the range by way of the Kicking Horse Pass, a high road used by the couriers du bois for some years previously. But it proved a trying piece of work. The river is a boiling stream and difficult of approach. The mountains rear up on all sides, and in order to force their way forward the engineers had to resort to herculean efforts, spanning tumultuous streams and carving narrow winding ledges on the sides of the mountains. Moreover, it is a heavy up-hill pull for mile after mile, until at last the summit is gained at an altitude of 5,329 feet. To gain this point the line winds in a bewildering manner, but the vistas of mountain scenery that are unfolded are difficult to parallel out of Switzerland.