THE INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY
The Intercolonial Railway, which runs from Montreal to Halifax, and the two Sydneys, claims the distinction of being a successful government-owned railroad.
It was originally the North American and European Railroad, which was taken over by the government over half a century ago. There were at that time only about fifty miles of railway. This has been added to from time to time, until the road is now a very considerable one in size and importance. It travels through some of the finest scenery in Canada, and does a heavy tourist business, the sporting country it touches being famous the world over. It is connected with all the big Atlantic seaports, and has grain elevators at St. John, N.B.
The actual trackage owned by the Intercolonial extends westward only as far as St. Rosalie Junction. From there to Montreal the trains have running rights over the Grand Trunk tracks.
The Intercolonial is of importance to Montreal in supplying the means of communication to Halifax during the season of closed navigation.
THE CANADIAN NORTHERN RAILWAY
The Canadian Northern first reached Montreal under the name of the Great Northern Railway of Canada. Its history of the few years preceding is full of interest. Its success has been due to the financial and business ability of two Canadians, Sir William Mackenzie and Sir Donald Mann.
What is now the Canadian Northern Railway had its inception in December, 1906, when the Lake Manitoba Railway and Canal Company built one hundred miles of track between Gladstone and Dauphin, Manitoba, and ran trains over it. The line was a success from its inception, and next year Mackenzie and Mann, famous partners, built under the name of the Manitoba and South Eastern Railway, a line out of Winnipeg running in the direction of Lake Superior. The purchase of the Port Arthur, Duluth & Western line completed the entrance into Port Arthur. The lines of the Northern Pacific Railway in Manitoba were taken over by the Manitoba Government and leased to the Canadian Northern for a period of 999 years, which gave them terminal facilities in Winnipeg and connections to the International Boundary. In 1901, the company which started with one hundred miles of track and a payroll of $650 a month found itself owning and operating 1,200 miles of line and carrying 12,000,000 bushels of grain to the head of navigation at Port Arthur. Extensions to Edmonton and through the valley of the Saskatchewan were planned and the whole huge enterprise bloomed forth one fine morning as the Canadian Northern Railway.
The rapid expansion of this comparatively insignificant railway into a force to be reckoned with when discussing the growth of Western Canada in the short space of five years made even the optimistic Westerners sit up and take notice, but the activities of the two Scotch Ontarians did not stop here. By 1905 the new line had reached Edmonton, having built four bridges across the Saskatchewan River to get there, while in the same year Prince Albert was reached by way of the Swan River and Carrot River valleys. On the way across, the C.N.R. made a city out of Edmonton. When the line was first projected the town had something like 3,000 people. Today it has 45,000 and is still growing.
Saskatoon, Regina and Calgary quickly linked into the chain until the Canadian Northern line west of the Great Lakes had a total mileage of 5,000 miles. Construction joining Vancouver with Edmonton is now being pushed rapidly to completion through the Yellowhead Pass, and the Thompson and Fraser River valleys and will be open for traffic in 1915. Construction is also going on in Ontario which will link Montreal and Ottawa together in a direct line with Port Arthur and the West, the line between Toronto and Ottawa having been opened in January, 1914, making a total mileage of 7,800 for the system at the end of 1914.