A close look at the tech who first tore us from mother earth
56The development of steam-powered railways in the 19th century revolutionized transportation in Canada and was integral to the very act of nation building. Railways played an integral role in the process of industrialization, opening up new markets and tying regions together, while at the same time creating a demand for resources and technology. The construction of transcontinental railways such as the Canadian Pacific Railway opened up settlement in the West, and played an important role in the expansion of Confederation. However, railways had a divisive effect as well, as the public alternately praised and criticized the involvement of governments in railway construction and the extent of government subsidies to railway companies.
This is the full-length entry about Railway History in Canada. For a plain-language summary, please see Railway History in Canada (Plain-Language Summary).
Early Railways
In the early 17th century, mining railways were introduced to England; powered by horses, these early railways carried ore and coal from pitheads to water. In Canada, a primitive railway of this type may have been used as early as the 1720s to haul quarried stone at the fortress of Louisbourg. In the 1820s, an incline railway of cable cars, powered by a winch driven by a steam engine, was used to hoist stone during the building of the Quebec Citadel. Another railway was used during the building of the Rideau Canal to carry stone from the quarry at Hog’s Back in Ottawa.
The Railway Age
Steam locomotion, together with the low rolling friction of iron-flanged wheels on iron rails, enabled George Stephenson (the first of the great railway engineers) to design and superintend the building of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (1830). This began the railway age in England. By 1841, there were some 2,100 km of rail in the British Isles, and by 1844 the frenetic promotion of railways aptly called “The Mania” was underway. Many of the lasting characteristics of the railway were established in this early stage: steam locomotion, the standard gauge (1.435 m), and the rolled-edge rail (which bellied out on the underside for strength).
Early Railways in British North America
Railway fever came a little later to British North America; the colony had a small population and much of its capital was tied up in the expansion of its canals and inland waterways. Nevertheless, it did not take long for politicians and entrepreneurs to realize the potential benefits. The Province of Canada (1841–1867) was an enormous country. Its roads were poor and its waterways were frozen for up to five months per year.
The first true railway built in Canada was the Champlain and Saint Lawrence Railroad from La Prairie on the St. Lawrence River to St. Johns on the Richelieu River (now Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu). Backed by John Molson and other Montreal merchants, the line opened officially on 21 July 1836. Built as a “ portage” between Montreal and Lake Champlain, in practice the railway carried little freight. (See also Canada’s First Railway.)
On 19 September 1839, the first railway in the Maritimes opened; the Albion Mines Railway was built to carry coal from Albion Mines some 9.5 km to the loading pier at Dunbar Point (near Pictou, Nova Scotia). The Montreal and Lachine Railroad (1847) was another short (12 km) line built to supplement water transportation.