Sir Robert Gillespie Reid (12 October 1842 – 3 June 1908) was a Scottish

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

contractor most famous for building large railway

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s in

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and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Founder of Reid Newfoundland Company, from 1889 until his death, he built, owned, and operated the

Newfoundland Railway The Newfoundland Railway was a narrow-gauge railway that operated on the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow-gauge system in North America. History Early con ...

Early career

As a young man, Reid spent a few years in Australia mining gold. In 1871, Reid settled in North America, where he began his career as a contractor. He built one section of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

, and was responsible for the erection of the international bridge over the

Niagara River The Niagara River ( ) flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. The origin of the river's name is debated. Iroquoian scholar Bruce T ...

, the international railway bridge over the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

and the Lachine bridge over the St. Lawrence.

Newfoundland

Reid brought his business ventures to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

in 1889. In 1893, he signed a contract with the government of Newfoundland, and as president of the Reid Newfoundland Company he built the railway from Whitbourne to Port aux Basques. The contract specified he work the line for ten years. In return he received a large grant of land. In 1898, he further contracted to work all the railways in Newfoundland for fifty years on condition that at the end of this time they should become his property. This bargain, which included other matters such as steamers, docks and telegraphs, was extraordinarily favourable to Reid, who, by further enormous grants of land, became one of the largest landed proprietors in the world.

Public opinion Public opinion, or popular opinion, is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. In the 21st century, public opinion is widely thought to be heavily ...

was aroused against the deal, and at first the governor, Sir Herbert Murray, refused to ratify it. After the premier, James Spearman Winter, had been replaced by

Robert Bond Sir Robert Bond (25 February 1857 – 16 March 1927) was a Newfoundlander politician who was the last Premier of Newfoundland Colony from 1900 to 1907 and the first prime minister of the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1907 to 1909 after the ...

, the terms of the contract were revised, being made more favourable to Newfoundland, and Reid's interests were transferred to a company, the Reid Newfoundland Company, of which he was the first president. The Reid Newfoundland Company owned and operated the Whitbourne to Port aux Basques railway for 33 years and also ran the coastal boat and telegraph services on the island. Reid was knighted in 1907.

Legacy

There is a $3,500 Robert Gillespie Reid Memorial Scholarship available for

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

References

;Attribution *
"Reid, Sir Robert Gillespie"
''Biography at Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'' 1842 births 1908 deaths Canadian knights Knights Bachelor People from Perth and Kinross British railway civil engineers Canadian people in rail transport Canadian railway entrepreneurs Scottish engineers Scottish emigrants to Canada People from Newfoundland (island) 19th-century Canadian businesspeople 19th-century Scottish businesspeople {{Canada-business-bio-stub

Early career

Newfoundland

Legacy

Further reading

References