The Canadian Northern Pacific Railway (CNoPR) was a historic

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 ...

with a main line running between the

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

–

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

border and

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canada, Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonto ...

(CNoR). This railway existed mainly on paper, and there were no cars or locomotives lettered "Canadian Northern Pacific". As far as the public and most workers were concerned, it was just a part of the CNoR.

Mainland

The CNoPR was incorporated in 1910.A.B. Hopper and T. Kearny, "CNR Synoptical History of Organization Capital Stock, Funded Debt and Other General Information as of December 31, 1960," Canadian National Railways, Montreal, 1962. Copies are available in each Provincial Archive. The last spike was driven at Basque, British Columbia, near

Ashcroft Ashcroft may refer to: Places * Ashcroft, British Columbia, a village in Canada **Ashcroft House in Bagpath, Gloucestershire, England—eponym of the Canadian village * Ashcroft, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Ashcroft, Colorado, ...

, in January 1915. This event completed Canada's third transcontinental railway, which ran from

Quebec City, Quebec Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, to Vancouver, British Columbia. The line from

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

to Vancouver was approved for operation in October 1915. The first westbound passenger train left Edmonton on November 23, 1915. The first eastbound passenger train left Vancouver on November 25, 1915. Initial main line through service was three trains per week in each direction.Edmonton Bulletin, November 26, 1915.

Vancouver Island

On Vancouver Island, CNoP had a line that competed with the

Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway The Island Corridor, previously the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway (E&N Railway), is a railway operation on Vancouver Island. It is owned by the Island Corridor Foundation, a registered charity. The railway line is in length from Victoria to ...

(owned by 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 ...

at the time) but went a different route from Victoria. The route would go to

Sooke Sooke () is a district municipality on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, by road from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Sooke, the westernmost of Greater Victoria's Western Communities, is to the north and west of t ...

(At the time Milnes Landing), through Leechtown, then pass the west side of Shawnigan Lake to

Cowichan Lake Cowichan Lake is a large freshwater lake located on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is located along the Cowichan Valley in the Cowichan Valley Regional District, with its eastern shore about west of Duncan, British Colum ...

. Another section of rail went further northwest to

Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th national security advisor from 1969 to 1975, se ...

. This line was for logging. On December 20, 1918, CNP (Along with Canadian Northern) was absorbed into the CNR. Originally, the plan was to build the rail line from Victoria to

Port Alberni Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. Port Alberni currently has a total popu ...

for passenger and freight service. This included a Victoria to

Patricia Bay Patricia Bay ("Pat Bay" to locals) is a body of salt water that extends east from Saanich Inlet and forms part of the shoreline of North Saanich, British Columbia. It lies due west of Victoria International Airport. A municipal park covers most of ...

line with a ferry service from Pat Bay to

Port Mann Port Mann townsite was created in 1911 in the municipality of Surrey, British Columbia. The new town was to adjoin the new railway yard and roundhouse forming the terminus of the new trans-national rail-line operated by Canadian Northern Railway. ...

on the

Fraser River The Fraser River () is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of V ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. In 1911 work had begun on the up-Island rail; construction was slow throughout the years. The Pat Bay line started construction in 1913 and was completed in 1916, and by 1917 the Patricia subsidiary from Victoria was opened for passenger service. Sometime that year, the

Victoria and Sidney Railway The Victoria and Sidney Railway Company (V&S) was one of three railways to operate on the Saanich Peninsula of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Opened in 1894 the route largely closed in 1919 but a section of track remained in use unt ...

and CNoP were linked at Bazan Bay. In late 1918, the rail line was under the new

Crown corporation Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

, the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

. The government had no compulsion to provide a passenger service from Vancouver Island to the mainland; instead CN would serve freight on the island. The ferry that the ex-CNoP ordered arrived that same year from Quebec. It went into refit, and by 1919 the ferry was in service for the Patricia Bay line for freight. That same year passenger services ended on the Pat bay line, but freight continued. The Victoria & Sidney's section from Bazan Bay to Sidney became part of the CNoP in 1919. By 1932 the car ferry, , was temporarily withdrawn from service. Two years later, the Sidney Mill burned down. In 1935, the track was abandoned and removed. Construction continued through up island and by the spring of 1924 the tracks had reached the east end of

. By 1928, the track reached

, but the plan to continue to Port Alberni had been abandoned. From 1922 to 1931, CN ran a passenger and freight service that ran up and down the island. Starting in 1922, service was from Victoria to Sooke (Milnes Landing). The rail was still under construction further up. By 1925 passenger service was extended to Youbou on Cowichan Lake until finally CN dropped the service in 1931. Logging and freight continued but started disappearing. In 1957, the Kissinger to Youbou rail was closed and abandoned first. Logging by rail was then quickly moved to logging trucks. The next rails to be abandoned were the Deerholme to Saanich track. In 1990, the final surviving tracks were abandoned, completely removing Vancouver Island's second railway. That was not the end of the route, and soon it was revamped for pedestrian and cycling use and is now known as the Galloping Goose Trail.

Alberta

The CNoR maintained other subsidiary companies, such as the Alberta Midland Railway (

Vegreville Vegreville () is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is on Highway 16A approximately east of Edmonton, Alberta's capital city. It was incorporated as a town in 1906, and that year also saw the founding of the ''Vegreville Observer'', a week ...

, Alberta, to

Drumheller Drumheller is a town on the Red Deer River in the badlands of east-central Alberta, Canada. It is located northeast of Calgary and south of Stettler. The Drumheller portion of the Red Deer River valley, often referred to as Dinosaur Vall ...

, Alberta), the Canadian Northern Alberta Railway (CNoAR) (

St. Albert, Alberta St. Albert is a List of cities in Canada, city in Alberta, Canada, next to the Sturgeon River (Alberta), Sturgeon River, northwest of the Edmonton, City of Edmonton, the provincial capital. It was originally settled as a Métis community, and is ...

, to the Alberta–British Columbia border) and the Edmonton, Yukon, and Pacific Railway which ran from

Strathcona, Alberta Strathcona was a city in Alberta, Canada, on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River. Originally founded in 1891 as a railway centre, it became a town in 1899, then a city in 1907. It amalgamated with the City of Edmonton in 1912. His ...

, to Edmonton, and later to

Stony Plain, Alberta Stony Plain is a town in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Parkland County. It is west of Edmonton adjacent to the City of Spruce Grove and sits on Treaty 6 land. Stony Plain is known for its many painted m ...

. The CNoAR was also incorporated in 1910. Construction started at St. Albert in 1910 and the construction train passed into British Columbia around the beginning of 1913. They were all operated as part of the CNoR system and were taken over by the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

, upon nationalization in 1918 into

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Northern Pacific Railway Defunct Alberta railways Defunct British Columbia railways Predecessors of the Canadian Northern Railway Canadian companies established in 1910 Railway companies established in 1910 1910 establishments in British Columbia

Mainland

Vancouver Island

Alberta

See also

References