The (GTPR) was a historical
Canadian railway.
A wholly owned subsidiary of the
Grand Trunk Railway (GTR), the GTPR was constructed by GTR using loans provided by the
Government Of Canada . The company was formed in
1903 with a mandate to build west from
Winnipeg, Manitoba to the
Pacific coast at
Prince Rupert, British Columbia . East of Winnipeg, the federal government would build the
National Transcontinental Railway (NTR) across Northern
Ontario and
Quebec , crossing the
St. Lawrence River at
Quebec City and ending at
Moncton, New Brunswick . The conceptual plan was to have GTR operate both GTPR and NTR as a single transcontinental railway, competing with the
Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) and
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).
Turning of the first sod for the construction of the GTPR, took place at an official ceremony, September 11,
1905 at
Fort William, Ontario , by
Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier . From there a 190 mile section of track was built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Construction Company, connecting with the NTR, near
Sioux Lookout .
map of the western end]]
Construction began on the Canadian
Prairies in 1905, the year that the provinces of
Alberta and
Saskatchewan were established. Construction proceeded west to
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in
1907 ,
Edmonton, Alberta in
1909 , and through
Jasper, Alberta into
Yellowhead Pass crossing the
Continental Divide in
1910 -
1911 . The
Last Spike ceremony heralding completion of the rail line across the prairies, and through the
Rocky Mountains to the newly constructed seaport at Prince Rupert, British Columbia was held one mile east of
Fort Fraser, British Columbia on
April 7 ,
1914 .
See Also: Last Spike (Grand Trunk Pacific Railway)
The GTPR did not immediately realize the traffic potential GTR and the federal government had hoped. CPR occupied the more populous southern route in the prairies through
Regina, Saskatchewan and
Calgary, Alberta to
Vancouver, British Columbia and was using land grants provided by the federal government as well as government incentives to draw immigrants and businesses to settle along its route. GTR did not have a coordinated marketing plan, and efforts at settlement were disrupted by the
First World War . GTR rejected operating the NTR for cost reasons, forcing the federal government to assume that operation into
Canadian Government Railways .
By
1919 it was obvious that the GTPR was not paying its way. The financial strain broke on
March 7 when GTR defaulted on repayment of construction loans to the federal government, whereby the GTPR was
Nationalized and taken over by a ''Board of Management'' operating under the ''Department of Railways and Canals'' while legalities were resolved. On
July 12 ,
1920 the GTPR was placed under the management of Crown corporation
Canadian National Railway s (CNR) and in
1923 was completely absorbed into the CNR.
Today, the majority of the GTPR is still in use as CN's (name change to ''Canadian National'' or acronym ''CN'' in 1960) main line from Winnipeg to Jasper. West of Jasper, CN's main line swings south on the former Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) to Vancouver, however the GTPR line to Prince Rupert forms an important CN secondary main line. The GTPR's high construction standards and the fact Yellowhead Pass has the lowest elevation of any railway crossing of the
Continental Divide in
North America gives the CN a competitive advantage in terms of
Fuel Efficiency and the ability to haul tonnage.
Prince Rupert is the primary marine-railway connection for the
Alaska Railroad , and despite having languished as a poor cousin to the
Port Of Vancouver , there are many opportunities for this port city as a result of the GTPR's foresight a century ago.
