The (
Railway which served northern
Alberta and northeastern
British Columbia . Jointly owned by both
Canadian National Railway and
Canadian Pacific Railway , NAR existed as a separate company from
1929 until
1981 .
Railway construction in northern Alberta during the early
20th Century was dominated by the
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and the
Canadian Northern Railway , both of which were building westward from
Edmonton, AB to the
Yellowhead Pass of the
Rocky Mountains .
Following the
Dominion Land Survey grants to settlers, the
Peace River region of northwestern Alberta was one of the few places left on the prairies with available agricultural land, however there was no railway connection.
Several lines were chartered to serve both the Peace River and Waterways regions of the province, beginning with the
Athabaska Railway in
1907 . It was to build northeast from Edmonton to
Dunvegan, AB , then to
Fort George, BC .
The company was rechartered in
1911 under the ownership of J.D. McArthur as the
Edmonton, Dunvegan And British Columbia Railway (ED&BC). Construction of the ED&BC started in
1912 heading toward
Westlock, AB , reaching
High Prairie in
1914 , and
Spirit River in
1915 . Deciding not to proceed to Dunvegan, a branch was built south from
Rycroft, AB to
Grande Prairie, AB in
1916 (400 miles northwest from Edmonton).
In
1924 the line was extended to
Wembley, AB and it reached
Hythe, AB in
1928 . In
1930 the line was extended westward across the provincial boundary to its western terminus at
Dawson Creek, BC .
In
1909 a charter was granted to the
Alberta And Great Waterways Railway (A&GW) to build from Edmonton to
Waterways, AB on the
Athabasca River . Construction faltered and the line was rechartered in
1913 under the ownership of J.D. McArthur. Construction of the AG&W began in
1914 from
Carbondale, AB and reached
Lac La Biche, AB in
1916 . It reached
Draper, AB in
1922 and its terminus at Waterways, AB in
1925 .
In
1913 a charter was granted to the
Central Canada Railway (CCR) under the ownership of J.D. McArthur to build from
Winagami Junction, AB on the ED&BC to
Peace River Crossing, AB in order to access barge traffic on the
Peace River . Construction of the CCR began in
1914 and was completed in
1916 .
The CCR was subsequently extended to
Berwyn, AB in
1921 , then to
Whitelaw, AB in
1924 ,
Fairview, AB in
1928 and
Hines Creek, AB in
1930 .
In
1926 , the provincial government passed a statute authorizing the government to construct the
Pembina Valley Railway from
Busby, AB , where it connected to the ED&BC line, to
Barrhead, AB .
In
1920 , the lines owned by J.D. McArthur entered financial difficulties following the
First World War . Coinciding with the problems faced by the McArthur lines (ED&BC, A&GW, and CCR), both the
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) and
Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) had fallen victim to similar circumstances brought about by the financial strain of the conflict and falling traffic levels. The Dominion government had
Nationalized the GTPR and CNoR, along with other previously federally owned lines into the
Canadian National Railways .
Following the federal example, and in an attempt to preserve rail service to northern and northwestern Alberta, the provincial government leased the ED&BC and CCR in
1920 for five years. In
1921 the government entered into a five year agreement with the
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to operate the ED&BC and CCR. That same year, the provincial government purchased the A&GW outright and chose to operate it separately.
CPR immediately raised freight rates on the ED&BC and CCR lines, charging "mountain prices", claiming that the cost of operating on grades into the
Peace and
Smoky River valleys of the northwestern prairie was as much as it cost to operate in the
Rocky Mountains . Consequently Peace River farmers paid the highest freight charges on the Canadian prairies to reach the lakehead at
Port Arthur and
Fort William .
The provincial government purchased the ED&BC and CCR from McArthur in
1925 , following the expiration of the five year lease. Dissatisfied with the CPR's operation of the ED&BC and CCR, the provincial government allowed the operating contract for the these railways to expire in
1926 , with operations subsequently taken over by the new provincial Department of Railways and Telecommunications which was also tasked to operate the AG&W and the newly-built PVR.
In
1928 , the provincial government began to solicit proposals from both the CPR and the
Canadian National Railways (CNR) for purchasing the provincial railways. In
1924 , CNR president Sir
Henry Thornton visited the ED&BC line and in
1928 , CPR president
Edward Beattie did the same.
In
1928 the provincial government grouped the ED&BC, CCR, AG&W, and PVR under the collective name (NAR), which received a federal charter on March 1929. The NAR was subsequently sold to both the CNR and CPR in equal portions with both companies agreeing to maintain the NAR as a joint subsidiary. At that time, the NAR was the third-largest railway in Canada. In
1937 the NAR began to show a profit for the first time.
In summer
1942 , following the entry of the
United States into the
Second World War , the
Alaska Highway civil defence project resulted in tremendous growth for the NAR, as the system was the only railway to service Alaska Highway mile 0 at
Dawson Creek .
NAR also saw increased traffic from defence spending in both the Peace River and
Fort McMurray regions as
Royal Canadian Air Force training bases for the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan were established.
In
1958 the
Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), owned by the province of
British Columbia , built east to
Dawson Creek, BC and then north to
Fort St. John, BC . Traffic from Dawson Creek which used to run on NAR now mostly ran on PGE.
NAR completely dieselized its locomotive fleet by October
1960 , these where GP 9. 201 - 208 (208 was hit in 1972 and renumbered 211), GMD-1 301 - 304, and SD 38-2 401 - 404.
Beginning in the
1960s , Alberta's nascent oil and gas industry began to have an impact on the NAR as traffic began to increase on both the Dawson Creek and Fort McMurray branches. In
1964 , the federal government built the
Great Slave Railway north from the NAR at
Grimshaw, AB to
Hay River, NWT to carry passengers and cargo which could then be transferred to barges and continue down the
Mackenzie River .
In
1966 , the passenger train to Waterways was replaced by
Budd Rail Diesel Car s, but the experiment was unsuccessful, and it was replaced in
1967 by a mixed train. On
June 1 ,
1974 , the passenger train to Dawson Creek was discontinued.
During the
1970s , significant investments also began in the Fort McMurray region as the
Athabasca Oil Sands deposits began to be exploited.
In
1981 , CN (name/acronym change after
1960 ) bought out CPR's share in the NAR system and incorporated these lines into the CN network, allowing CN to operate unhindered north from Edmonton to Hay River, NWT and west to Dawson Creek, BC. NAR disappeared as a corporate entity with the departure of CPR from the joint ownership. NAR shops and Dunvegan Yards in Edmonton were demolished and the new Dunvegan Woods housing development was built on the site.
In
1996 , CN identified parts of its former NAR trackage for divestiture, either through sale or abandonment. Several lines were subsequently sold to shortline operators.
- trackage. The trackage between Hythe and Dawson Creek fell into disuse in 1998 , but CN agreed to re-open it as a condition of purchasing BC Rail.
- CN maintains ownership of former NAR trackage between Edmonton, AB and Smith, AB .
- North and west of Smith, AB, the former NAR to Peace River, AB and Grimshaw, AB, as well as all of the ex-Great Slave Railway north from Grimshaw, AB to Hay River, NWT , was purchased in 1998 by the Mackenzie Northern Railway (MKNR), a subsidiary of Canadian shortline holding company RailLink. RailLink was subsequently purchased by RailAmerica .
- On January 19, 2006, CN announced the purchase from RailAmerica Inc. of the Mackenzie Northern Railway, the Lakeland & Waterways Railway, and the Central Western Railway (jointly known as RLGN/CWRL).
