 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Winnipeg |
| Locale | Manitoba, Saskatchewan |
| Dates of operation | 1910–1929 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) is a historic rail line in Manitoba, Canada, to the shore of Hudson Bay. The venture began as a line between Winnipeg in the south and Churchill, and/or Port Nelson, in the north. However, HBR came to describe the final section between The Pas and Churchill. [1] [2]
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) pioneered the Bay as an important trade route from the 1680s. By the late 1800s, the landlocked Canadian Prairies envisioned the Bay as a more economical outlet for wheat exports. [3] [4] Robert Bell's 1875–1880 surveys listed the advantages of a rail line. Although the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) monopoly clause would block most Manitoba charter applications in the early 1880s, the federal government approved two charters in 1880, one for the Nelson Valley Railway and Transportation Company for a line from Lake Winnipeg to the mouth of the Churchill River, the other for the Winnipeg and Hudson Bay Railway and Steamship Company to build from Winnipeg to Port Nelson. Financial constraints forced an 1883 merger under the former name, changed to The Winnipeg and Hudson Bay Railway Company in 1887, and the Winnipeg and Great Northern Railway Company (WGNR) in 1894. An 1884 charter enhancement provided a federal land grant of 12,800 acres per mile (deemed worth 50 cents per acre) above the 54th parallel, but 6,400 acres per mile ($1 per acre) for below. [5] [6] [7]
Charter owner Hugh McKay Sutherland, unable to attract financing for the risky venture, accepted a bloated contract bid from the Mann and Holt partnership in 1886. The contractors, who provided all financing, were secured by the issue of company stock and bonds. Possibly for financing purposes, Ross and Mackenzie joined the partnership when a further contract was signed in 1891. That year, to promote action, the government added an $80,000 a year contract for mail carrying, etc., when the line reached the Saskatchewan River. Although construction progress was toward the east of Lake Manitoba, the government preference became a western route, but this policy was omitted from the 1891 legislation.
Foreseeable traffic volumes east of the lake were unlikely to recover the inflated construction bid. After Sutherland breached the contract, the partners seized $400,000 in company bonds, but completed only 64 kilometres (40 mi) from the junction at Gross Isle to Oak Point (Shoal Lake). This distance enabled the contractors to receive $256,000 in Manitoba provincial debentures (immediately cashable by selling). In exchange, the government was to receive 256,000 acres of the federal land grant. However, the line failed a federal inspection and no land grants were issued for the project, leaving Manitoba unreimbursed for several years. [3] [8] [9] [10] The federal government rejected a 1894 proposal from Mann and Onderdonk to build the line. [11]
In 1895, Mackenzie and Mann thwarted possible government action that could violate their vested interests in the HBR. First was an attempt by Sutherland to employ another contractor to continue the project. Second was the federal proposal to change the HBR route to west of the lake. In the 1896 charter amendment to reactivate progress, the $80,000 mail contract was split, so that $40,000 was payable after reaching half way, and the balance payable on reaching the river. Furthermore, if Sutherland proved unable to reactivate the project, the first $40,000 would pass to another contender, which happened to be Mackenzie and Mann's Lake Manitoba Railway and Canal Company (LMR or Dauphin railway). [12] Mann acquired control of the HBR charter, [13] [14] possibly in full settlement of the outstanding construction claim. The partners continued to employ Sutherland as an executive agent for many years in dealing with local politicians. [15] However at this time, Sutherland incorrectly claimed the old HBR main line would continue east of the lake, cross at the isthmus, and intersect the Dauphin railway (which he regarded as a branch line) between Lake Dauphin & Lake Winnipegosis. [16] The aspirations of the Winnipeg and North-western Railway, chartered in 1907 to build such a line, which would then instead extend farther westward, came to nought. [17] [18] The old HBR line was initially to nowhere, and ultimately not part of the final route, [3] [8] [9] but in 1912, Mackenzie and Mann extended this stub north to Gypsumville. [19]
Branching from the LMR line at Sifton Junction, track laying northwest commenced in August 1898. [20] The former HBR land grants, and a federal guarantee of bonds issued up to $12,000 per mile, were available to extend the LMR line farther northward. [21] In addition, Manitoba guaranteed bonds at 4% for 30 years for up to $8,000 per mile, and exempted earnings on the line from taxes for the same 30 years. Two conditions were the province would receive one third of the land grant volume from the then northern boundary of Manitoba to the Saskatchewan River, and 256,000 acres owing from the old HBR, all such land to be selected from within the then Manitoba. [22] Work commenced in May 1898. [23] By the end of the season in December, the steel reached 5 kilometres (3 mi) beyond Duck River [24] [25] at today's Cowan. [26]
In December 1898, the emerging rail network became the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR). A new federal charter granted the following year, comprised extensive new routes. [27]
During May [28] to the beginning of October, 1899, track laying extended 50 kilometres (31 mi) to Swan River. [29] The next year, tracks extended 150 kilometres (93 mi) to Erwood, Saskatchewan. [30] It is unclear if the weekly train from Swan River to Erwood ran regularly after 1904. [31] Prompted by the federal government, further work began in 1907. In 1908, the line from Winnipeg reached the banks of the Saskatchewan River at The Pas. [3] [19]
CNoR refused to build further north without massive government assistance. [32] That year, the Government of Canada committed to constructing a line north from The Pas, and in 1910 the Hudson Bay Railway was formed. Mackenzie and Mann, the successful bidders, bridged the river in 1910–1911, and between 1910 and the start of World War I in 1914, laid steel 538 kilometres (334 mi) to Kettle Rapids (located at present day Gillam). Port Nelson, 160 kilometres (100 mi) away, had been selected as the terminus owing to the shorter distance and easier terrain. [33] [34] [35] The town site was cleared and infrastructure erected from 1912, and the completed rail bed reached there, but resources diverted for the war effort limited the latter project. All town and railway construction ceased in 1917, leaving a ghost town. [1]
In 1915, the Canadian Government Railways assumed administration of the line. To resolve CNoR's dire financial predicament, the federal government effectively took control of the company in 1917. [36] Both the line and CNoR later merged into Canadian National Railway (CNR).
In 1925 developers sponsored an excursion to Port Nelson, to attract investors to finance the continuation of the route. Early Canadian filmmaker Frank Holmes directed a 52-minute film, Seaport of the Prairies , documenting the endeavour. Participants included Charles Frederick Gray, the Mayor of Winnipeg, and William Ivens, an MLA, and J.L. Thomas, founder of the North Country Tourist Association. Development opportunities included ore resources, pulp and paper, hydro-electric, and grain shipping. [34] [37] [38]
In 1926, the Department of Railways and Canals assumed control of the HBR from CNR. Following a new location survey and better port surveys in 1927 carried out by the engineer in charge of location John Leslie Charles, Churchill was substituted as the terminus, owing to its natural harbour. Work recommenced, [1] [39] but minimal maintenance during the intervening years had left the line in a state of disrepair, limiting safe use to the first 344 kilometres (214 mi). [3] [33] Political interference, financing difficulties, and engineering challenges – caused by the large amount of muskeg and frequent rock outcrops on the Canadian Shield – led to numerous delays. The line to Churchill was completed March 29, 1929, and it opened for traffic on September 10. Port facilities were completed in 1931, and the British freighter Pennyworth was the first vessel to berth. [40] [41] [42]
The Hudson Bay Railway name disappeared when the line became part of the CNR system. CNR subsequently helped develop northern resources by building spurs from The Pas to Flin Flon, opening in 1928, followed by an extension on this line from Cranberry Portage to Lynn Lake, opening November 9, 1953. Although the HBR never became a major grain-handling link, it provided transportation to areas still inaccessible by road. [43]
During World War II, plans to downgrade the line changed when the US military required it to handle 300 cars per day and stationed about 7,000 service personnel at Churchill and along the route. [33]
In 1997, a new Hudson Bay Railway was formed after sale of the line from the Canadian National Railway. The current company operates over all of the original company's track.
Manitoba is a province of Canada at the longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's fifth-most populous province, with a population of 1,342,153 as of 2021. Manitoba has a widely varied landscape, from arctic tundra and the Hudson Bay coastline in the north to dense boreal forest, large freshwater lakes, and prairie grassland in the central and southern regions.
The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The river drains Lake Winnipeg and runs 644 kilometres (400 mi) before it ends in Hudson Bay. Its full length is 2,575 kilometres (1,600 mi), it has mean discharge of 2,370 cubic metres per second (84,000 cu ft/s), and has a drainage basin of 1,072,300 square kilometres (414,000 sq mi), of which 180,000 square kilometres (69,000 sq mi) is in the United States.
Churchill is an Arctic port town in northern Manitoba, Canada, on the west shore of Hudson Bay, roughly 140 km (87 mi) from the Manitoba–Nunavut border. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname "Polar Bear Capital of the World" and to the benefit of its burgeoning tourism industry.
Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay.
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, with corporate headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It cost an estimated $160 million to build. The Grand Trunk, its subsidiaries, and the Canadian Government Railways were precursors of today's Canadian National Railway.
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway running from Fort William, Ontario to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a Pacific coast port. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National Transcontinental Railway (NTR), running across northern Ontario and Quebec, crossing the St. Lawrence River at Quebec City and ending at Moncton, New Brunswick. The Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) managed and operated the entire line.
The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic 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 Edmonton.
The National Transcontinental Railway (NTR) was a historic railway between Winnipeg and Moncton in Canada. Much of the line is now operated by the Canadian National Railway.
Sir Donald Daniel Mann, who was also referred to as "Dan" or "D.D." before his knighthood, was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur.
The Halifax and South Western Railway was a historic Canadian railway operating in the province of Nova Scotia.
Hudson Bay Railway is a Canadian short line railway operating over 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of track in northeastern Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba.
The Arctic Bridge or Arctic Sea Bridge is a seasonal sea route approximately 6,700 kilometres long linking Russia to Canada, specifically the Russian port of Murmansk to the Hudson Bay port of Churchill, Manitoba.
The Port of Churchill is a privately-owned port on Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Routes from the port connect to the North Atlantic through the Hudson Strait. As of 2008, the port had four deep-sea berths capable of handling Panamax-size vessels for the loading and unloading of grain, bulk commodities, general cargo, and tanker vessels. The port is connected to the Hudson Bay Railway, which shares the same parent company, and cargo connections are made with the Canadian National Railway system at HBR's southern terminus in The Pas. It is the only port of its size and scope in Canada that does not connect directly to the country's road system; all goods shipped overland to and from the port must travel by rail.
The geography of Manitoba addresses the easternmost of the three prairie Canadian provinces, located in the longitudinal centre of Canada. Manitoba borders on Saskatchewan to the west, Ontario to the east, Nunavut to the north, and the American states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south. Although the border with Saskatchewan appears straight on large-scale maps, it actually has many right-angle corners that give the appearance of a slanted line. In elevation, Manitoba ranges from sea level on Hudson Bay to 2727 ft (831 m) on top of Baldy Mountain. The northern sixty percent of the province is on the Canadian Shield. The northernmost regions of Manitoba lie permafrost, and a section of tundra bordering Hudson Bay.
The history of Manitoba covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago to the present day. When European fur traders first travelled to the area present-day Manitoba, they developed trade networks with several First Nations. European fur traders in the area during the late-17th century, with the French under Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye set up several trading post forts. In 1670, Britain declared sovereignty over the watershed of Hudson's Bay, known as Rupert's Land; with the Hudson's Bay Company granted a commercial monopoly over the territory.
The history of Winnipeg comprises its initial population of Aboriginal peoples through its settlement by Europeans to the present day. The first forts were built on the future site of Winnipeg in the 1700s, followed by the Selkirk Settlement in 1812. Winnipeg was incorporated as a city in 1873 and experienced dramatic growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Following the end of World War I, the city's importance as a commercial centre in Western Canada began to wane. Winnipeg and its suburbs experienced significant population growth after 1945, and the current City of Winnipeg was created by the unicity amalgamation in 1972.
Lake Manitoba Railway and Canal Company (LMR) was a historic rail line in Manitoba, Canada, between Gladstone in the south and Winnipegosis to its north.
The Miami Railway Station is a former railway station that was built in Miami, Manitoba, by the Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railway Company in 1889. Designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1976, it is now a railway museum that operates during the summer. The museum is at the southern end of the village near the intersection of Highway 23 and Letain Street.
Arctic Gateway Group LP is a limited partnership that owns and operates the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway, which connects The Pas to Churchill, Manitoba. It was originally formed as a public-private partnership; with a fifty percent share held by Missinippi Rail, a consortium of northern Manitoba First Nations and local governments, and the private share split between Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings and Regina-based grains company AGT Food and Ingredients. Fairfax and AGT transferred their shares of Arctic Gateway to OneNorth in March 2021, meaning that Arctic Gateway is completely owned by the local governments and Indigenous partners.
Most of the following timelines for Manitoba's history is taken from either the Manitoba Historical Society, or from the Heritage Manitoba and the Gimli Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee, as adapted from a three-volume history of Manitoba published in 1993 titled Manitoba: 125.
The film is silent, but title cards provide substantial narration throughout. Participants in the expedition are seen, including Thomas, Holmes, and businessmen and politicians including former Winnipeg mayor Charles Frederick Gray, and Member of the Manitoba Legislature William Ivens.
The Pennyworth, the only vessel to carry inbound cargo, brought liquor, binder twine, china, glass, and oil from Great Britain, and besides wheat, carried out a quantity of flour, rolled oats, bran and shorts.
The first European ship of the season to penetrate the Arctic route through Hudson's Bay to this grain seaport in the center of the continent, the 11,000 ton British freighter Pennyworth, from Antwerp, arrived her yesterday.
When, however, we sailed from Antwerp, with our unusual and varied cargo, we inaugurated a new era for the Canadian north.
