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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 7, Issue 4 (August 1, 1932)

The Canadian National Railways — Largest Railway System In The Empire

page 53

The Canadian National Railways
Largest Railway System In The Empire.

(C.P.R. photo.) “The International Limited,” Canadian National Railways.

(C.P.R. photo.)
“The International Limited,” Canadian National Railways.

In view of the recent announcement of the resignation of Sir Henry Thornton, K.B.E., from the position of President of the Canadian National Railways, the following account of the great railway system which he was largely instrumental in developing, will be of interest to our readers.

The Canadian National Railways is, first and foremost, a great enterprise in partnership. The spirit of cooperation gives life and character to what might be called the body of the railroad, the thousands of miles of steel, the thousands of locomotives and cars, the hotels, the telegraph lines, the steamships, which comprise the National System.

The Canadian National System came into being at the end of 1922. The materials of which it was created were many and diverse, chief among them the Grand Trunk, the Canadian Northern, the Grand Trunk Pacific, the National Trans-continental and the Intercolonial. They all did their part in opening up Canada in the days of the pioneers, but they made mistakes, they crumbled, and it was a step in the public interest that the Government of Canada took, in amalgamating them and creating out of the chaos the Canadian National System.

The stress of the early days of the war compelled the Federal Government to take over those lines which formed a part of the Canadian National Railways. In October, 1922, the Grand Trunk and Canadian National Railways were united and co-ordinated under its own Board of Management. The appointment of Sir Henry W. Thornton, K.B.E., and the new Board of Directors completed the amalgamation.

The Operating Divisions.

For the purpose of facilitating the operation of this immense system of railways, Sir Henry Thornton divided it into three operating divisions, known as the Atlantic Region, with headquarters at Moncton, N.B.; the Central Region, with headquarters at Toronto, Ontario; and the Western Region, with its control centres in Winnipeg. The Grand Trunk Western-Canadian National Railways—that portion of the system operating in page 54 the United States between the Ontario border and Chicago, comes under the control of the Grand Trunk Western Region, administered locally from Detroit, Michigan. The general headquarters of the system is in Montreal.

Sir Henry Thornton's Work.

Sir Henry Thornton is a man of dynamic energy and outstanding personality, and during his generalship he has imbued the men associated with him with both of these characteristics. The faith that he has in the success of the Canadian National Railways is unbounded, and the confidence that every employee has in the Canadian National and Canada as a country—and the two are one—is what is leading the largest railway system on the North American continent on to achievement.

Sir Henry Thornton is not only a great leader of men; he is one of the outstanding figures of the railway. He arrived in Canada in November, 1922, to enter upon his official duties as Chairman of the Board of Directors and President of the Canadian National Railways. An enviable reputation as a railwayman preceded him. He was recognised as a big man who did things in a big way. He forged his way to the top of his profession through work, ability, personality and foresight.

Far-flung System.

The cold figure 23,000 miles means that the Canadian National Railways form the largest, although the youngest, railway in North America. The true significance of the figure is that the railway serves Canada from Halifax and Sydney on the extreme east of the Dominion, to Vancouver and Prince Rupert on the extreme west; that it passes through seven of the United States; that it pushes as far north as Churchill on Hudson Bay, and to this might be added the fact that its steamships link Vancouver and the ports of Alaska, and connect the eastern ports of Montreal, Halifax and Saint John, with Bermuda, the West Indies and South America. There is no phase of Canada's material development that is not the concern of the National Railway. It transports the products of the Dominion from country to city, from city to city, and to the seaports for shipment to all parts of the world. In the first place, it serves agriculture. It covers the old settled areas of Ontario and the multitudinous acres of the prairies like a network. It carries millions of bushels of grain out of the prairie provinces every year; it transports cattle from Alberta, fruits from Ontario, butter, eggs, poultry and vegetables from the eastern provinces. It serves the farmer by carrying his produce away from him and by bringing to him from the manufacturing centres the things he needs. With its steel it has followed the pioneer farmer into the new, unbroken country; many times it has gone ahead of the pioneer and opened the way for agriculture.

Travel Amenities.

So much for commerce and industry. There is another industry, however, which becomes more valuable to Canada as the years pass. Each year many millions of tourists visit the Dominion. The part the National Railways play in this highly remunerative business is large. Its lines, for example, lead into Jasper National Park in the Rockies; Wainwright, where the largest herd of bison in the world is found; Prince Albert National Park, in Northern Saskatchewan; Algonquin, in Ontario; to the Pacific Coast by two routes; the one northward, through the Skeena River country, to Prince Rupert; and the other, along the Fraser to Vancouver. It taps the North, not only for its minerals, timber, pulpwood and power and its potential grainfields, but also for its lakes and streams and its woods, for the pleasures it gives the hunter and the fisherman. As part of the service the Canadian National gives the traveller, whether for business or pleasure, fifteen hotels and summer “lodges” are operated by the railway. Two of the most outstanding of these are the Chateau Laurier, at Ottawa, and Jasper Park Lodge, in the Rockies. Visitors from all parts of the world are guests each summer at Jasper Park Lodge, which, although it is equipped as a truly modern hotel and has one of the finest golf courses on the continent, is built in a series of bungalows of native logs and stone, in keeping with the beauty of the surrounding mountains. The page 55 Canadian National line crosses the Rocky Mountains at the lowest altitude, yet in view of the most splendid mountain scenery, notably Mount Robson, the loftiest of the peaks.

As a matter of statistics, the British Empire has few larger or more powerful locomotives to show than the “Northern” type, built in Canada for the National System. Designed for use in fast passenger and freight service, it can handle a train of twelve steel cars at a speed, when it is demanded, of eighty miles per hour. With its tender, the Northern weighs 329 tons. It is capable of developing more than 3,200 horse power. To further facilitate the speed of the International Limited, the crack Canadian National train, which runs between Montreal and Chicago, the Hudson locomotive, No. 5700, has come into being. With its eighty-inch driving wheels, the largest ever cast in Canada, 5700 has no difficulty in making more than eighty miles an hour. Trimness of appearance, as well as power and speed, has been considered in its design, and it possesses many features new in the steam locomotive history of Canada. The International Limited, famous all-steel train operating from Montreal to Chicago, and the Inter-City, are the fastest trains in the world traversing a like distance, making the run between Montreal and Toronto, 334 miles in 360 minutes, including stops.

A Giant Locomotive. (C.P.R. photo.) One of the powerful locomotives, “4100 type.” in service on the Canadian National Railways.

A Giant Locomotive.
(C.P.R. photo.)
One of the powerful locomotives, “4100 type.” in service on the Canadian National Railways.

Employee Welfare.

The employees of the Canadian National System, the partners in this widespread enterprise, have their Recreation League, their organised sports and First Aid competitions—three First Aid instruction cars were put into operation for the benefit of the men far removed from the centres of industry—and their monthly magazine. Through a co-operative scheme in effect in the shops, maintenance of way and bridge and building departments, the System has given its employees a voice in the management. Several thousand suggestions for betterment of methods and conditions, and for continuity of employment have been made by the men, and one year taken for example shews 72 per cent. put into effect, with 15 per cent. under consideration. As a result of such partnership, all the men devote the best of their brains to help the management do better than it did before. The outcome is a high morale impregnating the railway organisation, and a sense of pride and loyalty which makes every man, from the humblest worker to the officer with the greatest responsibility, anxious for the well-being and progress of his railway.

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