Sig Lofstrom's Canadian Pacific Railway Journey to Portland

The Canadian Pacific railway from Quebec to Vancouver BC was completed in 1885, and the first transcontinental train (with two immigrant sleeper Colonial cars) left Montreal 1886 June 28, arriving in Port Moody on July 4.

day 0

#9 wk

#7 su

#1

miles

(Eastern Time)

715p

815p

945p

0

Montreal

day 1

615a

755a

815a

Sudbury (arrive)

720a

820a

1155a

Sudbury (leave)

day 2

915a

1015a

745p

Winnipeg (arrive)

1015a

1115a

850p

Winnipeg (leave)

735p

830p

740a nd

Moose Jaw (arrive)

810p

905p

825a nd

Moose Jaw (leave)

day 3

250a

355a

500p

Medicine Hat (arrive)

By 1906, a southerly branch line ran from Medicine Hat, bypassing Calgary and Banff. The rail line follows (approximately) the route of east-west Canada highway 3, from the big rail yard at Medicine Hat, through Bow Island, Grassy Lake, Taber, Barnwell, Cranford, Coaldale, Lethbridge, Fort Macleod, Elko, Cranbrook, Moyle, Yahk, then the border at Kingsgate and Eastport.

The Spokane International Railway was funded by the Canadian Pacific, and passed southbound through Eastport Idaho, through Bonner's Ferry and Sandpoint Idaho, connecting to Spokane Washington. From Spokane, the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway travelled down to Kennewick Washington, then followed the northern shore of the Columbia River past Maryhill, the rail yards in Wishram, White Salmon, Stevenson, Washougal, Vancouver, the rail bridge over the Columbia (one mile east of the current I5 bridge, through Saint Johns, across the Willamette River, then through the northwest Portland industrial area to Union Station.

From an earlyCanadian Pacific railway timetable (with many small towns omitted), two west/south-bound trains per day to Yahk BC:

#67

#11

miles

(Mountain Time)

610p

445a

0

Medicine Hat

935p

815a

111.8

Lethbridge (arrive)

1010p

835a

111.8

Lethbridge (depart)

1201a

925a

143.4

Fort Macleod

315a

1150a

212.9

Crowsnest

(Pacific Time)

230a

1100a

212.9

Crowsnest

650a

220p

311.9

Cranbrook

800a

330p

352.5

Yahk B.C.

Tracks continue west

Spokane International, one train per day

815a

352.5

Yahk B.C.

835a

363.0

Kingsgate B.C.

855a

363.0

Eastport ID

150p

503.8

Spokane WA

Spokane, Portland, and Seattle

1206a

945p

503.8

Spokane WA

730a

700a

881.8

Portland, OR

2024 Spok. to PDX 7.5 hours

CanadianPacificMontrealtoMedicineHat.jpg CanadianPacificMedicineHattoPortland.jpg


Canadian Pacific - A Brief History

J. Lorne McDougall, McGill University Press, 1968

PSU Lib HE 2810.C2 M183

This is about business development and management. I found no specifics about immigrant and passenger services.


A History of the Canadian Pacific Railway BY HAROLD A. INNIS, Ph.D. Lecturer in the Department of Political Economy in the University of Toronto. TORONTO: McCLELLAND AND STEWART, LTD. 1923 Printed in Great Britain

Also in UBC library pdf

page 206-7: ... This cut-throat competition was terminated by an agreement dated February 1, 1894, stipulating that the Canadian Pacific should be given train service into Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland, in return for waiving its claim to a differential over the Great Northern from St. Paul, and for certain facilities in the way of train service to Vancouver.

CanadianPacific (last edited 2024-05-22 03:59:13 by KeithLofstrom)