Chapter
9: Expansion: The Railway Boom
You
can get there
from here…
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From 1881 until
1890 the CPR was the only viable link between southwestern Manitoba and
the rest of the world. Brandon was the hub. Most of the settlers
headed for the southwestern corner of the province and beyond, passed
through its station, as did most of the building supplies and consumer
goods. Virtually all of the farm produce also passed through, on its
way east. It had an enormous effect on the new city.
Brandon actively sought out additional rail connections with the
undisguised aim of consolidating its role as the economic heart) of the
region.
A Brandon Sun
editorial in 1899 stated the case:
“The future of
this city depends upon securing all the trade that is naturally
tributary to us.”
Dozens of
proposals had been made. Many, such as the Brandon, Souris &
Southwestern, the Brandon & Southeastern and the Brandon &
Pembina Mountain Railway, as their names imply, had Brandon as the
focus. Prior to 1890, none passed the planning stage.
In the decade
from 1900 to1910, more miles of railway were constructed in Manitoba
than in any other similar period. Branch lines were located and built
primarily to encourage settlement on the prairies and to transport the
agricultural products of these new areas.
Northern
Pacific
& Manitoba
In 1890 the
Northern Pacific and Manitoba entered the city connecting Brandon to
Morris by way of Wawanesa and Baldur.
They built a
station on Ninth Street just south of Princess Avenue. Passengers could
now make connection for Winnipeg at Morris or take a fairly direct
route all the way to Duluth Wisconsin.
The Canadian
Northern, which was chartered in 1899, took over the Northern Pacific
and Manitoba line.
The line also had
a spur from the station to the fairgrounds that operated from 1900
until 1913
In 1908 a 9-stall
roundhouse was ready for use on their property near McTavish Avenue and
1st St.
The Great
Northwest Central
In 1890 the Great
Northwest Central began a service linking the CPR Main Line at Chater
to Hamiota. The track angled up the Assiniboine valley before
turning north just a bit east of the old Mental Hospital Grounds where
they located a siding called Baragar (or, on some maps… “Asylum”.)
At some later
date a short spur was added right in to the Asylum grounds,….the rail
bed and tracks are still quite visible today.
In 1900 the Great
Northwest Central was leased to the CPR and branch lines were extended.
CPR Branch To
Plum Creek 1890
In the mid 1880’s
the CPR was facing increased criticism for not fulfilling its promise
to quickly build branch lines. Perhaps the opening of competition had
its effect. In 1889 the much delayed branch to Souris and Melita was
begun, branching off the main line west of Brandon at Kemnay. By 1891 a
second branch from Souris connected to Reston and westward.
The Brandon,
Saskatchewan and Hudson’s Bay Railway
Beginning in
1906, the ambitiously named Brandon, Saskatchewan and Hudson's Bay
Railway, a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railway from the U.S.,
offered service from Brandon to the small town of St. John's, North
Dakota where it made connections south to Minneapolis, east to Duluth,
and west through Montana to the coast. The line was part of determined
efforts by James Hill and the Northern Pacific to take advantage of the
Canadian market.
The
Brandon GN
Station was near 12th and Pacific – just a short distance from the CPR.
McKee
Archives
The Great
Northern contributed substantially to Brandon’s economic makeup. A
promotional publication entitled “Brandon in 1913” boasts that ”Brandon
has direct connection with the great railway systems of the United
States…” and goes on to mention that the railway has a charter to build
on to the The Pas and Hudson’s Bay. A newspaper report from 1907
claimed that a line to Winnipeg was being planned.
But by the late
20's it was apparent that big profits for the company would never
materialize. The line had been built into an area that was already
served by east-west lines. The rural population was about to reach its
peak and the car was establishing itself as the mode of choice for
personal transportation.
The Grand
Trunk
Pacific
An abandoned
railway bridge just east of Brandon, is a visual reminder of one the
more interesting examples of the rush to expand rail service and
capture the trade.
It was much
promised…… and almost completed..
The Grand Trunk
Pacific had just completed its own transcontinental line, following a
route edging northwards from Portage to a divisional point at Rivers
and from there northwest, paralleling what is today the Yellowhead
Highway, through Edmonton and on the coast.
Brandon was
promised that a spur would be started within six months of completion
of the main line. And it was….started. Work began in 1911. A rail bed
was graded from the main line at Harte for nearly 40 km, as far as the
Assiniboine River, where a bridge was constructed.
It was to
intersect with the Canadian Northern line and use the station at the
Prince Edward Hotel.
But by that time
it was becoming apparent that railway companies had overbuilt, and the
resulting financial woes intervened. The project was terminated in 1913
leaving only an unfinished rail bed that had never seen rails, let
alone trains, and a bridge that was never crossed and had to be
demolished in 1924 leaving only these massive supports.
The Prince Eddy
1912 saw the
building of Brandon’s own (and only) railroad hotel - The Prince Edward
- with a station attached.
The $500,000
investment in the building of this luxury hotel left no doubt as to
Brandon’s status.
Lawrence Stuckey,
Brandon’s noted railway historian once worked there as a bellhop in
1940 and has left a fine account he calls, “A Touch of Class”.
McKee
Archives
The Red
Caboose.
a popular nightspot in the early 1970’s was located in the former
station, then incorporated as part of the Prince Eddy.
All Roads Lead
to...
By 1912, going
north, south, east & west – we could take the train.
A 1915
map
highlights a network of rails – all leading to Brandon. You could
get there from here…and we had reached peak rail.
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