In
the summer of 1880, four well-to-do men met in Ottawa to discuss
the construction of a railroad that would stretch all the way
across Canada, linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. These
men, all wealthy business men and influential each in their
own arenas, were James Jerome Hill; an experienced railroad
builder, Donald Smith; Commissioner of the Hudson Bay Company,
Duncan McIntyre; a major shareholder in the Canadian Central
Railway and George Stephen; President of the Bank of Montreal.
Their meeting was focused primarily on the task of getting financial
support from Parliament for a railway they hoped to maintain
privately. Overcoming this difficult obstacle, the first of
many to face the project, relied greatly on the fact that the
first American transcontinental railway had been completed in
1869 and was extremely successful. It was extremely successful
for the United States, that is. In order to bring the immigrants,
tourists and money into Canada, they would have to be able to
deliver people and goods to the Pacific coast from eastern ports
such as Halifax, Quebec and Montreal.
In a time when rich men had seemingly unlimited resources and
power, the power of persuasion was a craft finely wielded by
men such as George Stephen. He took up the role of leader and
with his three colleagues brought to Parliament in September
of 1880 a proposal for the largest transcontinental railroad
every built. It would stretch from the town of Bonfield in Ontario
the shore town of Port Moody, British Columbia on the Pacific
coast. Parliament recognized the need and ratified the contract
on February 15th, 1881. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company
was born.
The
contract between Parliament and the new CP called for the construction
of 2,540 miles of track. 700 miles of this, in three sections,
would be built by the government. The remainder was to be built
by Canadian Pacific. There were several means by which the fledgeling
company as assisted in this respect; a $25 million subsidy,
land grants, tax exemptions on imported materials, and best
of all, a 20 year prohibition on construction south of the railway
by CP rivals. One would think that this worked completely to
CP's advantage, but the price for failure was high. The railway
had to be completed in 10 years. The company would be subject
to crippling fines and penalties if service on the railroad
was not available by Mary of 1891. In addition to the time constraints,
the majority of CP's board were to be British citizens. The
deal was signed and Canadian Pacific held its first board meeting
on February 17th, 1881. Construction began shortly thereafter.
Four years later, in January 1885 work ground to a halt amidst
labor strikes and financial worries that culminated into a threat
to CP's existence. George Stephen and Donald Smith put their
personal fortunes on the line to satisfy payrolls and creditors.
A last minute loan from the government saved the company and
work resumed on the nearly completed rail system. On November
7, 1885 the last spike was driven in. Regular service began
on June 28th, 1886. The first train left Montreal at 8:00PM
for a 5 day trip to Port Moody. Canadian Pacific Railway had
succeeded in their first task. As they beamed with pride over
the seemingly endless rails of iron snaking through the wilderness,
their focus now turned to the seas they now linked.
A year before the railroad was even finished,
George Stephen and Prime Minister John A MacDonald were in England
trying to secure a Royal Mail subsidy for the Pacific mail service.
They failed to obtain the contract for mail service but that
same year CP had built it's first new ships. Built for duty
on the Great Lakes, the three steamers were Alberta, Athabaska,
and Algoma. The 3,000 ton ships would ferry people and
cargo along the northern shore of Lake Superior. In 1885, the
same year CP faced bankruptcy it also faced tragedy when Algoma
sank in a violent storm. Of 63 people aboard, 48 were lost.
Undeterred, Canadian Pacific still sought ocean trade. They
leased an 800 ton sailing packet, the American-built W.B.
Flint. She sailed to Canada from Yokohama on June 19, 1886
with 17, 430 crates of tea leaves aboard. Her first trip on
what came to be known as "the Tea Run" ended when
she sailed into Port Moody on July 27th. The Oriental Trade
Route was open and Canadian Pacific had the key. Six more sailing
packets were ordered and by the end of 1886, CP ships had brought
more than 8 million pounds of tea to Port Moody. By 1887 the
company was ready to drop the sails in favor of steam.
The first task in building a fleet of
iron-hulled vessels was finding a new harbour for them. The
larger, heavier vessels needed deeper water, more favorable
tides and shorter harbour crossings than Port Moody offered.
A land grant gave rise to the port of Vancouver. Nine square
miles was obtained and the railroad was extended to Coal Harbour.
A 1,000 foot pier had been built to accommodate the three ships
Canadian Pacific leased from W.G. Pearce of Glasgow. Formerly
owned by the Cunard Line, the ships were the 3,600 ton Abyssinia
and Parthia. Batavia was a 2,600 steamer. All
three vessels had been built in 1870 and had gone through several
refits. Though equipped with sails, they were steamships yet
they were not fitted with electric lights. Nonetheless they
did their job well and kept the Tea Run very profitable for
Canadian Pacific while the company's success, and subsequently
its credibility, soared. In 1889, it's success tried and true,
CP won the Royal Mail subsidy for Pacific service. On July 15th
of that year a 10-year contract was signed, requiring CP to
run mail from Halifax via train to Vancouver and then by ship
across the Pacific to Yokohama, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Now
it was time for brand new, iron-hulled ocean liners to be built.
Ships built for Canadian Pacific. The first Empresses were born.
Canadian Pacific was now in the ocean-going steamship market.
The order was placed for three vessels with the Naval Construction
and Armaments Company of Barrow-in-Furness. The resulting liners
were to be the most beautiful ever seen at the time. Empress
of India, Empress of China and Empress of Japan were
each 485 feet long and displaced about 6,000 tons. Sporting
"yacht-like" lines, the new liners were three masted
vessels with two raked funnels, a clipper ship stem, bowsprits
and counter sterns that tapered upwards from the waterline to
trail behind the hull. Gliding through the water like elegant
swans, they soon earned the nickname "The Flying Empresses".
Electric light and heat provided comfort for 812 passengers
(180 First Class, 32 Second Class and 600 Steerage Class).
Powered by triple expansion reciprocating engines geared to
twin screws, the Empresses could easily make 16 knots or more.
In fact Empress of India made nearly 20 knots during
her sea trials. Because of the large amount of coal required
for a Pacific voyage, cargo space was limited, to about 3000
tons.
Distinguishable from her sisters by a figurehead carved in the
likeness of Queen Victoria, Empress of India entered
service on February 8th, 1891. Empress of Japan followed,
entering service in April and Empress of China in July.
Only a year later, a fire broke out in Empress of Japan's
cargo hold. Although her boats were swung out, the fire was
brought under control before an evacuation became necessary.
Despite some minor incidents, Canadian Pacific's entry into
the steamship arena would prove to be extremely successful.
As the 19th century drew to a close, CP turned its collective
attention to the Atlantic. The Atlantic passenger trade was
becoming more and more lucrative as immigration was ever increasing.
A mail subsidy for the Atlantic would give CP what basically
amounted to a world wide mail route, from England all the way
to the Far East. On March 27th 1903, CP made public it's purchase
of 15 steamships. Running from Liverpool to Quebec via the St.
Lawrence, this marked CP's entry into the Atlantic trade, but
the mail subsidy would need to be taken from the Allan Line.
In January of 1904, the Allan Line's subsidy received a two-year
renewall. CP desperately wanted that mail subsidy, worth as
much as £2000 for each vessel! The decision was made to
build two new Atlantic liners, but while CP directors debated
the size, speed and specifics of the vessels that would try
to win the mail subsidy, the Allan Line began construction on
two new liners of their own, the 10,000 ton triple-screw Victorian
and Virginian. Sporting one funnel, the new vessels were
built with steam turbine powerplants, making them the first
turbine-powered Atlantic liners. They were to have a sustainable
speed of 19.5 knots.
Despite the publicity surrounding their rival's announcement,
it was still months before Canadian Pacific president Thomas
George Shaughnessy made a decision. Finally, in December of
1904 he placed an order for two 20-knot liners with Fairfield
Shipbuilding & Engineering Company. Located on the River
Clyde in Govan, Fairefield had built several ships for CP and
the two new 14,500-ton ships were to be the answer to CP's mail
subsidy woes. Truth be told, a 20-knot liner leaving Liverpool
at the same time as a 25-knot ship would reach it's Canadian
port before the faster vessel reached New York. The first waterline
sketch for the new vessels was penned by Dr Francis Elgar, Professor
of Naval Architecture at Glasgow University. The first concept
drawing is dated November 28, 1904. He had obviously drawn up
the plans in anticipation of an order from Canadian Pacific.
When all was said and done, the new vessels were to be 548 ft
9 inches in length, 65 ft 7 inches wide amidships. The height
from the keel to the top deck was a staggering 87 feet and the
vessels would have a draft of 27 feet fully loaded. Born in
Fairfield's Berth No. 5 was the hull designated #442; later
to be christened Empress of Britain. Next to her, in
Berth No. 4 was where, on April 10th 1905, the first keel plates
were laid down for Hull 443; Empress of Ireland...
NEXT: An Elegant Lady
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