Canadian Government Railways

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Canadian Government Railways
Map
standard gauge
Previous gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) for PEI
CGR 50-ton coal car, former Intercolonial Railway (faded paint can be seen).

Canadian Government Railways (reporting marks CGR, IRC)[1] was the legal name used between 1915–1918 for all federal government-owned railways in Canada.

The principal component companies were the

Intercolonial Railway of Canada (IRC), the National Transcontinental Railway (NTR), the Prince Edward Island Railway (PEIR), and the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR). There were also several minor branch railways in the province of New Brunswick that were acquired by CGR during this time.[2]

The deepening financial crisis in Canada's railway industry toward the end of the

nationalized by the federal government. The CGR played a vital role in Canada's wartime effort, moving vast numbers of troops and supplies. A notable role was the relief and reconstruction in Halifax after the 1917 Halifax Explosion and one CGR employee, Vince Coleman became a celebrated hero in the explosion.[3]

The first system to be taken over was the bankrupt

Privy Council.[4]

The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) was nationalized after defaulting on loan payments March 7, 1919, and entered the CNR fold on July 12, 1920. GTPR's parent company, the bankrupt Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) was nationalized on May 21, 1920, and was absorbed into the CNR on January 30, 1923.

Although the CGR only existed for a short period of time before evolving into the Canadian National Railway, it was a very visible Canadian railway in World War One due to the large scale of wartime railway operation. Large amounts of rolling stock were lettered for the CGR, although in many regions, such as the Maritimes, the public continued to refer to its trains and facilities by their old name of the Intercolonial. The CGR moniker ceased to be used after 1918, but the CGR itself existed on paper until the late 20th century, largely due to real estate leases and other agreements. A Privy Council order dated July 22, 1993, authorized the sale of CGR to the

Crown corporation CN for one Canadian dollar
.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canadian Government Railways.
  1. ^ Railway Equipment and Publication Company (June 1917). The Official Railway Equipment Register. p. 364 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ MacKenzie, Keith (1988). The History of the Canadian National. Bison Books. p. 61.
  3. ^ Conlin, Dan. "Vincent Coleman and the Halifax Explosion". Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008.
  4. ^ Leggett, Robert F. (1973). Railways of Canada. Douglas and MacIntyre. pp. 117–118.
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