Show Notes
On Nov 7, 1885 at 9:22 a.m., the official last spike was hammered in at a spot in the Eagle Pass by Sir Donald Smith. With that, the 14 year odyssey of the construction of the transcontinental railway had come to an end. What is the story behind that famous photo though? What happened before, and what happened after? Today, the last episode of Coast to Coast Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx
More from Coast To Coast
I've launched a new podcast called Canada: A Yearly Journey, which will look at every year in Canada's history, beginning with 1867. The first episode dropped last week, with 1868 coming Thursday.
From extreme loneliness, to the ever present danger of injury or death, the lives of workers was not an easy one. Alcohol was always around, medical care was barebones at best and living conditions were filthy and cramped. It was not an easy life but for many, it was the means towards a better life. Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx
Today on Coast to Coast, I am looking at the Canadian Pacific Railway's building through the Prairies, from Winnipeg to Calgary, a distance of 1,300 km. While the Canadian Prairies section was the same length as the British Columbian and Canadian Shield sections combined, building was quick and efficient through the flat landscape, taking just over a year. Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx
Today on Coast to Coast, I am taking a jump forward to look at the grand railway hotels built, primarily, by the Canadian Pacific Railway. While there are many grand railway hotels across Canada, today I am only covering seven of them, from British Columbia to Quebec City. They have served as places to stay for presidents, prime ministers and Royalty and even played a role in creating the NHL itself. Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx
In the Prairies, it was possible to build hundreds of kilometres of the railroad in one year. In British Columbia, that same length of track would take over five years. From avalanches, the need to build bridges over gorges and blasting through granite mountains, the construction of the CPR through British Columbia was no small matter, nor a quick process. Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx