The original grade of the
Canadian Pacific Railway was constructed in 1882, which was at this point.
The grade was raised by teams of
laborers working with horses and scrapers. After a few years of operation
the prairie section of the railway was improved and its course slightly changed
at many points to remove curves and excessive inclines.
The railway played a central role
in the founding of the Canadian west. Settlement followed as it moved west
and gradually acquired a network of branch lines. Our pioneers were almost
entirely dependent on it. For without it they had little market for their
produce or source of machinery and equipment.
The plume of smoke and steam in
the frosty air, and the distant wail of the whistle, were familiar to everyone
on these prairies.
