MMBC Schoolnet: Commerce

C ANADIAN P ACIFIC R AILWAY
&
C ANADIAN P ACIFIC N AVIGATION
The Canadian Pacific Railway Company (C.P.R.) completed the transcontinental railway in 1885, finally linking British Columbia to eastern Canada. The company also took over Dunsmuir's E & N line on Vancouver Island in 1905, extending the line to Courtney, Port Alberni, and Cowichan Lake.

During this time Canadian Pacific Navigation (C.P.N.) was operating sternwheelers such as the R.P. Rithet, sidewheelers such as the Princess Louise, and steamers such as the Otter in the Victoria, Vancouver and Puget Sound areas, extending transport to an d from these new rail links.

The first Princess Louise at anchor near Bella Coola mmbc 4719.08

In the east, the C.P.R. began providing water transportation services in 1882 on the Great Lakes, transferring men and materials to the transcontinental railway construction sites. Within a few years the C.P.R. was providing steamship services that carrie d passengers and cargo to and from the Far East. With combined rail and sea service it was possible by 1891 to ship cargo and passengers from Saint John, New Brunswick, to Hong Kong. The Northwest Passage that many had searched for in previous centuries h ad finally been developed.

The first of the C.P.R. vessels to sail across the Pacific to the Orient were the Empresses: China, India and Japan. Hundreds of people (many were immigrants) arrived in the ports of Vancouver and Victoria on these liners, continuing their travels either east or south by C.P. rail or ship, and vacationing in the chain of hotels that C.P.R. provided from coast to coast. The Empress Hotel in Victoria is the last western C.P.R. hotel link in this chain. In supplying all of these services, C.P.R. has made considerable contributions to the growth of tourism in British Columbia.

Empress of China in Vancouver 1891 mmbc 977.001.0025

Empress of India 1891 mmbc 5026.03P

The Empresses were designed for simple conversion to armed merchant cruisers and they served on every ocean in W.W.II. During this time, two Empresses were lost and one was destroyed. The Empresses were efficient and elegant liners that provided exception al service for fifty years.

Empress of Japan arriving in Victoria 1896 mmbc 2200P

`C.P.R. S.S. Princess Victoria mmbc 988.20.1P`	When the C.P.R. took over the C.P.N. in 1901 several intercity and coastal vessels were added to the northwest coast fleet. These vessels were faster and were built with the latest technologies. The Princess line was born at this time and these new vessel s traveled an expanded route from Puget Sound, along the coast of British Columbia, to Lynn Canal in Alaska.
`C.P.R. S.S. Princess Charlotte mmbc 988.20.2P`	`C.P.R. S.S. Princess Kathleen mmbc 988.20.3P`

The distinctive C.P.R. red and white checkered flag was first flown in 1891.