Northern Alberta Railways was a Canadian
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
which served northern
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
and northeastern
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. Jointly owned by both
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
and
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
, NAR existed as a separate company from 1929 until 1981.
Predecessor railways
Railway construction in northern Alberta during the early 20th century was dominated by the
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway running from Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a Pacific coast port. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National Tra ...
and the
Canadian Northern Railway
The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.
Mani ...
, both of which were building westward from
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, Alberta, to the
Yellowhead Pass
The Yellowhead Pass is a mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas in the Canadian Rockies. It is located on the provincial boundary between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and lies within Jasper Nat ...
of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
.
Following the
Dominion Land Survey
The Dominion Land Survey (DLS; french: links=no, arpentage des terres fédérales, ATF) is the method used to divide most of Western Canada into one-square-mile (2.6 km2) sections for agricultural and other purposes. It is based on the layout ...
grants to settlers, the
Peace River region
The Peace River Country (or Peace Country; french: Région de la Rivière-de-la-paix) is an aspen parkland region centring on the Peace River in Canada. It extends from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, ...
of northwestern Alberta was one of the few places left on the prairies with available agricultural land; however, there was no railway connection.
Several lines were chartered to serve both the Peace River and Waterways regions of the province, beginning with the
Athabaska Railway in 1907. It was to build northeast from Edmonton to
Dunvegan, Alberta
Dunvegan ( ) is an unincorporated community within the Municipal District of Fairview No. 136 in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located south of the town of Fairview on the northern bank of the Peace River at the mouth of the Hines Creek.
H ...
, then to
Fort George, British Columbia
Prince George is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, with a population of 74,004 in the metropolitan area. It is often called the province's "northern capital" or sometimes the "spruce capital" because it is the hub city for ...
.
Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway
The company was rechartered in 1911 under the ownership of
J.D. McArthur as the
Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway (ED&BC). Construction of the ED&BC started in 1912 heading toward
Westlock, Alberta
Westlock is a town in central Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1913, the town is primarily an agricultural, business, and government administration centre serving communities and rural areas within surrounding Westlock County.
Geography
Westlock i ...
, reaching
High Prairie
High Prairie is a town in northern Alberta, Canada within Big Lakes County. It is located at the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 749, approximately northeast of Valleyview and west of Slave Lake.
History
Describes the nature of the su ...
in 1914, and
Spirit River in 1915. The railway decided not to proceed to Dunvegan, and instead built a branch south from
Rycroft to
Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), a ...
in 1916 ( northwest from Edmonton).
In 1924 the line was extended to
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
, and it reached
Hythe
Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to:
Places Australia
* Hythe, Tasmania
Canada
*Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada
England
* T ...
in 1928. In 1930 the line was extended westward across the provincial boundary to its western terminus at
Dawson Creek, British Columbia
Dawson Creek is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of had a population of 12,978 in 2016. Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community. The creek was named after ...
.
Alberta and Great Waterways Railway
In 1909 a charter was granted to the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway (A&GW) to build from Edmonton to
Waterways, Alberta
Waterways is a locality within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in northern Alberta, Canada. It is now a neighbourhood within the Fort McMurray urban service area along the west bank of the Clearwater River, south of the river's confluen ...
, on the
Athabasca River
The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') is a river in Alberta, Canada, which originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is pro ...
. Construction faltered and
the A&GW political scandal ensued, and the line was rechartered in 1913 under the ownership of J.D. McArthur. Construction of the A&GW began in 1914 from
Carbondale, Alberta
Carbondale is a hamlet in central Alberta, Canada within Sturgeon County. It is located west of Highway 28, approximately north of Edmonton's city limits.
Carbondale was so named on account of coal mines near the original town site; coal is ...
, and reached
Lac La Biche, Alberta
Lac La Biche ( ) is a hamlet in Lac La Biche County within northeast Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately northeast of the provincial capital of Edmonton. Previously incorporated as a town, Lac La Biche amalgamated with Lakeland Count ...
, in 1916. It reached
Draper, Alberta
Draper is an unincorporated community in northern Alberta, Canada within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Regional Municipality (R.M.) of Wood Buffalo. It is located approximately southeast of Fort McMurray on the southern bank of the ...
, in 1922 and its terminus at Waterways in 1925. The railway was transferred to ownership of the Government of Alberta on July 28, 1920. Carbondale Station was destroyed on November 10, 1959 following a head-on collision of a steam engine and a diesel engin
Central Canada Railway
In 1913 a charter was granted to the
Central Canada Railway (CCR) under the ownership of J.D. McArthur to build a junction with the ED&BC near
Aggie, Alberta
Big Lakes County, formerly the Municipal District of Big Lakes, is a municipal district in north-central Alberta, Canada.
It is located in Census Division 17, around the Lesser Slave Lake. Utikuma Lake and Winagami Lake are also located in ...
, extending to
Peace River Crossing, Alberta, in order to access barge traffic on the
Peace River
The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...
. Construction of the CCR began in 1914 and was completed in 1916.
The CCR was subsequently extended to
Berwyn, Alberta
Berwyn is a village in northwestern Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately west of the Town of Peace River, southwest of the Town of Grimshaw, and northeast of the Duncan's First Nation reserve.
The Municipal District of Peace No. 135's ...
, in 1921, then to
Whitelaw, Alberta, in 1924,
Fairview, Alberta
Fairview is a town in Peace Country, Alberta, Canada. It is located southwest of Peace River and north of Grande Prairie at the intersection of Highway 2 and Highway 64A.
History
In 1928, the railroad extended west from Whitelaw through the ...
, in 1928 and
Hines Creek, Alberta
Hines Creek is a village in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located 67 km west of Grimshaw and 28 km north of Fairview, along Highway 64.
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village ...
, in 1930.
Pembina Valley Railway
In 1926, the provincial legislature passed a statute authorizing the government to construct the
Pembina Valley Railway from
Busby, Alberta, where it connected to the ED&BC line, to
Barrhead, Alberta
Barrhead is a town in central Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the County of Barrhead No. 11. It is located along the Paddle River and at the intersection of Alberta Highway 33, Highway 33 (Grizzly Trail) and Alberta Highway 18, Highway 18 ...
.
Provincial ownership
In 1920, the lines owned by J.D. McArthur entered financial difficulties following the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Coinciding with the problems faced by the McArthur lines (ED&BC, A&GW, and CCR), both the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) and Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) had fallen victim to similar circumstances brought about by the financial strain of the conflict and falling traffic levels. The Dominion government had
nationalized
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
the GTPR and CNoR, along with other previously federally owned lines into the
Canadian National Railways
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...
.
Following the federal example, and in an attempt to preserve rail service to northern and northwestern Alberta, the provincial government leased the ED&BC and CCR in 1920 for five years. In 1921 the government entered into a five-year agreement with the
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
(CPR) to operate the ED&BC and CCR.
In 1920, the provincial government purchased the A&GW outright and chose to operate it separately.
CPR immediately raised freight rates on the ED&BC and CCR lines, charging "mountain prices", claiming that the cost of operating on grades into the Peace and
Smoky River
The Smoky River is a river in western Alberta, Canada. It is a major tributary of the Peace River. The descriptive name refers to the presence of "smouldering beds of coal in the riverbank" noted by the Cree Indians.
It drains an area of . Fro ...
valleys of the northwestern prairie was as much as it cost to operate in the Rocky Mountains. Consequently, Peace River farmers paid the highest freight charges on the Canadian prairies to reach the lakehead at
Port Arthur and
Fort William.
The provincial government purchased the ED&BC and CCR from McArthur in 1925, following the expiration of the five-year lease. Dissatisfied with the CPR's operation of the ED&BC and CCR, the provincial government allowed the operating contract for these railways to expire in 1926, with operations subsequently taken over by the new provincial Department of Railways and Telecommunications, which was also tasked to operate the AG&W and the newly built PVR.
In 1928, the provincial government began to solicit proposals from both the CPR and the Canadian National Railways (CNR) for purchasing the provincial railways. In 1924, CNR president Sir
Henry Thornton visited the ED&BC line and in 1928, CPR president
Edward Beatty did the same.
Northern Alberta Railways
In 1928 the provincial government grouped the ED&BC, CCR, AG&W, and PVR under the collective name Northern Alberta Railways (NAR), which received a federal charter in March 1929. Under UFA Premier Brownlee, the NAR was sold to both the CNR and CPR in equal portions with both companies agreeing to maintain the NAR as a joint subsidiary. At that time, the NAR was the third-largest railway in Canada. In 1937 the NAR began to show a profit for the first time.
In summer 1942, following the entry of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
into the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the