Which came first, the railway or Highway 16? It was the railway which in 1914 was a new line for the predominantly eastern Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) and the fulfillment of a dream for GTR president Charles Melville Hayes.

The GTR has been touted as Canada's greatest pioneer railway. By 1856, it was the longest railway in the world.

(be sure to click on the photos to zoom -
they are excellent)

The promise of a transcontinental link persuaded British Columbians to join Confederation in 1871, although it took until 1877 for a steam locomotive to make it as far as the prairies. But it wasn't the GTR that first reached the Pacific. That honour lies with the Canadian Pacific Railway, which reached Vancouver in May, 1887.

Not to be outdone, Hayes approached the government in 1903, at that time led by Sir Wilfred Laurier, with a plan to open up the northern half of the country. His track would go from Moncton, New Brunswick, through Northern Ontario and Quebec. Another line called the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) would go from Manitoba to a newly named place on the Pacific Coast called Prince Rupert. In total, the length of both lines would be 4,708 miles.