Alberta Central Railway helped open region

Michael Dawe
Articles

Ground Transportation
Heritage Preservation

1910
Alberta Central Railway helped open region

reprinted from Red Deer Advocate '100 Years Vol. 1' March 28, 2007

Sir Wilfrid Laurier ACR 1st spike

Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier visited Red Deer in 1910 to drive the first spike for the Alberta Central Railway

Photo courtesy of
the Red Deer and District Archives

On Aug. 10, 1910, the prime minister of Canada, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, came to Red Deer and drove the first spike for the Alberta Central Railway.

The event was significant not only because it was part of the first major visit to Red Deer by a Canadian prime minister. It also represented the start of a major development for Central Alberta.

The origins of the Alberta Central went back to May 1901, when a charter was granted by the federal government to a group of Red Deer and Ontario businessmen.

Originally, the rail line was authorized to run from Coal Banks, near modern-day Delburne, to Rocky Mountain House.

However, over the years, the ACR's charter was amended to allow it to run its line from the Fraser Valley through the Yellowhead Pass to Moose Jaw, with extensions to Saskatoon and the Hudson Bay.

In short, it was planned that the ACR would eventually become a "transcontinental" railroad extending all across Western Canada.

For a long time, little happened with the ACR other than periodic time extensions to its charter by the federal government.

That is not to say that the ACR was forgotten.

Construction of railroads was politically very popular. John T. Moore, the major force behind the railway, had political ambitions.

He ran successfully in the 1905 provincial election. He ran unsuccessfully for a nomination in the 1908 federal election and for re-election in the 1909 provincial election.

In each campaign, the promise of construction of the ACR was used to garner votes.

In fact, in the 1908 contest, a mysterious surveyor showed up to plant survey stakes in politically important areas.

Eventually, people began to tire of the lack of concrete action.

Demands were made that the ACR either start immediate construction or sell its charter to a more bona-fide railroad company.

Action finally came in April 1909 when the federal government offered a subsidy of $6,400 per mile to a railway constructed between Red Deer and Rocky Mountain House.

Soon crews of surveyors were laying out a rail route. Some brushing and grading commenced in the spring of 1910.

The driving of the first spike by Laurier was a wonderful public relations event.

It seemed proof that construction of the ACR was finally fact and not political fiction.

However, a severe thunderstorm cut short the ceremony. It seemed symbolic of the problems that were to follow.

In late 1910, the Canadian Northern Western Railway started construction of a line from just north of Red Deer westwards to Rocky Mountain House and then on to the Brazeau coalfields at Nordegg.

This new competitor was anxious to build as fast as possible. Therefore, it closely followed the route that had already been mapped out by the ACR.

Having not one but two railroads being built, literally side by side, drove up construction costs dramatically.

However, with wages for labourers rising by 50 per cent and with prices for things such as oats soaring to three times the Alberta average, there was soon a wonderful economic boom in Red Deer and across West Central Alberta.

Unfortunately, the ACR found it increasingly difficult to manage financially. The company did not have enough capital to fulfill its grand plans. With prices and wages leaping, there was no way that the railway could cover its day-to-day bills.

Finally, in late 1911, an agreement was made with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to have that company take over the ACR's charter and construction of the line.

While some insisted that the CPR would eventually follow though with the grand plans to extend the ACR from Moose Jaw to B.C. coast, it gradually became evident that the CPR had no such intent.

By late 1913 and early 1914, the construction of the two rail lines began to wind down.

As the ACR was completed to Rocky Mountain House and the Canadian Northern Western Railway finished construction to Nordegg, the economy of Red Deer and area began to slow. The great boom was finally coming to an end.

That is not to say that the ACR did not leave a lasting legacy. It helped to open up and develop West Central Alberta.

It ensured Red Deer's position as the major transportation and distribution centre for the region. As such, it laid the foundation for future growth and prosperity.

Mintlaw ACR bridge under construction 1911

The Alberta Central Railway Bridge was built across the Red Deer River in 1911.