Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Mechanical Department

The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was a private venture incorporated in 1881 for the purpose of constructing and operating a transcontinental railway within Canada. With considerable government assistance, the first transcontinental line was completed on November 7, 1885. Over the following decades the enterprise was very successful developing substantial interests in a wide range of fields including: transportation, immigration, settlement/colonization, exploitation of natural resources, maritime services, and tourism. By the early 20th century the Canadian Pacific Railway Company was the wealthiest and most influential corporate body in Canada.

Like many 19th century railways, Canadian Pacific was a vertically integrated organization that allowed management a high degree of control over all aspects of the company’s supply chain and business affairs. This was particularly important in the development and maintenance of steam locomotive and rolling stock fleets. Steam locomotives were designed to meet the diverse operating requirements of the company which by 1937 was operating close to 38,000 kilometres of track in most regions of Canada. At the same time, railway mechanical departments were under constant pressure to improve the efficiency of the locomotive fleet with respect to fuel consumption and maintenance. This demand for improved operation and efficiency was a constant in steam locomotive design throughout the period.

Under the supervision of the Chief of Motive Power, at headquarters in Montreal, the railway’s Mechanical Department provided engineering and technical expertise for locomotives, heavy equipment, and engineering issues related to other rolling stock. Typically, this involved the design of new locomotives for and technical improvements to the existing fleet. Canadian Pacific’s steam locomotive roster by the mid-1930s listed more than 3000 locomotives. The process of designing a locomotive started with the Chief Mechanical Engineer, who could also be known as the Locomotive Superintendent. In a lot of cases, these men originated from England where they had previous worked in the field. CPR had the following Chief Mechanical Engineers over the era of steam: Kennet W. Blackwell, 1881-1883; Francis Robert Fontaine Brown, 1883-1890; David Preston, 1890-1893; Roger Atkinson, 1893-1901; Edward Averett Williams, 1901-1903; Henry Hague Vaughn, 1904-1915, (A.W. Horsey, Chief Draughtsman); William E. Woodhouse,1915-1918; William Henry Winterrowd, 1918-1921; Charles Henry Temple, 1921-1928; and Henry Blaine Bowen, 1928-1949.

The Chief Mechanical Engineer would work in the drawing room with their assistants, draughtmen and tracers. Engineers and draughtsmen in 1937 numbered around 118, indicating the vast amount of staff within the department.

Written by D. Monaghan and M. Mordfield, 2022. Edited by and draft French translation, A. Torrance, 2022-2. French editing by Céline Mongeau, Larocque Linguistic Services, 2022-03.

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