First Canadian Transcontinental Train Departs

On June 2, 1883, Canadian Pacific Railway train No. 1 departed Montreal, beginning regular transcontinental service across Canada. Though the final spike at Craigellachie was still two years away, this marked the operational start of the ambitious project to bind the young nation together by rail. The train carried dignitaries, mail, and settlers westward over newly completed sections through Ontario and the Prairies. William Cornelius Van Horne, CPR's general manager, oversaw the grueling construction that conquered the Rockies and Selkirks. The service transformed Canada by enabling rapid settlement of the west, resource extraction, and national unity. Passengers endured wooden coaches and coal-fired steam locomotives on a journey that took over a week.