— Lovell’s Canada Directory for 1850–1851
This sudden and complete change in attitude regarding railway construction was, in great measure, due to deliberate promotion by its advocates — the MacNabs, Buchanans, and Galts in Parliament, and Keefers outside of Parliament:
Old Winter is once more upon us, and … our rivers are sealed fountains, and an embargo, which no human power can remove is laid on all our ports…. The animation of business is suspended, the life blood of commerce is curdled and stagnant…. On land, the heavy stage labors through mingled frost and mud…. Far away to the South is heard the daily scream of the steam whistle — but from Canada there is no escape: blockaded and imprisoned by Ice and Apathy, we have at least ample time for reflection; or if there be comfort in Philosophy may we not profitably consider the PHILOSOPHY OF RAILROADS.
— T.C. Keefer, Philosophy of Railroads (Montreal: John Lovell, 1850)
The eloquent Keefer, a famous civil engineer, assured Canadians that the resources of Canada were on a par with American states in which railways had been built:
There is a greater amount of unemployed capital amongst our agricultural and trading population than is generally supposed; and of fixed capital and absolute wealth, there is more than sufficient … to warrant the construction of all the roads proposed. A very considerable class of the stockholders in New England roads are farmers, with investments from £50 to £500.
— Keefer, Philosophy of Railroads
Keefer warned Canadians of the consequences if the “chilling influence of popular apathy, ignorance, and incredulity” continued. Without a doubt, such promotional literature played a significant role in generating railway fever in the 1850s.
This railway mania proved to be a mixed blessing to the Great Western, for with it appeared the possibility of a competitor in the guise of the Niagara and Detroit Rivers Railroad Company. This line was also planned to run through southwestern Ontario to unite New York and Michigan railroads. As such, it posed a serious threat to Great Western aspirations. When its promoters petitioned Parliament for a widening of its powers in 1850, Great Western interests vigorously opposed the bill. It was eventually defeated by only one vote! Hincks made it clear to the directors of the Great Western that its rival would receive its charter at the next session of Parliament unless it began construction. Spurred on by this warning, but still without its finances fully in order, the Great Western looked south to the United States. Directors of the Great Western were hoping that American enthusiasm for their project would be translated into dollars.
They were not disappointed! Their plea for funds coincided with the abolition, by the New York state legislature, of canal tolls charged on freight transported by railroads. This was expected to result in a tremendous increase in freight traffic along the New York chain of railways. New York Central and Michigan Central interests united in support of the Great Western, “the only link wanting in the most profitable chain of roads that have ever been constructed.” Erastus Corning, president of the Utica and Schenectady Railroad and soon to be the first president of the New York Central, persuaded the New York state legislature to allow New York railroads to subscribe to Great Western stock. Several lines immediately subscribed for substantial amounts, Corning’s road alone subscribing $200,000.
On May 5, 1851, Great Western officials met with interested American businessmen in Niagara Falls. John M. Forbes opened the meeting with a blunt pronouncement that the time had come to complete the Great Western, provided that U.S. interests lend their aid to the tune of $1 million. Expressing the hope that the New York roads and Michigan Central would furnish $800,000 to $850,000 of the $1 million goal, he reminded the stockholders of these lines that “the large amount of already-invested capital to be materially benefitted by its construction calls loudly upon the rest of the links in this great chain to render their aid in making up the balance necessary for its early completion.”
In March 1851 the Detroit Free Press had published “An Appeal to the Citizens of Michigan,” urging them to take action on behalf of the Great Western. Concerned about the potential devastating effects of railways being built south of Lake Erie, the writer warned:
Unless we move ourselves … we may rest assured that in less than three years Michigan will be far behind all of her sister states of the West as to facilities for trade and commerce. It is well known that thousands upon thousands are prevented from even visiting us in the summer season by reasons of fear of crossing Lake Erie, while in the winter we see no one who is not compelled by absolute necessity to come here. We have complained of the travel and emigration passing by us, but the past is nothing to what the future will be…. The rich and fertile lands of the northern portion of our state will remain an uncultivated wilderness, while the surrounding states will flourish like a garden.
This gloomy prophecy was contrasted with the benefits to be derived by the speedy completion of the Great Western, whose
effect upon the state would be almost magical…. We shall have no winter to close up our navigation. No seasons where we cannot reach our great market — no time where we are shut out from our intercourse with New York…. The tide of emigration which has so long passed by us, will pass through our state. Under such a stimulus we may expect our population to double in the next ten years.
On September 17–19, 1851, a Railroad Celebration was held in Boston. A special committee was appointed with the mayor and eight aldermen, and the president and thirteen fellow members of the Common Council. This committee reported:
in their opinion, the time has come when the Great Western Railway of Canada may be completed, provided that the parties who are interested on the American side, will lend them aid by a subscription of stock to the amount of one million dollars.
This pronouncement appeared to be a virtual carbon copy of Forbes’ May 5 comment. The consistency in the message should not be lost by the reader.
These appeals brought a favourable response from American capitalists in Detroit and elsewhere and, within a year, private subscriptions totalled over £210,000 ($1 million U.S.). Together with the $800,000-plus in aid from interested U.S. roads, the longstanding financial woes of the Great Western were finally over. For their assistance, three Americans were admitted as directors: Erastus Corning, John Forbes, and John W. Brooks (the latter being superintendent of the Michigan Central).
It was time to build a railway!
Chapter 2
Construction and Operations
Work on the section between London and Hamilton began in early 1851. By May, fifteen hundred to two thousand men were at work. Parties involved felt that trains would be running by December 1, 1852, an extremely optimistic prediction, indeed.
Westward from Paris, Ontario, most of the construction work was performed by an American company, Ferrell and Van Voorhis. The contract for the eastern portion was given to Farewell and Company, in which the dominating figure was Samuel Zimmerman. Zimmerman, from Pennsylvania, had come to Canada “having no capital but his own energy and farsightedness,” and gained construction experience during construction of the Welland Canal. Aggressive, unscrupulous, and, ultimately, notoriously wealthy, Zimmerman was the subject of controversy among his contemporaries and later writers (see Introduction). The contractors’ interest in the railway was sustained by the $800,000 in stock that they held as partial payment for their services. The actual work was done by local subcontractors and transient labourers. The latter frequently went on strike for higher wages and resorted to violence to prevent non-strikers (“scabs”) from working. As early as February 1851 a petition from Hamiltonians to the government reported that
already many of the men engaged on the work have twice left their employment on a demand for higher wages, and armed with bludgeons and threats of violence have drawn off and effectually prevented the peaceable and industrious laborers from earning a livelihood for themselves and their families.
The petition requested that the government send troops to maintain order. The government recognized the problems in Hamilton and