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E&N rail pass for Robert Dunsmuir’s funeral
Liassez-passer du Chemin de fer E&N pour les funérailles de Robert Dunsmuir

When he died on April 12, 1889, Robert Dunsmuir was given a large public funeral, with thousands watching the funeral procession. This day pass, issued by E&N company superintendent Joseph Hunter, allowed the bearer to ride from Nanaimo to Victoria and back to attend the funeral.

A north-south rail corridor on Vancouver Island had been part of the Canadian government’s promise to lure the Colony of British Columbia into Confederation. The route would provide a much-needed rail link between Victoria and the thriving coal industry around Nanaimo. At the centre of both the industry and the railway was Scottish-born Robert Dunsmuir, a wealthy colliery owner and provincial politician based in Nanaimo.

The Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) Railway company was formed in December 1883, when the province transferred Crown lands to the federal government. Dunsmuir won the contract to build the railway, and began at Esquimalt on February 26, 1884. Its completion in the summer of 1886 helped further expand Dunsmuir’s empire.

In 1905, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) purchased the E&N from Dunsmuir’s son and heir – James, a former premier of the province. The million-dollar price tag was just for the railway; lands sold or leased by the Dunsmuirs were to be acquired separately. CPR extended the E&N northward to Comox and westward to Port Alberni, creating a total of more than 124 miles (200 km) of rail on Vancouver Island. The company later changed hands. Long-deferred maintenance caused issues with the tracks, and trains stopped running on the corridor in 2011. 

À la suite de son décès le 12 avril 1989, Robert Dunsmuir a eu de grandes funérailles publiques et de milliers de personnes ont regardé le cortège funèbre. Ce laissez-passer d’un jour, émis par le directeur de la compagnie E&N Joseph Hunter, donnait au titulaire un voyage aller-retour entre Nanaimo et Victoria pour assister aux funérailles.

Un corridor ferroviaire nord-sud sur l’île de Vancouver faisait partie de la promesse du gouvernement canadien pour attirer la colonie de la Colombie-Britannique dans la Confédération. Cette route allait procurer un lien ferroviaire si nécessaire entre Victoria et l’industrie florissante du charbon autour de Nanaimo. Au centre de l’industrie et du chemin de fer se trouvait Robert Dunsmuir, natif de l’Écosse, propriétaire d’une mine de charbon et politicien provincial établi à Nanaimo.

La compagnie de Chemin de fer Esquimalt & Nanaimo (E&N) a été fondée en décembre 1883 lorsque la province a transféré des terres de la couronne au gouvernement fédéral. Dunsmuir a obtenu le contrat pour construire le chemin de fer et il a fait ses débuts à Esquimalt le 26 février 1884. L’achèvement du chemin de fer à l’été de 1886 a aidé à l’empire de Dunsmuir à prendre de l’expansion.

En 1905, le CFCP a acheté l’E&N du fils et héritier de Dunsmuir, James, ancien premier ministre de la province. Le coût d’un million de dollars était seulement pour le chemin de fer. Les terres vendues ou louées par les Dunsmuir devaient être acquises séparément. Le CFCP a étendu l’E&N vers le nord jusqu’à Comox et vers l’ouest jusqu’à Port Alberni, créant ainsi une voie ferroviaire de plus de 124 milles (200 km) sur l’île de Vancouver. Le report de l’entretien a causé des problèmes aux rails et les trains ont cessé de voyager le long du corridor en 2011.

Details

Selected by: Royal British Columbia Museum and Archives
Date 1889
Record J/F/Es6.9 E&N, PR-0948

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