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Canadian Pacific Railway
William Leadman Blennerhassett (b.1861 d.1949) |
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Steam Locomotive Engine 2700 "William Blennerhassett" 1919-1959 |
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photo: courtesy of Canadian Pacific Archives
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Steam Engine 2700 (built by Canadian Pacific at its Angus Shops in Montreal 1919, scrapped 1959) was named for Engineer William Leadman Blennerhassett (b.19-Oct-1861 d.8-May-1949) in recognition of his achievements and loyal service with Canadian Pacific since joining in 1881, when the company was formed.
Before this, Engine 2534 (built by CP 1908, scrapped 1958) may also have carried William Blennerhassett's name during the years 1918-1919. |
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CP engines were first named after enginemen in 1918, the names displayed below the company crest on both sides of the cab. This photo quality is too poor to clearly show the WM. BLENNERHASSETT |
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The construction of a railway between Eastern Canada and British Columbia was an essential condition to enable BC to join the Canadian Federation, and the motivation for the formation of Canadian Pacific in 1881.
Building a rail bridge over the treacherous Nepigon River in Ontario took three years and was completed on 2-Apr-1885. On that same day William Blennerhassett drove Engine 67 along the north shore of Lake Superior & over the new Nepigon bridge, carrying material for railway construction on the other side, between Nepigon & Schreiber, Ontario. He thus made history as engineer of the first train to cross this last major obstacle in the path of the Canadian Pacific trans-continental railway.
Engine 67 was a "Kingston", built in 1882 by the Canadian Locomotive Co. of Kingston, Ontario, it weighed 60 tons, measuring 45 feet from tender to cowcatcher; reassigned to Mattawa, Ontario in 1904, it was scrapped in 1910.
The official completion and opening of the Nepigon rail bridge was on 18-Apr-1885, two CPR trains led by Engine 18 and Engine 5 crossing the bridge 16 days after William Blennerhassett in Engine 67. |
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NEPIGON BRIDGE |
photo: courtesy of Canadian Pacific Archives |
H. & N. | |
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The line through this area was completed on 16-May-1885 when the last spike was driven, west of Jack Fish Bay. The true "last spike" of the CP trans-continental railway was driven 7-Nov-1885 at Craigellachie, British Columbia. |
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"Toronto Daily Star", Saturday 2-Oct-1937, p.15 |
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copyright © 1937 Toronto Daily Star
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NOTE: This article names him William A. Blennerhassett in error, confusing him with his eldest son William Arthur Blennerhassett, b.1896, also a long service employee of CPR |
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photo: courtesy of Canadian Pacific Archives (Image Ref. NS19991)
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The first Canadian Pacific trans-continental passenger train from Montreal, just arrived, on time, at the Pacific terminal of Port Moody, BC, 4-Jul-1886.
This was pulled by Engine 371, not by William Blennerhassett's Engine 67 as wrongly implied in the "Toronto Daily Star" caption to photograph (3). |
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