I think it’s hard for us to imagine what a huge thing it was when the railway arrived on the Grande Prairie in 1916. After years of struggling over the land trails into the country, the sense of finally being connected with the outside world was overwhelming.
The last part of the track had been rushed through, and an official of the railway told the paper that the train would be running over 100 miles of skeleton track; there would be delays and trains would have to run slowly until totally completed and asked for patience. In the beginning people were willing to be very patient, but there were problems for many years, which probably was why the railway was nicknamed “Ever Dangerous & Badly Constructed.” But it was still better than the trails.
Researched & written by Kathryn Auger
