Souvenir of Fiftieth Anniversary: First Continental Train, June 28th 1886-1936

Canadian Pacific Railway Company - 1936

This item was produced for the fiftieth anniversary of Canada’s first transcontinental passenger train journey. Though the last spike was driven on 7 November 1885, the winter and ongoing repairs to the track delayed the first cross-Canada trip. The train finally left Montreal’s Dalhousie Station on 28 June 1886 and arrived at Port Moody on 4 July 1886. It consisted of a locomotive, two baggage cars, one mail car, one second-class coach, two immigrant sleepers, two first-class coaches, two sleeping cars, and a diner (“Canadian Pacific Railway”). The fiftieth anniversary was celebrated with a surge of publicity, including the launch of new “Jubilee” trains and celebrations as the original locomotive made stops across the country (see “C.P.R. Takes Over” and “Celebrations Planned”). A commemorative fruitcake was prepared as well, perhaps for the celebrations in Montreal: fruitcake was a common treat at special events like weddings and was sometimes kept and eaten at significant anniversaries. Showing remarkable resilience to age, the nuts, dried fruit, and icing are still intact after over 75 years, wrapped in an early form of cellophane.