Grand Trunk Railway Facts & Worksheets

The Grand Trunk Railway served the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The British-owned railroad would span from the Atlantic to the Pacific in the twentieth century, eventually becoming a subsidiary of Canadian National Railways after going bankrupt.

See the fact file below for more information on the Grand Trunk Railway, or you can download our 27-page Grand Trunk Railway worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• In the decades after the War of 1812, Canada lagged behind its British and American rivals in developing railways. Many attempts were made but frequently failed due to financial instability, which stifled investment. 
• By the middle of the century, a few minor railway firms had begun to operate. Still, intercity routes were primarily limited to roads and canals, frequently impassable during winter. 
• Kingston Road was built in sections throughout the early 1800s between Montreal and Toronto, Canada’s first and third largest cities, and became a key stagecoach route in 1817.
• While the Grand Trunk Railway is mainly on Lake Ontario’s north side, much of its early history may be traced back to Portland, Maine. 
• The American city possessed an ice-free port on the Atlantic, which provided a considerable advantage to Montreal’s business. Portland, however, intended to limit the potential of rivalry from Boston to the south. 
• When the Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad was chartered in 1845, a 5-foot 6-inch gauge was envisioned.
• This was in contrast to the 4-foot 8.5-inch gauge that had grown common in much of the rest of the United States, intending to provide Portland an advantage over Boston. 
• As a result, it was dubbed “Portland gauge.”On the Canadian side of the border, the remaining portion of Montreal was served by a separate charter for the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railway. 
• Both railways began construction in 1846, but their completion was delayed due to financial concerns. 
• Concurrently, the Canadian government attempted financially to promote constructing additional railway lines in Canada. The Province of Canada approved the Railway Guarantee Act in 1849, ensuring that interest on half of a particular railway’s bonds was eligible for a government guarantee after half of the railway line was complete.
• On November 10, 1852, the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada was formed to build a railway between Montreal and Toronto. These plans, however, were shortly expanded to include Sarnia on the St. Clair River. 
• It chose the provincial gauge to take advantage of the loan interest guarantee and match the two railway businesses it intended to acquire control of. St. Lawrence and Atlantic and its parent firm, the Atlantic & St. Lawrence, were effectively combined into the Grand Trunk on August 5, 1853, just a few months after the two began regular service.
• The Grand Trunk played a significant role in pushing British North America toward Confederation. The original colonial economy built along the water route from the Maritimes up the St. Lawrence River and into the lower Great Lakes was substantially enlarged by the Grand Trunk route.
• The exponential rise in trade inside the United Provinces of Canada and farther east by water to the Maritimes during the 1850s demanded that a railway connect the whole geographical region. During this time, the GTR extended its line from Lévis to Rivière-du-Loup.
• The Grand Trunk was on the verge of bankruptcy by 1860 and could not develop further east to Halifax. On the eve of the American Civil War, it spanned from Sarnia in the West to Rivière-du-Loup in the east and Portland in the southeast.
• Colonists in the United Province of Canada, some of whom had witnessed their territory being attacked by the U.S. fifty years before, were uncomfortably near the massive Union Army and faced terrorist attacks in the form of Fenian raids in the mid-nineteenth century.

COMPETITION IN TORONTO AND NEARBY COUNTRIES

• By the 1890s, the Grand Trunk board of directors perceived the corporation as failing compared to its competitors and decided to hire a new General Manager to implement more aggressive business techniques. Charles Melville Hays was recruited at the suggestion of American banker J. Pierpont Morgan.
• By this point, the Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific had a more significant presence in southern Ontario than other railway firms, and the fierce competition between the two would reveal itself multiple times throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
• In 1895, the Canadian Pacific and New York Central, which had previously competed with the Grand Trunk in Michigan, acquired control of the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway (TH&B). The TH&B planned to run parallel to the Grand Trunk from Hamilton to Toronto soon after. 
• On May 13, 1896, the Grand Trunk gave Canadian Pacific operating rights over that track to keep some control over the area. This agreement had several conditions, which were later relaxed.
• In 1906, the Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific held 50% of the Toronto Terminals Railway, which would manage operations along the Union Station corridor. 
• The Canadian Northern Railway will arrive from the north that year, attempting to compete directly with the Canadian Pacific and Grand Trunk.

DECLINE AND LEGACY OF THE GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY

• The Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad subsidiary’s ill-fated Pacific expansion was one of several factors that contributed to the Grand Trunk’s deterioration and eventual insolvency. On two consecutive times, in 1870 and 1880, the Grand Trunk Railroad turned down government promises to build Canada’s first transcontinental railway.
• After a few decades, the Grand Trunk’s two main Canadian competitors, Canadian Northern and Canadian Pacific, had lines to the West, while the Grand Trunk did not.
• The Wilfred Laurier government was likewise determined to bring more railway competition to the West to end Canadian Pacific’s price gouging. Initially, the government hoped the Grand Trunk and Canadian Northern would collaborate, but this proved impossible. After both lines were completed, the National Transcontinental was to be entirely integrated into the Grand Trunk Pacific. 
• In 1903, the objective was to reach Port Simpson, British Columbia, far further north than the Canadian Pacific’s western terminal of Vancouver and geographically closer to Asian ports. However, as U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt threatened to take surrounding Alaskan territory, Laurier chose to build the Grand Trunk Pacific’s western terminus in a more easily defendable location to the south of Port Angeles.
• The federal government had recently founded the Canadian National Railways as a crown corporation to unite many other government-owned railways, and the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was incorporated into it on July 20, 1920. The Grand Trunk Railway was also nationalized, much to the chagrin of its shareholders. Legal struggles occurred to maintain the Grand Trunk’s independence, but the Grand Trunk was finally merged into the CNR on January 20, 1923.
• Even though the Grand Trunk Railway as an institution no longer exists, its legacy and impact on Toronto and the rest of Canada are still visible. The Grand Trunk and its subsidiaries had a total length of 12,800 kilometers in Canada and 1,873 kilometers in the United States after their lives. Much of the system is still in use, including a substantial stretch of the original mainline from Montreal to Toronto. Many Grand Trunk constructions have withstood the test of time, particularly stations that have been preserved and are in various stages of repair. Its previous office buildings in Montreal, Quebec, and London, England, are still standing. 
• The construction of Toronto’s modern Union Station, in collaboration with Canadian Pacific, was one of the Grand Trunk’s final big construction projects, and its name is commemorated on an etching above the columns along Front Street.

Grand Trunk Railway Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about the Grand Trunk Railway across 33 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about the Grand Trunk Railway. The British-owned railroad would span from the Atlantic to the Pacific in the twentieth century, eventually becoming a subsidiary of Canadian National Railways after going bankrupt.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Grand Trunk Railway Facts
2. On the Right Track
3. Mapping the Railway
4. Looking Back
5. Like or Dislike?
6. Track the Timeline
7. Left and Right
8. Everyday Use
9. Railway Company
10. Railway Significance
11. GTR Stamp

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Grand Trunk Railway?

The Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) was a historic Canadian railway system that operated from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century. It played a significant role in connecting various regions of Canada.

When was the Grand Trunk Railway established?

The Grand Trunk Railway was established in 1852, with its headquarters located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

What was the main purpose of the Grand Trunk Railway?

The primary purpose of the Grand Trunk Railway was to facilitate transportation and trade between the Maritime provinces of eastern Canada, the St. Lawrence River Valley, and the Great Lakes region.

How did the Grand Trunk Railway expand?

The Grand Trunk Railway expanded through various mergers and acquisitions. It absorbed several smaller railway companies and expanded its network, becoming one of the largest railway systems in Canada during its heyday.

What happened to the Grand Trunk Railway?

The Grand Trunk Railway faced financial difficulties over the years and underwent several reorganizations. In 1923, it was merged with the Canadian National Railways (CNR), forming the Canadian National Railway (CNR) system, which is still in operation today as one of Canada’s major rail networks.

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