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NARRATOR:
William Cornelius Van Horne

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was born on a dirt farm
in Illinois.

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As a young man,
he was given the task

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of building the longest,
toughest wilderness railroad

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on the face of the earth,

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a task many considered
impossible.

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<i>Pa'?</i>

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They once roamed the earth
by the tens of thousands.

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Their whistles spoke
of distant places,

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of adventure and romance.

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Abandoned for decades,

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what memories
might still be evoked,

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what spirits conjured up

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from an age left behind
so long ago?

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(fire crackling, roaring)

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(engine revving)

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(steam hissing)

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(engine clicking)

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(whirring)

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(machinery squealing)

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Their crews considered them
living things,

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each with a unique personality.

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Some were cranky and difficult;

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others, good natured
and spirited.

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2816 has been resurrected

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by the Canadian Pacific

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in an extraordinary attempt
to illuminate history itself,

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to summon the spirits
of the past.

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They were explorers, engineers,

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surveyors and guides.

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They traveled by boat and foot,

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packhorse and raft.

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They passed through landscapes

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the likes of nothing else
on earth.

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They fell through ice,
slipped from cliffs,

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died in rockslides
and were lost in rapids.

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They followed countless rivers

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and many a promising route
that ended nowhere.

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For years, they searched
for an ideal passage

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across the vast mountain
wilderness of western Canada.

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(wind whistling)

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Some worked too late
into the fall

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and were ambushed
by snowstorms.

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Trapped in makeshift shelters,

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they struggled
to survive winters

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that could last
over six months.

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After 20 years of exploration

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spanning hundreds
of thousands of square miles,

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at least 40 men had died

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and still no ideal route
had been found

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through the mountains.

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The province of British Columbia
had joined Canada

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on the condition that it would
be connected to the east

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by a transcontinental railway.

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In desperation, the federal
government began construction

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beside a small church
on the edge of the Fraser River

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in the spring of 1881.

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(train bell ringing)

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(whistle blowing)

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(engine chugging,
wheels squealing)

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(engine chugging)

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(bell clanging)

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Departing from Vancouver,
what lies ahead is

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one of the longest,
toughest railways on earth.

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An extraordinary,
3000-mile journey

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for a locomotive
that first turned a wheel

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over 80 years ago.

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(whistle blows)

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(chugging rapidly)

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(whistle blowing)

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(chugging rapidly)

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The first few miles along
the Fraser River flood plain

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were easy going
for the builders,

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at least,
until the line turned north

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into the jaws
of the Fraser Canyon.

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Hard granite walls towering
3,000 feet above the river

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brought construction
to a painful crawl

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that would last
over six years.

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(whistle blowing)

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10,000 men worked
the Fraser Canyon

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in the early 1880s.

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6,500 were Chinese.

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(explosion thunders)

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(horse neighs)

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They blasted night and day,

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drilling tunnels
into the granite rock,

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carving roadbeds on the sides
of vertical cliffs.

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Working with hand tools
and black powder,

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they averaged barely
five feet a day.

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In these canyons, six men died
for every mile of track laid,

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most of them Chinese.

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We can only glimpse
the courage of these men

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in the extraordinary work
they left behind.

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(whistle blowing)

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(engine chugging)

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(wheels clacking)

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<i>Pa'?</i>

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<i>Pa'?</i>

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By 1882,

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construction moved out
of the Fraser Canyon

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and east along
the Thompson River

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as the railway climbed inland

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up to the central plateau
of British Columbia.

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Here the land becomes arid

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and the rock gives way
to softer sandstone.

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It made for easier
construction,

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but this barren desert
absorbs little water.

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Torrential rains erode
and sculpt sandstone cliffs

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into hoodoos that can collapse
into mudslides,

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and bury the line.

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<i>Pa'?</i>

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Here, engineers and tracklayers

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encountered
a new set of obstacles

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that could be neither
filled, nor bridged,

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nor tunneled through.

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When construction crews
arrived at these lakes,

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they fully intended
to bridge them and continue.

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But when they dropped weights

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attached to 400 feet of rope,

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they never reached the bottom.

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The lakes would be simply
too deep to cross.

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Trains would have to take
the long route around--

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as they do to this day.

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(engine chugging rapidly)

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Where the ground was flat
and the grades easy,

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General Manager Van Horne
pushed hard

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to make up for time and money

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lost in the canyons
and mountains.

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They were Canadians, Americans,

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British, Europeans, and Asians.

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(men chatting, tools clanking)

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They froze in bitter cold

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and toiled
in fierce summer heat,

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eaten raw by insects.

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Yet, with bare hands,

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they laid as many as six miles
of track every day.

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In 1882,

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nearly 500 miles of track

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were laid in a single season--

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a world record and a source
of enormous pride

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for the track crews.

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<i>Pa'?</i>

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<i>Pa'?</i>

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(whistle blows)

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<i>Pa'?</i>

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At the railroad town
of Revelstoke

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the canyons, lakes and deserts

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of the interior lay behind.

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Relatively easy going,
compared to the Selkirk

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and Rocky Mountains
looming ahead.

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General Manager Van Horne
was an amateur geologist,

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a talented artist,
and an accomplished violinist.

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Though he was best known

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as an all-night,
scotch-drinking poker player.

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Perhaps his greatest
gamble, however,

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lay in the route chosen
east of Revelstoke.

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Van Horne, the CPR,
and the government

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were anxious to keep
powerful American railroads

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from moving
into Southern Canada.

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There were two routes through
the mountains being considered:

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a northern route
recommended by the surveyors,

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and a southern route
considered much more difficult

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by virtually everyone.

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A fateful, perhaps reckless,
decision was made,

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by the railway and government,

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to gamble
on this southern route,

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where no passes
were yet known to exist.

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An American surveyor
by the name of A. B. Rogers

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had convinced many,
including Van Horne,

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that he could find
a southern pass

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through the Selkirks.

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The future
of the Canadian Pacific

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was now in the hands
of two Americans.

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One, a brilliant leader
and gambler,

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the other, a stubborn surveyor
considered wildly eccentric.

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<i>Pa'?</i>

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(water rushing)

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Rogers and his guides only
traveled in the spring

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and summer months up the western
face of the Selkirks.

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Ominously,
they found no evidence

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that humans of any kind

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had ever ventured amongst
these almost vertical slopes.

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In the summer of 1882,

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when Rogers declared
he had discovered

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a viable railroad pass,

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he did not fully appreciate
the nature of the beast

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that would come
to bear his name.

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When engineers and tracklayers

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arrived the following season,
at the foot of the Selkirks,

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they were appalled

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by what Rogers
had declared a pass.

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They would have to build
massive looping trestles

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to give the railway distance
to lessen the steep climb

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up the mountain face.

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For the men working here,

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it was a bad omen.

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The trestles were frail,

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and prone to fire in the summer

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and avalanches in winter.

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They were soon replaced
with stone pillars,

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and eventually,
those too were abandoned.

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<i>(steam hisses)</i>

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In February of 1910,

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the chief engineer
wrote to Van Horne:

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"There has been
a terrible accident:

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"many men died last night in the
valley of the lllecillewaet.

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The rest are afraid."

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In the early years,

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this short stretch of track

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would threaten
the very survival

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of the entire railway.

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Some thought Rogers
had been more than eccentric.

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His ego had led him to promote
a route of total madness.

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Railway surveyors seek
the lowest possible route

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00:22:44,071 --> 00:22:45,197
through the mountains,

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like the rivers
they often parallel.

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In Rogers Pass,

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they used side canyons
to build loops,

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00:22:52,913 --> 00:22:55,749
lengthening the line
to give trains more distance

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to climb the mountain.

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To lower the grade further
would require tunnels,

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at vastly greater expense.

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In 1914, work began

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on the five mile
Connaught tunnel,

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the longest in North America.

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This would reduce the grades
on the old route

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and hide the line
from relentless avalanches.

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00:23:31,744 --> 00:23:33,621
The nine-mile
Mount McDonald tunnel

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followed in the 1980s,

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00:23:35,831 --> 00:23:37,458
further reducing the grades.

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00:23:40,711 --> 00:23:43,589
It would take the CPR 100 years

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00:23:43,672 --> 00:23:46,008
and 14 miles of tunnels

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to finally escape beneath
the original line--

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00:23:48,761 --> 00:23:51,388
the folly that was Rogers Pass.

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00:23:51,472 --> 00:23:54,141
(train whistle blowing)

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00:24:13,243 --> 00:24:15,454
(engine chugging rapidly)

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00:24:25,255 --> 00:24:27,466
<i>(steam hisses)</i>

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00:24:52,574 --> 00:24:54,868
(whistle blows)

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00:24:57,204 --> 00:24:58,914
The deep cliffs and valleys

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of the eastern face
of the Selkirk Mountains

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were no easier
for the builders.

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As trains begin the long, steep,
downhill journey,

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they will cross a series
of great bridges--

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at the time of construction,

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the highest in the world.

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At the eastern foot
of the Selkirks,

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the great steam trains
often paused for service

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at the railway town of Golden.

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The Rocky Mountains lay ahead.

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00:26:02,061 --> 00:26:04,563
The inhabitants
of railroad towns

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once lived to serve
the appetites

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of the steam locomotive.

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00:26:08,776 --> 00:26:11,570
Water, grease, oil,

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00:26:11,653 --> 00:26:14,198
coaling, running repairs,
day and night,

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00:26:14,281 --> 00:26:15,532
winter and summer...

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00:26:15,616 --> 00:26:17,701
preparing them to operate

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00:26:17,785 --> 00:26:19,453
at the limit of their power.

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00:26:31,632 --> 00:26:33,550
The locomotive engineer

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00:26:33,634 --> 00:26:36,178
was the folk hero
in the Age of Steam.

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00:26:42,101 --> 00:26:44,394
(whistle blows twice)

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00:26:51,527 --> 00:26:53,779
(engine chugs slowly)

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00:27:27,938 --> 00:27:30,190
On the modern railway,
there are two possible routes

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00:27:30,274 --> 00:27:32,067
for eastbound trains.

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00:27:32,151 --> 00:27:34,653
If the shorter main line
is blocked or damaged,

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00:27:34,736 --> 00:27:36,697
trains can be diverted
on an easier route south,

266
00:27:36,780 --> 00:27:39,950
out of the mountains.

267
00:27:40,033 --> 00:27:43,871
By 1900, the railway sought
to relieve the pressure

268
00:27:43,954 --> 00:27:47,040
on the main line,
and the terrible grades ahead,

269
00:27:47,124 --> 00:27:50,711
constructing an alternate track
south, along the Columbia River,

270
00:27:50,794 --> 00:27:53,046
through a pass called
the Crow's Nest.

271
00:27:53,130 --> 00:27:54,923
But to an already long journey,

272
00:27:55,007 --> 00:27:57,342
it would add hundreds of miles.

273
00:28:01,013 --> 00:28:03,473
(gentle acoustic guitar
intro playing)

274
00:28:03,557 --> 00:28:08,854
FEMALE VOCALIST:
♪ If you miss the train I'm on ♪

275
00:28:08,937 --> 00:28:13,358
♪ You will know
that I am gone ♪

276
00:28:13,442 --> 00:28:17,946
♪ You can hear
the whistle blow ♪

277
00:28:18,030 --> 00:28:20,741
♪ A hundred miles ♪

278
00:28:23,785 --> 00:28:26,914
♪ Hundred miles,
a hundred miles ♪

279
00:28:26,997 --> 00:28:30,500
-(whistle blows)
- ♪ A hundred miles ♪

280
00:28:30,584 --> 00:28:32,878
♪ A hundred miles ♪

281
00:28:32,961 --> 00:28:35,047
♪ You can hear ♪

282
00:28:35,130 --> 00:28:37,674
♪ The whistle blow ♪

283
00:28:37,758 --> 00:28:41,762
♪ A hundred miles ♪

284
00:28:43,347 --> 00:28:45,849
♪ Lord, I'm one ♪

285
00:28:45,933 --> 00:28:47,851
♪ Lord, I'm two ♪

286
00:28:47,935 --> 00:28:50,687
♪ Lord, I'm three ♪

287
00:28:50,771 --> 00:28:53,273
♪ Lord, I'm four ♪

288
00:28:53,357 --> 00:28:57,986
♪ Lord, I'm 500 miles ♪

289
00:28:58,070 --> 00:29:01,031
♪ From my home... ♪

290
00:29:03,533 --> 00:29:07,704
♪ 500 miles, 500 miles ♪

291
00:29:07,788 --> 00:29:12,376
♪ 500 miles,
500 miles ♪

292
00:29:12,459 --> 00:29:18,173
♪ Lord, I'm 500 miles ♪

293
00:29:18,257 --> 00:29:20,217
♪ From my home... ♪

294
00:29:22,761 --> 00:29:25,347
<i>♪ Not</i> a <i>shirt ♪</i>

295
00:29:25,430 --> 00:29:27,140
♪ On my back ♪

296
00:29:27,224 --> 00:29:30,185
♪ Not a penny ♪

297
00:29:30,269 --> 00:29:32,562
♪ To my name ♪

298
00:29:32,646 --> 00:29:35,899
♪ Lord, I can't ♪

299
00:29:35,983 --> 00:29:37,276
♪ Go a-home ♪

300
00:29:37,359 --> 00:29:40,821
♪ This a-way... ♪

301
00:29:42,906 --> 00:29:47,786
♪ This a-way, this a-way ♪

302
00:29:47,869 --> 00:29:52,541
♪ This a-way,
this a-way ♪

303
00:29:52,624 --> 00:29:55,502
♪ Lord, I can't ♪

304
00:29:55,585 --> 00:29:57,754
♪ Go a-home ♪

305
00:29:57,838 --> 00:30:00,716
♪ This a-way... ♪

306
00:30:03,135 --> 00:30:08,640
♪ If you miss the train
I'm on ♪

307
00:30:08,724 --> 00:30:12,602
♪ You will know
that I am gone ♪

308
00:30:12,686 --> 00:30:16,189
(fading out): ♪ You can hear
the whistle blow...♪

309
00:30:16,273 --> 00:30:18,650
NARRATOR: But soon after this
easy southern route was opened,

310
00:30:18,734 --> 00:30:20,861
the ultimate nightmare occurred

311
00:30:20,944 --> 00:30:24,364
on an April night in 1903.

312
00:30:24,448 --> 00:30:26,908
(deep rumbling)

313
00:30:48,889 --> 00:30:51,224
At 4:30 a.m., a freight train

314
00:30:51,308 --> 00:30:52,809
had just passed through
the mining town

315
00:30:52,893 --> 00:30:54,311
of Frank, Alberta,

316
00:30:54,394 --> 00:30:56,563
when much of Turtle Mountain
collapsed.

317
00:31:02,527 --> 00:31:04,696
The train's brakeman,
Sid Choquette,

318
00:31:04,780 --> 00:31:06,907
made his way in total blackness

319
00:31:06,990 --> 00:31:09,117
across rocks the size
of apartment buildings

320
00:31:09,618 --> 00:31:12,037
in a frantic attempt
to stop an express train

321
00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:13,955
coming from the east.

322
00:31:17,626 --> 00:31:19,878
At the last possible moment,

323
00:31:19,961 --> 00:31:22,923
he stopped the Spokane Flyer
bound for Washington...

324
00:31:25,175 --> 00:31:27,386
...saving the lives
of hundreds of passengers.

325
00:31:29,638 --> 00:31:33,266
He received an award
from the railroad of $25.

326
00:31:36,770 --> 00:31:38,730
Roughly 90 souls
on the edge of town

327
00:31:38,814 --> 00:31:40,649
were not so lucky.

328
00:31:40,732 --> 00:31:43,735
They remain buried
under the slide to this day.

329
00:31:47,114 --> 00:31:49,366
(wheels clacking)

330
00:31:59,376 --> 00:32:00,710
There would be no easy route

331
00:32:00,794 --> 00:32:03,088
through these mountains
after all,

332
00:32:03,171 --> 00:32:05,674
but there is an easy stretch
along the Kicking Horse River

333
00:32:05,757 --> 00:32:08,343
before the greatest
challenge of all--

334
00:32:08,427 --> 00:32:11,012
the towering
Rocky Mountains ahead.

335
00:32:42,544 --> 00:32:46,006
<i>Pa'?</i>

336
00:32:58,518 --> 00:33:01,438
The railroad town of Field
is at the foot

337
00:33:01,521 --> 00:33:05,066
of the steepest stretch
of track in the Rockies.

338
00:33:07,152 --> 00:33:09,029
In 1886, the Baldwin Locomotive
Works of Philadelphia

339
00:33:09,112 --> 00:33:13,867
designed a special series
of locomotives

340
00:33:13,950 --> 00:33:19,080
to help move heavy trains
up and down the CPR's Big Hill.

341
00:33:21,917 --> 00:33:24,169
These Consolidation-class
engines

342
00:33:24,252 --> 00:33:29,132
were enormously successful,
except for number 314.

343
00:33:40,727 --> 00:33:45,023
Descending the Big Hill in 1899,

344
00:33:45,106 --> 00:33:49,653
314 ran away and jumped
the track, killing its crew.

345
00:33:50,904 --> 00:33:53,031
Rebuilt and renumbered,

346
00:33:53,114 --> 00:33:55,992
but this time
climbing the Big Hill,

347
00:33:56,076 --> 00:34:00,288
it blew itself to pieces,
killing another crew.

348
00:34:06,127 --> 00:34:08,630
Repaired again, it worked
up and down the Big Hill

349
00:34:08,713 --> 00:34:10,924
for 30 more years,

350
00:34:11,007 --> 00:34:15,512
all the time feared
and despised by its crews.

351
00:34:26,898 --> 00:34:28,900
(engine chugging slowly)

352
00:34:38,493 --> 00:34:41,663
<i>Pa'?</i>

353
00:34:41,746 --> 00:34:43,498
(chugging faster)

354
00:34:53,967 --> 00:34:56,845
The 20 miles ahead remain,
to this day,

355
00:34:56,928 --> 00:34:59,097
among the most challenging
stretches of track

356
00:34:59,180 --> 00:35:02,142
in all of railroading.

357
00:35:12,527 --> 00:35:15,280
<i>Pa'?</i>

358
00:35:22,829 --> 00:35:24,831
(chugging slows)

359
00:35:31,963 --> 00:35:33,965
(metallic screech)

360
00:35:43,433 --> 00:35:46,436
<i>Pa'?</i>

361
00:35:54,444 --> 00:35:56,613
20 years
after the railway was opened,

362
00:35:56,696 --> 00:35:59,574
the terrible grades
on the Big Hill were reduced

363
00:35:59,658 --> 00:36:02,077
by one of the most famous
engineering projects

364
00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:05,413
in the history of railroading--

365
00:36:05,497 --> 00:36:07,457
the spiral tunnels.

366
00:36:11,378 --> 00:36:13,713
The tunnels give the line
additional distance

367
00:36:13,797 --> 00:36:16,883
to climb the steep western face
of the Rocky Mountains.

368
00:36:23,890 --> 00:36:25,809
Through both an upper
and lower tunnel,

369
00:36:25,892 --> 00:36:27,852
long freight trains cross
over themselves

370
00:36:27,936 --> 00:36:30,772
by looping around
inside the mountain.

371
00:36:35,193 --> 00:36:37,195
(engine chugging)

372
00:36:47,831 --> 00:36:49,749
(hammer clanging)

373
00:36:49,833 --> 00:36:52,419
The Last Spike was driven
at Craigellachie

374
00:36:52,502 --> 00:36:56,548
in the fall of 1885--
an extraordinary accomplishment

375
00:36:56,631 --> 00:36:58,633
for the tiny new country
of Canada.

376
00:36:58,717 --> 00:37:03,263
(crowd cheering)

377
00:37:03,346 --> 00:37:04,806
But soon after
transcontinental trains

378
00:37:04,889 --> 00:37:06,808
began running from sea to sea...

379
00:37:06,891 --> 00:37:09,060
(train whistle blows)

380
00:37:09,144 --> 00:37:11,688
...it was apparent the railway
had profoundly miscalculated

381
00:37:11,771 --> 00:37:14,899
one significant detail--

382
00:37:15,942 --> 00:37:18,069
Winter.

383
00:37:18,153 --> 00:37:20,155
(wind gusting, ice crackling)

384
00:37:22,574 --> 00:37:24,325
(ice crackling, rumbling)

385
00:37:32,292 --> 00:37:34,210
Virtually no one
had ever ventured

386
00:37:34,294 --> 00:37:36,254
into Rogers Pass in the winter,

387
00:37:36,337 --> 00:37:39,466
and for good reason.

388
00:37:39,549 --> 00:37:42,343
It had among the deepest
known snowfalls in the world--

389
00:37:42,427 --> 00:37:45,305
as much as 60 feet
in a single season.

390
00:37:54,063 --> 00:37:57,066
(rumbling)

391
00:38:05,533 --> 00:38:09,829
On February 28, 1910,
a gang of 60 men were working

392
00:38:09,913 --> 00:38:12,624
to clear an avalanche
in the pass.

393
00:38:12,707 --> 00:38:15,043
At midnight,
another slide came down

394
00:38:15,126 --> 00:38:16,753
the opposite side of the valley

395
00:38:16,836 --> 00:38:19,422
and killed all but one.

396
00:38:19,506 --> 00:38:22,717
Most of the men were Japanese.

397
00:38:29,265 --> 00:38:34,145
At least 250 men would die in
avalanches in Rogers Pass alone

398
00:38:34,229 --> 00:38:35,980
in the first few years
of operation.

399
00:38:39,484 --> 00:38:42,195
When construction began,
few could have imagined

400
00:38:42,278 --> 00:38:45,490
the terrible sacrifices
the southern route would entail.

401
00:38:48,785 --> 00:38:51,162
The new railway
and the country itself

402
00:38:51,246 --> 00:38:53,706
hung on the thinnest of threads.

403
00:38:53,790 --> 00:38:57,085
The mountain sections were
ruinously expensive to operate

404
00:38:57,168 --> 00:38:59,796
and the company teetered
on bankruptcy.

405
00:38:59,879 --> 00:39:03,716
It would take a miracle to save
the Canadian Pacific Railway.

406
00:39:14,894 --> 00:39:17,397
A miracle did occur.

407
00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:20,191
Just over the top
of the Continental Divide,

408
00:39:20,275 --> 00:39:22,527
on the east face
of the Rocky Mountains,

409
00:39:22,610 --> 00:39:26,364
was a place the surveyors called
the most beautiful on earth.

410
00:39:27,657 --> 00:39:30,243
They named it Banff.

411
00:39:39,502 --> 00:39:42,505
<i>Pa'?</i>

412
00:39:45,341 --> 00:39:47,010
The toughest route
through the mountains

413
00:39:47,093 --> 00:39:49,971
was also the most spectacular.

414
00:39:50,054 --> 00:39:52,849
This simple irony
would help save the railway

415
00:39:52,932 --> 00:39:55,351
and perhaps the country itself.

416
00:39:57,478 --> 00:39:59,564
A national park system
followed the railway.

417
00:39:59,647 --> 00:40:01,566
Banff, Lake Louise,

418
00:40:01,649 --> 00:40:06,070
Jasper, Glacier, Yoho.

419
00:40:06,154 --> 00:40:09,699
News of a wilderness Shangri-La
spread around the globe,

420
00:40:09,782 --> 00:40:14,495
and the company had a thriving
new business: tourism.

421
00:40:18,124 --> 00:40:21,461
Van Horne built
a series of great hotels,

422
00:40:21,544 --> 00:40:25,423
including the most famous,
at Lake Louise...

423
00:40:28,885 --> 00:40:32,055
...followed by a fleet
of legendary passenger trains

424
00:40:32,138 --> 00:40:34,307
to bring in the tourists.

425
00:40:43,107 --> 00:40:45,109
(bell clanging)

426
00:40:51,783 --> 00:40:53,701
From the summit
of the Rocky Mountains,

427
00:40:53,785 --> 00:40:56,704
the big-wheeled
Hudson locomotives ran down

428
00:40:56,788 --> 00:41:00,124
the long, fast mountain slope
to the prairie below.

429
00:41:00,208 --> 00:41:02,543
A hundred miles an hour
was routine

430
00:41:02,627 --> 00:41:05,421
for the great express trains
in the Age of Steam.

431
00:41:05,505 --> 00:41:07,507
(easy, bright jazz playing)

432
00:41:15,974 --> 00:41:18,977
<i>Pa'?</i>

433
00:41:22,563 --> 00:41:26,150
As the railway grew and
prospered, the country followed.

434
00:41:27,443 --> 00:41:30,863
Trains brought in settlers,
opening up the land.

435
00:41:32,323 --> 00:41:34,200
They hauled produce to market,

436
00:41:34,283 --> 00:41:36,285
they built towns and cities.

437
00:41:39,163 --> 00:41:42,166
(whistle blowing)

438
00:41:48,548 --> 00:41:51,092
They took soldiers away
to war...

439
00:41:53,177 --> 00:41:55,972
...remembered
by those left behind

440
00:41:56,055 --> 00:41:58,433
by the sound of a lonesome wail.

441
00:42:02,562 --> 00:42:04,564
(train whistle blows)

442
00:42:15,533 --> 00:42:18,619
<i>Pa'?</i>

443
00:42:29,672 --> 00:42:34,552
Van Home's railway grew
into a vast network.

444
00:42:34,635 --> 00:42:37,805
The great express trains
flowed day and night

445
00:42:37,889 --> 00:42:39,974
across the high grass prairie,

446
00:42:40,058 --> 00:42:42,769
the granite shores
of Lake Superior,

447
00:42:42,852 --> 00:42:45,646
the rich farmland
of the St. Lawrence Valley,

448
00:42:45,730 --> 00:42:48,149
and finally down
to the seaport of Montreal.

449
00:42:48,232 --> 00:42:49,650
(bell clanging)

450
00:42:59,118 --> 00:43:01,621
(clanging continues)

451
00:43:05,625 --> 00:43:08,544
Van Horne completed
the impossible railroad

452
00:43:08,628 --> 00:43:11,339
in half the time
required by the contract.

453
00:43:12,465 --> 00:43:14,467
The son
of an American dirt farmer,

454
00:43:14,550 --> 00:43:16,636
he rose to become
one of the greatest figures

455
00:43:16,719 --> 00:43:18,763
in all of Canadian history.

456
00:43:24,018 --> 00:43:26,270
(birds chirping)

457
00:43:28,898 --> 00:43:32,235
But here in Rogers Pass, in
the valley of the lllecillewaet,

458
00:43:32,318 --> 00:43:34,570
the legend of Van Horne
and his railway

459
00:43:34,654 --> 00:43:36,697
might have had
a much different ending.

460
00:43:40,243 --> 00:43:44,330
Their names are worn from wood
and stone and lost forever.

461
00:43:46,666 --> 00:43:48,960
They were young and strong.

462
00:43:49,043 --> 00:43:52,672
With bare hands they endured
unimaginable hardship.

463
00:44:02,974 --> 00:44:05,726
<i>Pa'?</i>

464
00:44:16,571 --> 00:44:19,448
The route chosen
was nearly impossible,

465
00:44:19,532 --> 00:44:23,452
yet they had faith in the future
and they found a way.

466
00:44:25,705 --> 00:44:27,623
We know them only by the railway

467
00:44:27,707 --> 00:44:30,877
and the extraordinary country
they built:

468
00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:33,045
Canada.

469
00:44:37,300 --> 00:44:39,760
(bell clanging)

470
00:46:41,090 --> 00:46:42,842
(train whistle blowing,
echoing into distance)