After years of postponements, both for political and financial reasons, construction of the rail line promised at Confederation began in earnest in 1878. The B.C. portion of the Canadian Pacific Railroad began in 1880 and was completed in 1885 with the hammering of the last spike at Craigellachie, just south of Revelstoke.
The first scheduled passenger train arrived at the western terminus of Port Moody on July 4, 1886.
Soon after, the terminus was moved further west to the small False Creek lumber community of Granville, known locally as Gastown. It was quickly transformed into the city of Vancouver, swiftly surpassing Victoria as the province’s main western port and commercial centre.
The first Canadian Pacific Railway train to cross Canada from Montreal to Port Moody, 1886.
