CPR Set-off Siding - The Last Spike

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The Last Spike

There are at least three photographs depicting the official ceremonial driving of the Last Spike on the Canadian Pacific Railway. In this particular one Donald Alexander Smith, the most senior director of the company then present, and later to become Lord Strathcona, taps in the Last Spike on the Canadian Pacific Railway at Craigellachie, British Columbia, in the Eagle Pass of the Gold Range. Also in the photo are (left to right) William Cornelius Van Horne (CPR General Manager), Sir Sandford Fleming, and Edward Mallandaine (teenager). Major A.B. (Hell's-Bells) Rogers was also present but cannot be seen in this particular photograph - 7 Nov 1885 Alexander J. Ross - National Library and Archives of Canada na-1494-5.

This is an earlier obelisk and wooden sign marking the location of the Last Spike at Craigellachie, British Columbia - Date/photographer unknown.

Craigellachie British Columbia - The Last Spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was the final iron spike completing the Canadian Pacific Railway between Montreal and the Pacific Ocean driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia. It was driven into the tie by Donald Smith, later to become Lord Strathcona, on the morning of 7 Nov 1885. This event marked the end of a saga of natural disasters, financial crises, and even a rebellion, that plagued the CPR since its incorporation.

The Last Spike signalled the completion of the CPR which today remains a symbol of national unity in Canada. At the time, it fulfilled an 1871 commitment made by the Federal government to British Columbia which stipulated that a railway be built joining the Pacific province to Eastern Canada. The promise of a railway connection had been a major factor in British Columbia's decision to join Confederation. Although construction of the CPR did not begin until 1880, resulting in threats of secession by some B.C. politicians, the railway was ultimately completed five years ahead of schedule.

This is the stone cairn marking the Last Spike location that lies on the north side of the CPR mainline at Craigellachie, British Columbia. It replaced a simple obelisk standing on the spot in 1927. An enlarged stone base surrounds the 1927 stone cairn with bronze plaques mounted in concrete atop the stones. This new base was added in 1985 and includes a stone from each of Canada's ten provinces - 4 May 2006 William C. Slim.

In contrast to the ceremonial gold or silver spikes often used to mark the completion of a major American railroad, the CPR Last Spike was a conventional iron spike. When it was suggested to Van Horne a gold spike be used he replied "The last spike will be just as good an iron one as there is between Montreal and Vancouver, and anyone who wants to see it driven will have to pay full fare."¹ One can read a lot about the CPR into that statement.

At exactly 09:22 hours on the morning of 7 Nov 1885 Donald Smith swung the spike maul at the awaiting iron spike, giving it a glancing blow, bending the spike. It was pulled out and replaced with a fresh one, which Smith, with careful agility tapped home. There ensued a moment of silence until all present broke into spontaneous cheering. Van Horne was called upon to make a speech but only came up with "All I can say is that the work has been well done in every way."² In a scramble for souvenirs Van Horne's secretary picked up the discarded bent spike but Smith asked him for it. Smith later had a portion of the spike made into a broach encrusted with diamonds which he then presented to his wife as a gift.

Source: Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia (With corrections by this editor.)

In my research I found three photographs of the Craigellachie ceremony as shown below. There was a fourth but it appears to be a cropped enlargement of na-1494-6 below.

Major Rogers, with his white mutton chops, is barely visible in the left photo standing second to the left of Van Horne. Names of some individuals in the photos are listed beneath. These names accompanied each photo on the Glenbow Museum's web site page. With the exception of well-known figures like Van Horne, Smith, Fleming, and Rogers, the other names in the captions may, or may not, be identified correctly. It is my experience with archived photographs that attached captions are quite often incorrect.

(Left to right center group) W.C. Van Horne, Sandford Fleming, Donald Smith with spike maul, J.H. McTavish, J.M. Egan, James Ross. Man with beard, right of Smith, is Henry J. Cambie, chef on Van Horne's railway car. Another identification claims that Van Horne's chef is John G. Pearson, standing to the right of Ross. Boy in front is Edward Mallandaine - 7 Nov 1885 Alexander J. Ross - National Library and Archives of Canada na-218-2.

A number of employees near Donald, B.C., 107.5 miles east of Eagle Pass, were waiting for a train to take them east on the day that the Last Spike was driven. To commemorate the event, they staged their own "last spike" ceremony for a photographer, whose camera recorded two North West Mounted Police officers among the spectators. These pictures illustrate the character of completed main line track, with ties laid square on the right, but ragged on the left because of unequal tie lengths. Tie plates were not used, and ballast peaked at track center, above the ties. This track had been in place just about a year when the photograph was taken - 1974 Omer Lavallee "Van Horne's Road" Railfare Enterprises Limited Box 1434 Station B Montreal Quebec H3B 3L2.

Workers pose in an unofficial ceremonial driving of the Last Spike near Donald, British Columbia. Charles A. Stoess is on the right behind the workman holding a railway tie in position - Date unknown Alexander J. Ross Glenbow Museum 1969-100.

One other person noted in the top photograph is Edward Mallandaine. He was born in Victoria, B.C., on 1 Jul 1867, the very day of Canada's Confederation. Edward left school when he was 14-years-old and began providing a pony express delivery service to the railway construction workers in B.C. He made good money for several months, until the two ends of the track drew close to each other and most workers left the area. Before ending his adventure, Edward decided to attend the historic Last Spike event. So, he hopped aboard an open flat car, enduring a bumpy ride through a bitterly cold night to reach Craigellachie on 7 Nov 1885. At the ceremony, Edward, who was short for his age, wormed his way forward between the burly track workers crowding around the CPR dignitaries, until he was in the front row. A few moments later Edward poked his head around Donald Smith's shoulder just as photographer Alexander Ross took his famous picture. Soon after Edward had his picture taken he returned home and studied to become an architect and surveyor. He became a successful land developer and was co-founder of the town of Creston, B.C. He passed away in 1949 at the age of 82, forever remembered as the boy in the picture of the Last Spike.

Craigellachie station.

Sometime before or after the driving of the Last Spike a station was constructed at Craigellachie. It is shown in this photograph apparently taken in the early 1900s displaying two unidentified women standing on the station's wooden platform dressed in clothing of the period. A standard wooden enclosed water tower is barely visible behind the two ladies. This photo comes from the archive of the Revelstoke Railway Museum and is credited to Jack Leslie.

In addition to the official Craigellachie cairn another rock cairn was dedicated at Noslo, Ontario, in 1935.

Noslo cairn.

A recent photo of the Noslo cairn - 2004 Chris Wilson.

In the summer of 1884, there were 15,000 men and 4,000 horses working on the North Shore of Lake Superior. They consumed twelve tons of food per day and four tons of tobacco each month. Not a single shovel, locomotive crane, or power drill was used on the job, which is unfathomable because of the rugged terrain of the North Shore. Three particular miles of track around Jackfish Bay cost $1,200,000. Twelve million dollars was spent on dynamite to build the line. Over one million dollars alone was spent from Heron Bay to Port Arthur (now named Thunder Bay).

The last spike on the North Shore section, between Montreal and Winnipeg, was driven at Noslo, just west of Jackfish, Ontario, on 16 May 1885. Colonel Oswald, of the Montreal Light Infantry, hammered home the last spike. Oswald was on a troop train that was travelling home from the Riel Rebellion in Saskatchewan. A major factor in the completion of the Lake Superior Section of the railway was due to the necessity of getting militia forces from the east to the Northwest Rebellion, as quickly as possible.

Fifty years later, on 16 May 1935, a few of the original workers and veterans of the CPR, re-enacted the driving of the last spike at Noslo. A stone and cement monument placed there reads:

Driving the Last Spike
between
Montreal & Winnipeg
May 16th, 1885
was re-enacted here
by veterans and some
original participants
May 16th, 1935.

The monument was built on the spot to commemorate that historic occasion.

Port Moody cairn.

Beside the Noslo cairn another rock cairn was unveiled at Port Moody, British Columbia, on 1 Oct 1938 to commemorate the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, Port Moody being the original terminus in 1885. Van Horne changed the terminus to Vancouver's Burrard Inlet later as it offered better prospects for the railway and ocean-going ships. This commemoration ceremony photo shows H.S. Cunningham the Mayor of Port Moody, John Murray, Judge F.W. Howay, A. Wells Gray, and G.A. Baillie in attendance.

In 1981, the 100th anniversary of the company's incorporation on 16 Feb 1881, another "last spike" ceremony was re-enacted at Jack Fish, Ontario, 15 miles east of Schreiber, Ontario, to mark the completion of the CPR line between Montreal and Winnipeg.

100th Anniversary of the Last Spike

In 1985 CPR held a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the driving of the Last Spike. This time the spike was driven by Donald Smith's great grandson, the present Lord Strathcona. The event was covered in their 4 Dec 1985 employee news letter, CP Rail News. Another article in that same edition was named Vintage Equipment at Ceremony and written by Dave Jones of Canadian Pacific.

CP 1201 at Craigellachie.

Omer Lavallee, CPR's first Corporate Historian, wrote an article in March of 1987 giving additional information about brooches manufactured from the next to Last Spike (the one Donald Smith bent).

125th Anniversary of the Last Spike

With the arrival of the 125th anniversary of the driving of the Last Spike several unconfirmed stories about the Last Spike began showing up in the media.

Such as:

One "The spike was made of 18 carat gold and encrusted with diamonds spelling out Craigellachie and it was driven in by Jane Sym, the widow of Canadian Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie";
Two "The Last Spike was extracted and hammered to bits";
Three "The bent spike is now in the Glenbow-Alberta Institute in Calgary";
Four "The actual spike was given as a gift to the son of the patent office president at the time, and is still in the family's possession, fashioned into the shape of a carving knife";
Five "The commemorative iron spike was one of the 300 presented to white VIPs and CPR dignitaries who attended the historic ceremony at Craigellachie on 7 Nov 1885".

When researching the story of the driving of Canadian Pacific's Last Spike the most common descriptions of the event generally state there were several "Last Spikes". The first being a silver spike which was to be driven by the Governor General Lord Lansdowne. He and that spike never made it to Craigellachie so on 7 Nov 1885 Donald Smith, the most senior employee of the company present, drove an ordinary iron spike into a tie braced by Major Rogers. But in doing so he bent the spike. The spike was discarded and replaced with another iron spike which Donald Smith drove home.

I think most historians would agree on these events, but following that, the whereabouts of this third Last Spike become cloudy.

In his 1971 book "The Last Spike The Great Railway 1881-1885" Pierre Berton states on page 422 and 423:

QUOTE The "last spike" was removed, after the dignitaries departed, by roadmaster Frank Brothers (who is seen in the immediate left foreground of the famous photograph, facing the camera). Brothers was afraid that souvenir hunters would tear up his track to secure the prize. (As it was, chunks of the tie were chopped away and the remaining piece of the sawn rail was split up by memorabilia seekers.)

Brothers later presented the spike to Edward Beatty, but it was stolen from Beatty's desk. (Editor's note: Beatty was president from 1918-1942 then Chairman until his death in 1943.)

What happened to the spike cannot be ascertained with any accuracy, but it may be the one in the hands of Mrs. W.H. Remnant of Yellowknife. According to Mrs. Remnant, Henry Cambie came into possession of the spike and gave it to W.J. Lynch, chief of the patent office in Ottawa, to keep for his son Arthur, who was serving with the British Army Medical Corp. When Arthur returned home, his father presented him with the spike which by this time had been worked into the shape of a carving knife with the handle silvered. His daughter Mamie, now Mrs. Remnant, inherited it.

The other spike, which Donald Smith bent and discarded and which he appropriated as a souvenir, was cut into thin strips which were mounted with diamonds and presented to the wives of some of the members of the party. Several ladies who did not receive the souvenirs were so put out that the diplomatic Smith had a second, larger spike cut up into similar souvenirs. These, however, were made larger so that the recipients of the original gifts would be able to tell the difference.

Lord Lansdowne's original unused silver spike was presented to Van Horne and, as far as is known, is still in the Van Horne family. UN-QUOTE

So at this point we have 4 Last Spikes:

1 - The unused silver spike.
2 - The bent iron spike cut up for jewelry.
3 - The second iron spike actually driven into a tie.
4 - Another larger iron spike later cut up for jewelry.

In this news story there is a photo of a spike that has been cut up. In the photo it appears this spike is NOT bent so that would eliminate it as spike number 2, the one bent by Donald Smith, that was turned into broaches. So which spike is this? Could it possibly be number 4, the one Donald Smith (Lord Strathcona) used to satisfy those "put out" ladies? And where is number 3 then, the iron spike removed by roadmaster Frank Brothers? Does it exist somewhere now as a carving knife?

¹ Donna McDonald 1996 "Lord Strathcona A Biography of Donald Alexander Smith" page 325.
² Donna McDonald 1996 "Lord Strathcona A Biography of Donald Alexander Smith" page 326

CPR Set-Off Siding Vancouver Island British Columbia Canada