Without any public fanfare, Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CP) donated its massive archival collection of documents, plans of bridges and structures, and photos to Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, Quebec, south of Montreal.
This is a remarkable collection that documents much of Canada’s modern history, from 1847 to 2007. On its website, Exporail says, “CP’s archives document the words, the writings, and the actions that helped shape the country’s early growth.”
The CPR Fonds spans the railway’s history from 1847 to 2007. Photo courtesy of Exporail.
CP is an international company that played a major role in a number of areas, including railroading, telecommunications, marine, trucking, aviation, immigration, colonisation, agriculture, tourism, engineering, natural resources, insurance, manufacturing, real estate, and the war effort. In the 1880s, CP was even involved in land settlement in the west.
After divesting itself of all non-rail activities almost 30 years ago, CP is today the second-largest freight railway in Canada and one of the largest in North America.
More than 600,000 photos and negatives in the CPR Fonds are housed at Exporail in Saint-Constant, Quebec, near Montreal. Photo courtesy of Exporail.
The CPR Fonds contains:
- 561.75 linear metres of textual documents
- 167 books of letters
- 491 registers about locomotives and freight cars
- About 67,000 technical drawings, survey plans, and maps
- About 625,000 photos and negatives
- About 800 publicity posters
- 154 films and videos
- 30 works of art
Employee records were not part of the donation to Exporail. They were kept by the railway and are not available for research.
CP donated its archives in 2013 and 2016. In 2014, the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board designated the archival collection as being of “outstanding significance and national importance.”
The timing for making parts of the collection accessible online is not known at this time. For now, Exporail is digitizing photos on request and posts them on its Facebook page.
Exhibition
At the opening of Exporail’s new exhibition, Of Steel and Paper: Tales from the Canadian Pacific Archives, in early July, the railway issued the following statement:
“For 135 years, CP has played a role in connecting Canada and Canadians. As we celebrate Canada’s 150th year, it is important to preserve and protect our corporate archival material for future generations. Recognizing the importance, age, and fragility of the collection, it is clear that Exporail and the Canadian Railroad Historical Association is the best place for this important collection. We invite all Canadians to attend the exhibition and wish Exporail success with it.”
The exhibition is open until May 27, 2018.
Inquiries
Inquiries about the CPR Fonds can be sent to Mylène Bélanger, archivist at Exporail, at mylene.belanger@exporail.org, or by completing an online form.
CN archives
The Canadian National Railway Company archives are housed at Library and Archives Canada where they form the second-largest collection.ra
