From Whistle Posts West via Victoria Times Colonist — Our History: The E&N’s long journey from dream to doubt

The saga of the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway, and its rocky beginnings as the “consolation prize” offered by Ottawa to secure Vancouver Island’s participation in Confederation, is among the stories contained in Whistle Posts West, a lively collection of tales spanning 150 years of grit, glory and intrigue on the railways of western Canada.

The future was filled with promise when the Colony of Vancouver Island was founded in 1849. Across the Strait of Georgia, and adding to the region’s aspirations, came the 1858 establishment of the Colony of British Columbia. In 1866, the two outposts aligned politically, and New Westminster on the mainland relinquished its role as capital to Victoria on Vancouver Island, a status made final when British Columbia joined the Dominion of Canada as a province in 1871. In view of the city’s increased stature, the federal government promised that Victoria would become the western terminus of Canada’s national railway network.

John A. Macdonald had been knighted for his role in nation-building on July 1, 1867, as the new country came into being with him as its first prime minister. Along with the designation “Sir,” Macdonald could have as easily been labelled “the railway promiser.” His later, much-trumpeted commitment to build a rail link from central Canada across the prairies to B.C. had eventually clinched the deal for B.C.’s entry into the Dominion. Read more: Our History: The E&N’s long journey from dream to doubt