Turmoil and Triumph: The Controversial Railway to Hudson Bay

Contributor to newspapers and magazines in Canada, Britain and United States on travel- and transportation themes.

Author: Empress of Britain: Canadian Pacific's greatest ship (Erin: Boston Mills, 1992).

Reviewer for CBRA since 1993.

The Hudson Bay Railway, which connects Winnipeg with Churchill, has
sparked controversy since the day it was conceived. Immigrant laborers,
who carried out much of the line’s construction from 1911 until the
rails reached Churchill in 1929, encountered frequent exploitation at
the hands of employers. Included in Ian Bickle’s account of the
railway are police reports that describe the hardships workers faced and
the problems encountered by the RNWMP’s The Pas detachment, whose
responsibility it was to police the line and its workers.

Although the railway overcame certain technical difficulties, it faced
political and economic obstacles that were difficult to surmount. The
heavily subsidized railway continues to operate; in Bickle’s (perhaps
overly optimistic) words, “there appears to be a solid chance of a
continuing and very bright future for a railway to Hudson Bay.”

Well-chosen photographs supplement the text. Unfortunately, no map has
been included to indicate the route of the Hudson Bay Railway.
Nevertheless, the author provides a nice balance of narrative, anecdote,
and opinion in this book about a neglected part of Canadian history.