NOVEMBER 7, 1885

Donald A. Smith, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, drives the last spike in Canada’s first transcontinental railway. However, due to the need to continue working on sections of the line, it would take six more months before the first cross-Canada train voyage could be completed. That occurred on July 4, 1886, when a Canadian Pacific Railway passenger train arrived at Port Moody, British Columbia, nearly six days after it had departed from Montreal.