Transcontinental rail link completed in Canada

Although the famous last spike ceremony occurred earlier in November, August 13, 1888, saw the formal inauguration of regular passenger service across the Canadian Pacific Railway's 3,000-mile network from Montreal to Vancouver. Key figures included William Cornelius Van Horne and Donald Smith. Overcoming Rocky Mountain engineering challenges with spiral tunnels and trestles, the line unified Canada economically and politically post-Confederation. It facilitated immigration, resource transport, and tourism via luxury trains like the Canadian. The CPR's success model inspired similar nation-building projects in Australia and Russia.