The Last Spike!

Canadian Pacific Railway 8409 Spence’s Bridge, MP 72.8, Thompson Subdivision, November 1959. Originally called Cook's Ferry after Mortimer Cook who ran a raft style cable ferry across the Thompson River, it was later re-named after Thomas Spence.

Spence, a Royal Engineer and road builder, won the contract to build a bridge across the river to replace the ferry during the construction of the Caribou Wagon road. The bridge then became known as Spence's Toll Bridge.

The site of the Last Spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway is located on Highway 1, approximately 10 miles north of Spence’s Bridge on the east bank of the Thompson River, at Craigellachie, British Columbia on 9:22 am November 7, 1885.


The plaque reads as follows:
 
“A nebulous dream was a reality: an iron railroad crossed Canada from sea to sea. Often following the footsteps of early explorers, nearly 3,000 miles of steel rail pushed across vast prairies, cleft lofty mountain passes, twisted through canyons and bridged a thousand streams. Here on November 7, 1885 a plain iron spike welded East to West.”

Railroad Stuff: CPR 8409, GP-7, 1,500 hp, GMD London Ontario 2/52, sn: A325. Rebuilt at Ogden Shops to 1,750 hp GP-9u CPR 1501, 1980.

CPR 8417, GP-7, 1,500 hp, GMD London Ontario, 3/53, sn: A504, Rebuilt at Ogden Shops to 1,750 hp GP-9u, CPR 1506, 1981.