Canada. Dept. of Railways and Canals. Railway Branch. Office of the Chief Engineer : When the Railway Branch was formed in 1879, it was directed by a chief engineer who reported to the Minister and Deputy Minister responsible for the Department of Railways and Canals (42 Vict., c.7, s.4-5; House of Commons Debates, 15 April 1879, pp. 1241-1246). The Railway Branch was responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of government owned railways and telegraph systems. Railways under the direction of the department included the CPR, the Intercolonial Railway and the Prince Edward Island Railway. The Chief Engineer of Railways was responsible for the engineering plans and estimates for works under construction or repair. Until December 1892, the Department of Railways and Canals had two chief engineers, one in the Railway Branch and another in the Canal Branch. These positions were merged and remained combined with the appointment of Collingwood Schreiber in December 1892.
John Page, Chief Engineer of Canals since the formation of the department, died on 2 July, 1890; his duties were assumed by the Deputy Minister, Toussaint Trudeau, on 22 November (NA, P.C. 25/2611, November 22, 1890). Trudeau retired on November 29, 1892. Collingwood Schreiber, Chief Engineer of Government Railways, was appointed to the dual role of Deputy Minister and Chief Engineer of Railways and Canals on November 30 (NA, Records of the Treasury Board, RG 55, vol. 20011, November 21, 1892, pp. 145-146). On 1 July,1905 Matthew J. Butler replaced Collingwood Schreiber as Deputy Minister and Chief Engineer of Railways and Canals (NA, P.C. 1382, July 29, 1905).
In 1909 the entire department was reorganized and enlarged in accordance with reforms initiated under the Civil Service Act of 1908. The Chief Engineer's Branch was the main operational arm of the department, under the direction of the Principal Assistant and Designing Engineer. His professional staff in 1909 consisted of a Hydraulic and Bridge Engineer, a Chief Draughtsman, a Draughtsman of Railway Plans, an Architectural Draughtsman and a photographer. The branch also included an Inspecting Engineer and an Electrical Engineer. The Chief Engineer's Branch was responsible for all engineering projects undertaken by the department; the preparation of maps, plans and estimates and the control of capital expenditures for railways and canals constructed by the department (NA, P.C. 161, January 25, 1909).
On 5 February, 1910, M.J. Butler, who had filled the dual office of Deputy Minister and Chief Engineer of Railways and Canals, resigned and, on the appointment of A.W. Campbell to the position of Deputy Minister on the same date, the department reverted to the principle of having a special officer as Chief Engineer. This office was assigned to W.A. Bowden on 22 April (NA, P.C. 780, April 22, 1910; Railways and Canals, Annual Report 1909-1910, p. 7).
By 1918, departmental staff and activities had expanded dramatically. The Chief Engineer continued to have major responsibility for the operational activities of the department. In addition to his own staff of professional engineers, he also supervised the construction and operation of the following facilities: Port Nelson Terminals, Cape Tormentine Ferry Terminals, Hudson Bay Railway, and the country's canal system (Civil Service Commission, Organization Chart - Railways and Canals, July 1918). In 1930, the Chief Engineer's Division was responsible for all engineering and construction work undertaken by Railways and Canals, including the preparation of maps, plans and estimates. With the assistance of a large professional engineering and draughting staff, the division was responsible for the following projects in 1930: the construction of the Welland Ship Canal, dredging operations, design and construction of the Hudson Bay Railway and terminal facilities, all engineering matters relating to the development of the St. Lawrence River, the proposed Chignecto Canal, grain elevators at Port Colborne and Prescott, and the operation and maintenance of Canada's extensive canal system.
The Department of Railways and Canals maintained this basic structure and organization until it was transformed into the Department of Transport in 1936. RG43 General Inventory
