Foley, Welch and Stewart

Foley, Welch and Stewart was an early 20th-century American-Canadian railroad contracting company. It was owned and operated by Patrick Welch and J.W. Stewart of Spokane, Washington and T. Foley of St. Paul, Minnesota.[1]

Foley Welch and Stewart Cache in 1913

The company was created during the reorganization of a prior company, Foley Bros & Larson. It was the largest railway construction company in North America at one time.[2]

They built miles of track for the Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railroad, Canadian Pacific Railway[1], Canadian Northern Railway, Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and Pacific Great Eastern Railway. The names in the partnership are commemorated in summit of the Cheam Range near Chillwack: Foley, Welch, and Stewart Peaks.

The company later came to be involved in the forest industry and was renamed Bloedel, Stewart and Welch. The company had large operations in the Powell River area of British Columbia. The company later merged with the H. R. MacMillan company, taking on the name MacMillan Bloedel Limited. MacMillan Bloedel became Canada's largest forest company until it was acquired by Weyerhaeuser.

Commemoration

The names of this partnership are commemorated at the top of the Cheam Range, near Chillwack: the Foley, Welch and Stewart Peaks.

The Stewart, Foley and Welch Mountains were originally named by Arthur Williamson of Vancouver, Superintendent of the fr:Lucky Four Group Copper mine, opened by Stewart and Welch in 1917.3 The names were officially adopted on May 30, 1946, in as a "well-established name in the mountaineering community" (March 1944 WH Matthews, Canadian Alpine Club, M.2.40 and C.1.50).

Major Projects

• In 1911, they were awarded a contract for construction of a 410-mile section of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway from Aldermere (near present-day Telkwa, British Columbia, to Bulkley Valley. This segment completed the line.[3]
• In 1913, they were awarded a contract valued at $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 to construct a six mile of double-track tunnel through the Rogers Pass in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia by the Canadian Pacific Railway. This was later named to Connaught Tunnel. The project included seven miles of track on both ends of the tunnel and the contract called for completion in four years.[1][2][4]
• The western section of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway from Prince Rupert, British Columbia to a point 100 miles east. Approximately 2000 men were employed.[2][5]
• The railway through Fraser Canyon in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia.[2]
• In 1914, they were awarded a contract to build a 330-mile extension of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway from South Fort George through the Pine River Pass to the Alberta boundary. A payment guarantee of $35,000 per mile was made by the British Columbia legislature.[6]
• An approximately 210 mile long branch link connecting Fort William, Ontario with Superior Junction and the National Transcontinental Railway for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Approximately 2000 men were employed.[7]
• Double tracking the Canadian Pacific Railway from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Fort William, Ontario. Approximately 2000 men were employed.[8]
• A section of the National Transcontinental Railway from a point eight miles east of the Abitibi River crossing continuing east for approximately 150 miles.[9]
• A section of the National Transcontinental Railway from Edmonton, Alberta 129 miles west to Wolfe Creek. About 650 men were employed for this project.[5]
• A section of the National Transcontinental Railway from Edmonton, Alberta, to Wainwright, Alberta. About 1100 men were employed for this project.[5]

References

1. "Huge Contract to Spokane Men Foley, Welch & Stewart to Build Great Tunnel for Canadian Pacific". Spokane Daily Chronicle. May 9, 1913.
2. "Foley, Welch & Steward". KNOWBC.com. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
3. "Last Link of G.T.P. Contract". The Winnipeg Tribune. August 28, 1911. p. 1.
4. "Contractors Get Big Tunnel Job". The Toronto World. May 5, 1913. p. 13.
5. Report of the Minister of Agriculture for the Dominion of Canada for the year ended March 31, 1908. Ottawa. p. 85.
6. "Spokane Firm To Lay Canada Road". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. February 23, 1914. p. 6.
7. Report of the Minister of Agriculture for the Dominion of Canada for the year ended March 31, 1908. Ottawa. pp. 86, 97.
8. Report of the Minister of Agriculture for the Dominion of Canada for the year ended March 31, 1908. Ottawa. p. 81.
9. Report of the Minister of Agriculture for the Dominion of Canada for the year ended March 31, 1908. Ottawa. pp. 91, 103.