Trains of Recollection Drawn from Fifty Years of Railway Service in Scotland and Canada, and told to Arthur Hawkes

A seasoned railway executive looks back across half a century of tracks, offering a personal lens on the birth of Canada’s transcontinental system. He opens with the modest Presbyterian roots that brought him from Scotland’s Clyde valley to the bustling yards of Toronto, framing a journey that mirrors the nation’s own expansion. The early chapters capture the rhythm of country stations, the roar of steam engines, and the gritty reality of building rails on an untamed prairie.

From the rivalry with the Canadian Pacific to the pioneering spirit of the Canadian Northern, the narrative blends technical detail with human stories—meetings with Sioux leaders, the bold wagers of ambitious founders, and the day‑to‑day challenges of ticket scalping and fast freight. Readers hear the clang of rails and the whispered hopes of workers who stitched together a continent, gaining a clear, vivid picture of an era that shaped modern Canada.