Construction of the Ogden Shops

The CPR were looking for a location to build a repair shop complex in the West. To complement their main shops at Montréal (Angus) and Winnipeg (Weston). Many communities were vying to have the shops built in their community. The CPR finally chose Calgary, as it was close to the mountains and had lots of real estate, southeast of the city. That was flat and an ideal location for the shops and the town that would house many of the employees. The city of Calgary also built a streetcar line to Ogden for employees living in the city. The shops at Ogden were named after a CPR President I. G. Ogden. Construction started on April 1, 1912 and was finished in less than a year in the middle of March 1913. I have some early postcards on the shops, construction. The one above shows the foundation of the Locomotive Shop being excavated. At that time there were no bulldozers or other machinery to excavate, the site was located on a gravel bar, and all the excavating was done with teams of horses and mules. More tomorrow.