VIEW-20587.0 | Engineering Department staff, G. T. R., composite photograph, 1896, copied ca.1922
Engineering Department staff, G. T. R., composite photograph, 1896, copied ca.1922
Wm. Notman & Son
1922, 20th century
Silver salts on glass - Gelatin dry plate process
20 x 25 cm
Purchase from Associated Screen News Ltd.
VIEW-20587.0
© McCord Museum
Description
Keywords: Art (2774) , Cityscape (3948) , composite (312) , Photograph (77678) , Train (185)
Keys to History
The existence of the railway stock manufacturing sector was directly attributable to the Montreal operations of the two big railways, the Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific, which gave plenty of business to suppliers. Montreal companies produced locomotives and railway cars as well as the parts required to manufacture them.
What was already striking at the time was the diversity of Montreal industry, which included most of the major manufacturing sectors.
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What
The entire engineering department staff of the Grand Trunk Railway is shown assembled in this picture thanks to the magic of the composite photograph, which was a specialty of the William Notman & Son studio of Montreal. The staff members were photographed individually and then their pictures were stuck onto the background.
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Where
The Grand Trunk workshops were located at the Point St. Charles in the Ste. Anne ward. They were one of the city's biggest employers. Canadian Pacific had its shops in the east end, in Hochelaga.
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When
In 1896 the railways formed a major component of the city's economy. They were about to enter a new phase of development, serving the newly settled regions of western Canada.
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Who
Engineers were the stars of the industrial economy. They represented the élite staff of large companies. The railways hired large numbers of highly trained personnel, many of whom were recruited in England or Scotland.
References
- Triggs, Stanley G., The Composite Photographs of William Notman (Montreal: McCord Museum, 1994), 127 p.
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