"At 20 hours, by the new twenty-four time table which"the Canadian [Pacite Railway inaugurated, on June 28, 1886, the frst through passenger: train on that Atlantic to Pacific route started from Dalhousie Station, Montreal, to cheers of the citizens and the booming of a fifteen gun salute] {from the local artillery. The train was made up of colonist cars, first Jelass coaches, a dining car named Holyrood and two sleeping cars Jnamed Yokohamy and Honolulu—ae-cording to Mr. Gibbon's "Steel of Empire." The sleeping cars were provided with baths. The silverware on the dining car was valued at }Can. $9,000. The Marquis of Lorne, then Governor-General of Canada fand Queen Vietoria's son-in-law feonveyed to Sir George _Stephen (afterwards Lord Mountstephen) Her [Majesty's congratulations and good wishes on the event. The frst freight train did not go through until July 6, but soon the new facilities werd! being used by passengers from the! Far East, as well as by the China tea trade, Before August was out the Canadian newspapers had recorded the passage across Canada by the railway of such distinguished folk gs the Governor of Hongkong, the Bishop of Shanghai and the Prince of Siam. The W. B. Flint was the frst ship to bring a cargo of tea from China for the new CPR. transcontinental route. "Pending the establishment of a subsidized "mail service from Vancouver to. Hongkong, the Company arranged a temporary Pacific service by. chartering sree ships, the Abyssinia, Partha and Batavia which gave every satisfaction. When the mail contract was completed the Company ordered three twin-screw "yacht-like" steamfers, the Empress of Japan, the Empress of India and Empress of China and thus began the famous story of the Empress line. On her trial run the then Empress of Japan—her figurehead honourably rests in Stan-Hey Park, Vancouver—broke all re-Jeords by' reaching Yokohama from Vancouver in 9 days, 19 hours 39 min-ules. To tke "Enpress, of India fell the distinction of making her initial voyage from England as part of a round the world tour during which she made her first run from Hongkong to Vancouver—the first occasion on which it was made possible for a passenger to complete the! under ome flag.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.