In 1901 the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, who were later to become King George V and Queen Mary, arrived in Canada on the sixteenth of September for the Royal Tour of 1901. To put them in perspective they were the great, great, great, grandfather and grandmother of Harry and William, today's adult royal sons.

Not the first Royal visit, and certainly one of many Royal Tours over the years, but this time it would be the first carried out across the whole country by train. During the tour, the future King kept a methodical record of his activities, recording that he shook the hands of 24,855 people at official receptions, received 544 addresses, laid 21 cornerstones, gave 100 speeches, and presented 4,329 medals.

Upon arrival at Quebec City via Royal Yacht Ophir, the train carried them to Montreal, Ottawa, North Bay, Port Arthur, Fort William, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Laggan, Field, Glacier, Vancouver, (Victoria by Empress of India) before returning to Banff, Regina, Toronto, Hamilton, St. John, and departure on Ophir from Halifax for the colony of Newfoundland. (You recall, of course, Newfoundland didn't join Canada until 1949.)

This Royal Tour was summed up in a booklet titled "Across Canada" by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company Limited. The majority of its contents contain an annotated timetable covering the route taken. However, there are 11 pages describing the Royal Train which comprised two railway cars constructed especially for the occasion, appropriatly named Cornwall and York.

This website covers only the description of the 1901 Royal Train from the "Across Canada" booklet and Special Timetable by the Canadian Pacific Railway. You can view the entire booklet at the University of British Columbia Open Collections. Their link is found on the Biblio page of this presentation.