The history of Canadian railways is a remarkable tale played out across a continent and spanning over 150 years. It's a story of transformation, marked by episodes of tragedy, courage, and endurance. The cast of characters includes visionaries, promoters, engineers, politicians, and thousands of individuals, most known only to their families, who helped build and run a transportation network of continental proportions. Another important character was the steam locomotive, which defined railway technology through its combination of speed, power and functionality.

During the Victorian period, these powerful engines propelled humans and cargo at speeds hitherto unknown on land. The first steam locomotives in Canada were imported beginning in 1836 from Great Britain and the United States. These operated on a number of small disjointed railways that connected navigable waterways, hence, our earliest railways are often called portage railways. As Canada's railway network developed, so too did our capacity to build our own locomotives. The first steam locomotive manufactured in Canada was built in 1853 by James Good of Toronto. Aptly named Toronto, the engine was part of the great flurry of industrial activity that marked Canada's first great railway boom in the 1850s. Thereafter, Canadians avidly embraced railway technology and expanded their railway network from 90 to over 3 200 kilometres in a single decade.

For the next century steam locomotives powered the expansion of the railway network, first to the Maritimes and then west to the Pacific. By 1960 there were over 70 000 kilometres of mainline track in Canada, but by then the steam locomotive had ceased to be a force on Canadian railways. Steam locomotive technology, despite many advances, could not compete with the considerably greater efficiency and superior operating characteristics of diesel electric locomotives. Thus, by the early 1960s, the steam locomotive disappeared from active service, although it remains a symbol of our railway and collective past.