Английская Википедия:Foley, Welch and Stewart

Содержание

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Foley, Welch and Stewart was an early 20th-century American-Canadian railroad construction partnership.

Earlier lumber and construction involvement

In 1897, Peter Larson, Patrick Welch, John (Jack) William Stewart, and the Foley Brothers formed an earthmoving alliance which performed grading during railroad construction.Шаблон:Sfn

Peter Larson

In 1868, Larson arrived in New Orleans from Funen, Denmark, almost penniless. Working northwestward, he obtained grading subcontracts on the Northern Pacific Railway construction throughout the 1870s and early 1880s. Starting with a single scraper pulled by six mules, he greatly expanded his business. He settled in Billings, Montana, which became his headquarters.Шаблон:Sfn In 1898, Julius Bloedel and John Joseph Donovan partnered with him in establishing the Lake Whatcom Logging Co.Шаблон:Sfn

In 1905, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTP) began building westward from Fort William, Ontario. Anticipating that Prince Rupert, British Columbia, would become the terminus, Larson and Ed J. Matthews secured options on most of this land.Шаблон:Sfn Rather than immediately profit, Larson sold the options to the GTP at cost, looking to the longer term relationship.Шаблон:Sfn In due course, the partners of Foley, Welch and Stewart received the contracts to build the Edmonton–Prince Rupert leg of the GTP.Шаблон:Sfn

J.W. Stewart

In 1882, Stewart arrived in Canada from Sutherland, Scotland, with limited means. Working westward, he reached Vancouver in 1885, where he felled trees during the layout of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) townsite. In the 1886 Great Vancouver Fire, he stood for hours in False Creek to escape the inferno. After 1887, he moved to Montana Territory and worked for Peter Larson.Шаблон:Sfn

In 1911, Bloedel, Stewart and Welch (BS&W) was established for lumber operations on Vancouver Island.Шаблон:Sfn

Foley Brothers

In 1830, the Foley family settled in Lanark, Upper Canada. Timothy and his three younger brothers became loggers.Шаблон:Sfn In the early 1870s, the brothers established a logging and sawmill operation in Benton County, Minnesota, which provided lumber for the westward extension of the Great Northern Railway (GN). Logging was in winter and railroad earthmoving in summer. In 1882, they were involved in constructing the Winnipeg–Calgary leg of the CP. In 1898, the Mann, Foley & Larson partnership built the Castlegar–Midway leg of the Columbia and Western Railway (C&W) for CP. In 1906, Foley, Locke & Larson undertook reconstruction for CP east of Winnipeg.Шаблон:Sfn That year, Foley, Larson & Co was awarded the Шаблон:Convert Saskatoon–Edmonton leg of the GTP westward extension.Шаблон:Sfn

Not only did the partnership handle construction equipment and supplies, but also groceries.Шаблон:Sfn To this end, the wholesale grocery firm of Foley, Lock & Larson was established in 1903. Usually, the agreements with subcontractors compelled the latter to buy all supplies from the partnership.Шаблон:Sfn

Patrick Welch

In 1888, Welch arrived in Helena, Montana, from New York (state). Establishing his headquarters, he oversaw the construction of the Montana Central Railway. In 1896, he relocated to Spokane, Washington, where he associated with the Foley Bros and Stewart on the GN westward extension.Шаблон:Sfn

In May 1904, the P. Welch & Co and J.W. Stewart & Co partnership was awarded the Grand Forks–Phoenix branch line of the Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway (VV&E), owned by GN.

In July 1905, P. Welch & Co was awarded the Midway–Myncaster extension of the VV&E.

In August 1905, a joint venture between P. Welch & Co and Porter Bros was awarded the Molson–Oroville extension of the VV&E. That month, P. Welch & Co was awarded Шаблон:Convert of rock work on the Alaska Central Railroad.

During 1905–1907, a joint venture between P. Welch & Co and Porter Bros undertook $8 million of work on the GN Portland–Seattle line.

In 1907, P. Welch & Co was awarded the Keremeos–Hedley extension of the VV&E in BC.

Main construction partnership

Early expansion

Whereas Larson had married Margaret Moran, her sisters Susan and Elizabeth had married Welch and Stewart respectively.Шаблон:Sfn In 1907, John and Thomas Foley and Peter Larson died. The new partnership name became Foley Bros, Welch & Stewart or Foley, Welch & Stewart (FW&S),Шаблон:Sfn but it was not uncommon for projects to operate under the names of the individual partners.

In March 1908, Foley Bros was awarded the Superior Junction–Fort William, Ontario leg of the GTP.

Файл:Foley Welch and Stewart Cache 1913.jpg

Northeastward view of rebuilt FW&S camp in Tête Jaune Cache vicinity, 1913 (immediately northwest of present Old Tête Jaune Cache Rd bridge over Tête Creek).

In May 1908, Foley Bros was awarded the rock work on the double-tracking of the Fort William–Winnipeg leg of the CP.

In May 1908, FW&S commenced workШаблон:Sfn on the Шаблон:Convert Edmonton–Prince Rupert leg of the GTPШаблон:Sfn from both ends.Шаблон:Sfn Subcontractors were allocated sections of less than Шаблон:Convert each but some undertook multiple sections.Шаблон:Sfn The project was completed in April 1914.Шаблон:Sfn

In February 1909, after another subcontractor had failed, the GTP subcontracted FW&S to complete Шаблон:Convert eastward from a point Шаблон:Convert west of the Abitibi River crossing (Cochrane, Ontario) for the National Transcontinental Railway.

In 1910, J.W. Stewart & Co was awarded the Princeton–Coalmont and Abbotsford–Hope legs of the VV&E within BC. In May 1913, the eastward advance of the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) rail head reached Hope. When the VV&E track reached Cannor in September 1916, the junction with the CNoR, GN acquired running rights on the Cannor–Hope leg. Consequently, the FW&S contract was substantially reduced.

In the early 1910s, FW&S was the largest railway contracting firm in the west with 50,000 workers and Шаблон:Convert of railway under construction.Шаблон:Sfn

In July 1911, P. Welch & Co was awarded the Шаблон:Convert Port Arthur–Sudbury leg of the CNoR in Ontario. That month, a joint venture between P. Welch & Co and Northern Construction (NorCon) was awarded the Шаблон:Convert Hope–Kamloops leg of the CNoR in BC. Northern Construction was the contracting name of partners Mackenzie and Mann.

PGE ramifications

In February 1912, the province entered an understanding with FW&S to build, own, and operate, a Vancouver–Fort George line.Шаблон:Sfn By this time, Timothy Foley was in his 70s, so the day-to-day management rested with Welch and Stewart, who were in their 50s.Шаблон:Sfn That month, the Conservative administration of Premier Richard McBride introduced legislation for the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) to create a new Шаблон:Convert railway (later corrected to Шаблон:Convert).Шаблон:Sfn

Financially supported but not owned by government, the PGE model defied business logic.Шаблон:Sfn The railway was authorized to issue 4 per cent interest bonds to a total value of $35,000 per mile of the projected mileage, upon which the government guaranteed the principal and interest.Шаблон:Sfn

In September 1912, P. Welch & Co was awarded the construction contract.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Stewart took extended medical leave August 1912–August 1913, an extremely busy period for FW&S, when Welch divided his supervisory time between multiple major projects.Шаблон:Sfn

McBride allowed the PGE and FW&S to be controlled by the same parties, which removed any incentive to build as quickly and economically as possible. The former sacrificed value for money,Шаблон:Sfn while the latter profiteered.Шаблон:Sfn In fact, the PGE was only partially completed before becoming insolvent, while FW&S made a 38 per cent profit on $16,475,630 billed.Шаблон:Sfn The FW&S profits from land sales were handled separately.Шаблон:Sfn

Since both the PGE promoters and government suspected up front that the bond funding would be insufficient for the project, McBride had allegedly promised to provide additional aid to complete the project if this proved the case.Шаблон:Sfn Although construction began in October 1912, the first cost estimate was not prepared until late 1913, which revealed a $10 million projected funding shortfall.Шаблон:Sfn

To attract investors in 1913, the interest rate on new bond issues increased to Шаблон:Frac per cent.Шаблон:Sfn Although legally, the bond money should only have been dispensed in proportion to the work completed, the release of funds was far in excess. In February 1914, the government raised the bond issue limit from $35,000 to $42,000 per mile.Шаблон:Sfn The announcement of an extension into the Peace Country was intended to soften the news of huge cost over-runs to date.Шаблон:Sfn

Welch underwent a major operation and took medical leave November 1913–November 1915, while Stewart shouldered the daily responsibilities.Шаблон:Sfn

Rather than reducing or suspending operations, which could have preserved almost 70 per cent of the bond money, the government continued releasing funds.Шаблон:Sfn When the bond money was exhausted in November 1915, the line was only 35 per cent complete, the PGE was insolvent, and as guarantor of principal and interest on the bonds, the BC Government faced a debt burden.Шаблон:Sfn Squamish and Clinton became the terminals of the Шаблон:Convert line.Шаблон:Sfn

Файл:The Battle of Passchendaele, July-november 1917 Q5707.jpg

Battle of Passchendaele, laying a light railway line near Boesinghe, 1917

Stewart left for overseas service in August 1916.Шаблон:Sfn During World War I, he was promoted to brigadier general in order to direct railway construction in France. His skills in the rapid construction of track elevated him to command all British and Canadian rail units.

Later audits and enquiries revealed that the PGE Act, which usurped the basic checks and balances of the Railway Act, was itself laxly followed by the government,Шаблон:Sfn resulting in an overpayment of more than $5.7 million to FW&S.Шаблон:Sfn

In late 1917, limited grading having ceased, FW&S proposed a government takeover of the PGE. To avoid lengthy and expensive legal proceedings, FW&S agreed in February 1918 to hand over PGE assets and a cash payment of $750,000.Шаблон:Sfn Although released from all obligations and the dropping of government litigation, FW&S was allowed to retain ownership of the PGE Land Development Company. The degree to which financial assets had been transferred to this company since 1912 was never revealed.Шаблон:Sfn Although Welch had promised at the hearings to provide information on land sale profits, he instead relocated to Seattle with the corporate records.Шаблон:Sfn

The PGE insolvency had forced the BC government to assume the ownership and debt of the railway.Шаблон:Sfn As second premier of the following Liberal administration, John Oliver engaged NorCon to extend the line northward to Quesnel. A subsequent royal commission found many similar abuses by Norcon to those of FW&S.Шаблон:Sfn When Norcon took away equipment estimated at up to $1 million, the government stated it belonged to FW&S and not the PGE.Шаблон:Sfn Assumedly, Norcon directly compensated FW&S.

Concurrent projects

In August 1912, P. Welch & Co was awarded the Coalmont–Brookmere extension of the VV&E in BC.

In September 1912, FW&S was awarded the Victoria–Port Alberni leg of the CNoR in BC.

In January 1913, a joint venture between FW&S and Edward Peterson was awarded the Weyburn–Lethbridge branch of the CP in Saskatchewan.

In July 1913, FW&S was awarded the CP Connaught Tunnel construction and connecting trackage by offering the lowest bid and earliest completion projection. The Шаблон:Convert tunnel opened in December 1916.Шаблон:Sfn

In November 1913, FW&S was awarded the new harbour and terminal works at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Carried out as a joint venture with Fauquier, Welch supervised the project. Following the 1917 Halifax Explosion, the project was suspended, and the military expropriated the floating cranes for priority needs.Шаблон:Sfn

After World War I

After 1917, Welch largely retired, but he associated with Stewart in the Calgary office of Stewart & Welch and with Bloedel in BS&W.Шаблон:Sfn

In 1919, Timothy Foley died and Welch was in poor health. During this period, Stewart primarily operated as sole proprietor on a series of smaller railway upgrade projects.Шаблон:Sfn

In 1921, Stewart joined A.R. Mann at NorCon, which became known as Northern Construction Co & J.W. Stewart.Шаблон:Sfn That year, Stewart and MacDonnell Ltd was established in the UK for the $17 million upgrade of harbour and railway infrastructure at Takoradi in the Gold Coast (later renamed Ghana).Шаблон:Sfn Experiencing delays before and after site work commenced in 1923,Шаблон:Sfn the company was replaced in September 1924 by Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, which completed the contract.Шаблон:Sfn

In Canada, the Norcon association was awarded the Ballantyne Pier superstructure in 1921,Шаблон:Sfn the Second Narrows Bridge in 1923, and the Dunsmuir Tunnel and Downtown Vancouver Canadian National Steamship pier in 1931.Шаблон:Sfn

In 1929, Welch died. During his funeral, construction workers on various projects throughout the world paused for an hour. That year, a former worker on the PGE project, who held Stewart at gunpoint demanding an $18,000 payment for an injury claim, was subsequently arrested for attempted robbery and carrying a concealed weapon.

Stewart died in 1938.Шаблон:Sfn His funeral was attended by dignitaries from across Canada and farther afield. His coffin was carried upon a gun carriage through Downtown Vancouver.Шаблон:Sfn

Honours

In 1917, Stewart and Welch opened the Lucky Four Copper Mine. Mine superintendent Arthur Williamson named the nearby peaks as Mount Foley, Mount Welch, and Mount Stewart. Becoming established names in the mountaineering community, Foley Peak, Welch Peak, and Stewart Peak were officially adopted in 1946. In the 1910s, FW&S had undertaken railway construction both to the east and west along the Fraser River. The names of Foley Glacier, Foley Creek, and Foley Lake, derived from the mountain.

References

• Шаблон:Cite thesis
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite thesis