Foley, Welch and Stewart facts for kids
Foley, Welch and Stewart was a big construction company in the early 1900s. They built many railroads in North America.
Contents
Building Railroads and More
In 1897, several important people and companies joined forces. These included Peter Larson, Patrick Welch, John (Jack) William Stewart, and the Foley Brothers. They worked together to prepare the land for railroad tracks.
Peter Larson's Journey
Peter Larson came to America from Denmark in 1868 with very little money. He started working on railroad construction, preparing the ground. He began with just one scraper and six mules. Over time, his business grew much larger. He made Billings, Montana his main office.
In 1905, a new railway called the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTP) started building west. Peter Larson bought land options in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, which was expected to be the end of the line. Instead of making a quick profit, he sold the land to the GTP at the same price he paid. This helped him build a good relationship with the railway company. Because of this, Foley, Welch and Stewart later got the important job of building the GTP line from Edmonton to Prince Rupert.
J.W. Stewart's Start
J.W. Stewart arrived in Canada from Scotland in 1882. He also started with little money. He worked his way west to Vancouver by 1885. There, he helped clear trees for the new Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) town. During the big Great Vancouver Fire in 1886, he stood in False Creek to stay safe from the flames. After 1887, he moved to Montana Territory and worked for Peter Larson.
Later, in 1911, a company called Bloedel, Stewart and Welch (BS&W) was formed. It focused on cutting lumber on Vancouver Island.
The Foley Brothers' Story
The Foley family settled in Canada in 1830. Timothy Foley and his three younger brothers became loggers. In the early 1870s, they started a logging and sawmill business in Minnesota. They provided wood for the Great Northern Railway as it expanded west. They logged in winter and moved earth for railways in summer.
In 1882, they helped build the CP railway from Winnipeg to Calgary. Later, in 1898, a partnership including the Foley Brothers built part of the Columbia and Western Railway for CP. They also worked on other big projects for CP and the GTP.
The company didn't just handle construction equipment. They also sold groceries! In 1903, they even started a wholesale grocery business. Often, their agreements made smaller companies buy all their supplies from them.
Patrick Welch's Work
Patrick Welch came to Helena, Montana, from New York (state) in 1888. He set up his main office there and oversaw the building of the Montana Central Railway. In 1896, he moved to Spokane, Washington. There, he worked with the Foley Brothers and Stewart on the Great Northern Railway's western expansion.
Patrick Welch's company, P. Welch & Co, took on many railway projects. In 1904, they started building a branch line for the Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway (VV&E). They also worked on extensions for the VV&E in 1905. That same year, P. Welch & Co helped build part of the Alaska Railroad.
From 1905 to 1907, P. Welch & Co worked on a large $8 million project for the Great Northern Railway line between Portland and Seattle. In 1907, they built another extension for the VV&E in British Columbia.
The Main Construction Partnership
Growing the Business
The families of these partners were connected. Peter Larson had married Margaret Moran, and her sisters, Susan and Elizabeth, had married Patrick Welch and J.W. Stewart.
In 1907, John and Thomas Foley and Peter Larson passed away. The company's new name became Foley Bros, Welch & Stewart, or simply Foley, Welch & Stewart (FW&S). However, sometimes projects still used the names of the individual partners.
In March 1908, Foley Bros won a contract to build part of the GTP railway. In May 1908, they also worked on adding a second track to the CP line between Fort William and Winnipeg.
In May 1908, FW&S began a massive project: building the 1,448-kilometer (900-mile) Edmonton–Prince Rupert leg of the GTP. They started building from both ends. Smaller companies were hired to work on sections, usually less than 8 kilometers (5 miles) long. This huge project was finished in April 1914.
FW&S continued to take on more work. In 1909, they completed a 241-kilometer (150-mile) section for the National Transcontinental Railway after another company couldn't finish it.
In 1910, J.W. Stewart & Co built parts of the VV&E railway in British Columbia. By the early 1910s, FW&S was one of the biggest railway construction companies in the west. They had 50,000 workers and were building 3,219 kilometers (2,000 miles) of railway at once!
In July 1911, P. Welch & Co won a contract to build a 887-kilometer (551-mile) section of the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) in Ontario. That same month, P. Welch & Co and Northern Construction (NorCon) teamed up to build a 262-kilometer (163-mile) section of the CNoR in British Columbia.
The Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) Project
In February 1912, the government of British Columbia made an agreement with FW&S. The company would build, own, and run a railway line from Vancouver to Fort George. At this time, Timothy Foley was in his 70s, so Patrick Welch and J.W. Stewart, both in their 50s, managed the daily work.
The government supported the PGE railway financially, but they didn't own it directly. The railway was allowed to sell bonds to raise money. The government promised to pay back the money and interest if the railway couldn't.
Patrick Welch's company won the construction contract in September 1912. J.W. Stewart took time off for health reasons from August 1912 to August 1913. This was a very busy time for FW&S, and Welch had to manage many big projects.
The way the PGE project was set up caused problems. The same people controlled both the PGE and FW&S. This meant there wasn't much reason to build the railway as fast or as cheaply as possible. The PGE didn't get good value for its money, and FW&S made a lot of money. The PGE railway was only partly finished before it ran out of money. FW&S made a 38 percent profit on the money they were paid.
Construction started in October 1912. However, the first cost estimate wasn't ready until late 1913. It showed that the project would be $10 million short of money. To get more investors in 1913, the interest rate on new bonds was increased. Even though money was supposed to be given out only as work was completed, funds were released much faster than they should have been. In February 1914, the government even raised the amount of money the railway could borrow per mile.
Patrick Welch had a major operation and took medical leave from November 1913 to November 1915. During this time, J.W. Stewart handled the daily responsibilities.
Instead of stopping or slowing down work, which could have saved a lot of money, the government kept releasing funds. By November 1915, all the bond money was gone, but only 35 percent of the railway line was finished. The PGE went bankrupt, and the BC Government was left with a huge debt because they had guaranteed the bonds. The line ended up being 264 kilometers (164 miles) long, connecting Squamish and Clinton.
J.W. Stewart went overseas in August 1916. During World War I, he became a brigadier general. He was in charge of building railways in France. His skill at quickly building tracks led him to command all British and Canadian railway units.
Later investigations showed that the rules for the PGE project were not followed correctly by the government. This resulted in FW&S being overpaid by more than $5.7 million.
In late 1917, FW&S suggested that the government take over the PGE. To avoid long and expensive legal battles, FW&S agreed in February 1918 to hand over PGE assets and pay $750,000. FW&S was released from all its obligations and the government dropped its lawsuits. However, FW&S was allowed to keep ownership of the PGE Land Development Company. It was never fully revealed how much money had been moved to this company since 1912. Patrick Welch had promised to share information about land sale profits, but he moved to Seattle with the company records instead.
Because the PGE went bankrupt, the BC government had to take over the railway and its debt. A new government later hired Northern Construction (NorCon) to extend the line. Another investigation found similar problems with NorCon as had been found with FW&S.
Other Projects at the Same Time
In August 1912, P. Welch & Co won a contract for an extension of the VV&E in British Columbia.
In September 1912, FW&S was awarded the Victoria–Port Alberni section of the CNoR in British Columbia.
In January 1913, FW&S and Edward Peterson worked together on a branch of the CP railway in Saskatchewan.
In July 1913, FW&S won the contract to build the CP Connaught Tunnel and its connecting tracks. They offered the lowest bid and promised to finish earliest. This 8-kilometer (5-mile) tunnel opened in December 1916.
In November 1913, FW&S was awarded the job of building new harbor and terminal works at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Patrick Welch supervised this project. After the 1917 Halifax Explosion, the project was stopped.
After World War I
After 1917, Patrick Welch mostly retired. However, he still worked with Stewart in a Calgary office and with Bloedel in BS&W.
In 1919, Timothy Foley died, and Welch was not in good health. During this time, Stewart mainly worked on his own, doing smaller railway upgrade projects.
In 1921, Stewart joined A.R. Mann at NorCon, and the company became Northern Construction Co & J.W. Stewart. That year, Stewart and MacDonnell Ltd was started in the UK. They were hired to upgrade the harbor and railway in Takoradi in the Gold Coast (now Ghana). This project faced delays, and another company took over in 1924.
In Canada, the NorCon company built the Ballantyne Pier in 1921, the Second Narrows Bridge in 1923, and the Dunsmuir Tunnel and a Canadian National Steamship pier in Downtown Vancouver in 1931.
Patrick Welch died in 1929. During his funeral, construction workers around the world paused their work for an hour to honor him. That same year, a former worker from the PGE project tried to rob Stewart at gunpoint.
J.W. Stewart died in 1938. Important people from across Canada and other places attended his funeral. His coffin was carried through Downtown Vancouver on a special carriage.
Honors and Legacy
In 1917, Stewart and Welch opened the Lucky Four Copper Mine. The mine superintendent, Arthur Williamson, named nearby mountains after them: Mount Foley, Mount Welch, and Mount Stewart. These names became well-known among mountain climbers. In 1946, they were officially adopted as Foley Peak, Welch Peak, and Stewart Peak. In the 1910s, FW&S had built railways along the Fraser River. Other places like Foley Glacier, Foley Creek, and Foley Lake were named after the mountain.
