Silk Trains

SILK TRAINS were special freight trains that carried valuable shipments of raw Asian silk from VANCOUVER, where the silk arrived from the Orient by ship, to the east coast. Because the silk was perishable and insurance was paid by the day, speed was critical and the silk trains had priority over all other traffic on the line. From 1900 the CPR dominated the silk run, using its line of ocean steamers and its transcontinental rail connections to deliver silk to New York 13 days after it left...

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