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The Canada Works

The Canada Works were founded in 1853 by Thomas Bassey (1805-1870). He was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials. He was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about one-third of the railways in Britain.  In order to meet the terms of a contract with Canadian Grand Trunk Railways and deliver the railway on time, he founded The Canada Works in 1853 at the town of Birkenhead. Birkenhead is located near the mouth of the Mersey River on the English west coast, close to Liverpool. The fitting shop was designed to manufacture 40 locomotives a year and a total of 300 were produced in the next eight years. The first locomotive was produced in 1854.  One of the largest contracts undertaken in Canada Works was the 540 mile Grand Trunk Railway in Canada which required a 2 mile bridge across the St Lawrence River. Brassey employed over 3.000 men on the contract with the majority being sent out from Birkenhead. The steel tubular bridge, designed by Robert Stephenson, was manufactured like a ‘Meccano’ kit at the Canada Works and shipped to Canada. It was then erected on 25 piers during one of the worst winters the region had experienced.  Following this contract Brassey went on to build one in twenty miles of the entire world’s railways.

November 16th 2024

 

 
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