RAILWAY HISTORY TAKES OVER WHERE LAST SPIKE LEFT OFF
Lethbridge Herald, July 1, 2004
Canadian Press

Filmmaker Andrew Gregg proves in a new mini-series airing this week on History Television that the story of Canada's railroad doesn't end with The Last Spike.

The series began Monday and airs nightly through Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on the History channel. It will then be shown again in its entirety on Thursday, Canada Day, starting at 4 p.m. ET.

Gregg is the writer, director and producer of They Built The Railway and takes over where Pierre Burton's books left off. Gregg's series shows the human side of the Canadian Pacific Railway and he expects it to be closely scrutinized by railway buffs.

Part of the series was filmed in and around Lethbridge in southern Alberta where Gregg's father lived in the 1950s.

But the city's famous bridge _ one of the "great wonders of the world,'' according to Gregg _ won't be seen in the series because it was built after the main line was constructed. If the bridge had been used for scenery or dramatic effect, the country's rabid railroad fans would have caught on in seconds, he said.

"I've never seen a group of collectors as knowledgeable and intense as rail fans."

During shooting for one segment, Gregg's crews were actually followed from crossing to crossing by a group of Florida railway buffs.

Canadian history, said Gregg, is often perceived as dull and he wanted to change that.

Gregg has gone to great lengths to tell the stories of people involved in the railway, including Chinese immigrant workers.

"A lot of guys will be watching this like a hawk so we wanted to make it a real populous narrative and make it as fun as possible . . . We look at different ways to tell our history. I think people are going to find this a bit of a hoot."

He also interviews University of Lethbridge historian Ray Huel for one of the episodes.

"He's a terrific historian who has done a lot of of work on French missionaries, including Father Albert Lacombe, who is the primary focus of the second episode," Gregg said.

Two almost-forgotten books were used to glean information for the story. One is Canada's Great Highway: From the First Stake to the Last Spike by surveyor J.H.E. Secretan. The other is The Western Avernus by labourer-turned-writer Morley Roberts.

"We put out feelers to collectors and we discovered we had something very different. We don't get into the parliamentary debates or much of the finances."

"It's mostly the voices of people who worked on the line."

Although the story starts in Nipigon on the north shore of Lake Superior in 1871, the series is very much a western Canadian story, said Gregg, who added the CPR is more a visible symbol to the West than it is for the rest of the country.

It was responsible for the development of many communities across the region including Calgary, Medicine Hat, Alta., Moose Jaw, Sask., and Brandon, Man.

"It was a real education learning just how many towns were laid on the railway line."

Gregg was one of the people behind the CBC's recent production Canada: A People's History and his work can often be seen on the network's Life and Times series.


MAKIN' TRACKS
Winnipeg Sun, July 1, 2004
BY LINDSEY WARD

When History Television vice-president Cindy Witten asked Andrew Gregg to make a documentary about the Canadian Pacific Railway, he said no way.

"She said, 'What do you think about trains?' and I said, 'No,' " says Gregg. "I think if there's anything in Canadian history that's been well done, it's the history of the CPR."

Eventually agreeing to give it a shot, Gregg and his partner, executive producer Gordon Henderson, hired a researcher who came up with several untold stories of the CPR's construction in the 1870s and 1880s. Gregg was amazed at the stories, many of which made it into his doc They Built the Railway.

"I realized that what we were telling was a social history," says the Guelph-native, who also directed the premiere episode of CBC's Canada: A People's History.

The four-part documentary is produced by Toronto-based 90th Parallel Productions and includes first-person accounts from documents of the era and appearances by modern-day Canadians involved in the railway.

Actor Nicolas Campbell narrates and an all-Canadian cast portray historic figures such as Sir William Van Horne and James J. Hill. A long list of Canadian cities and towns are featured in the documentary, including Winnipeg -- a boom town during the CPR's construction.

"Essentially, Winnipeg was the centre of operations going east and west." says Gregg.

Footage at the Winnipeg Railway Museum of America West's first steam engine, the Countess of Dufferin, was an authentic contribution to the series. The rest was shot west of The 'Peg and, according to Gregg, the story picked up steam the farther they went.

"The story we're telling is really a western story. I was really was struck with the importance it (the CPR) still holds in the West," he says.

Gregg feels Canadians are going to tune in to They Built the Railway because it's trendy and has a current feel.

"We tried to make it as entertaining as possible," he says. "We don't want to make it like medicine."