Fonds paa-3483 - Harold A. Stepney fonds

Harold Stepney was born in Edmonton in 1917. He began working for the Northern Alberta Railway in 1942 after receiving a medical discharge from the Canadian army. Starting as a worker in the dining car, he later was promoted to front-end brakeman, fireman, and then finally to locomotive engineer. He mostly worked out of Dunvegan yards, although he also worked at Dawson Creek, Waterways, Peace River and McLennan yards. He was an active member of the local Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, but was never a union representative. In the early 1960's, he became a Rules and Safety Instructor for the Northern Alberta Railways Company, whose duties included Rule exams, auditory tests and accident investigations. He retired in 1982. Harold Stepney passed away in 1999, and is survived by his wife, Eleanor, and their son, Phil.

The Northern Alberta Railway served northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia from 1929 to 1981. Incorporated on 14 June, 1929 as an independent company under joint ownership of the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian National Railways, the N. A. R. was created from a number of privately owned railways built after 1911. The Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway, the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway and the Central Canada Railway were originally built and operated by the J.D. McArthur company of Winnipeg and remained in private control until 1920, when J.D. McArthur experienced postwar financial difficulties. In an operation agreement to last five years, the Provincial Government assumed control of the Alberta and Great Waterways Railways while the C.P.R. operated both the Edmonton, Dunvegan, and British Columbia Railway and Central Canada Railway. The Provincial Government took over the operation on 11 November, 1926. In 1928 the C.P.R. and the C.N.R. bid to jointly purchase the railway. The proposal was accepted by the Government and resulted in the creation of the Northern Alberta Railways (N.A.R.) in 1929. In its half century of service, the N.A.R. played a significant role in oil and tar sands development, in the Alaska Highway and Canol projects, and in the overall development of Northern Alberta. In 1981, the Northern Alberta Railways was sold to Canadian National Railways and ceased to exist as an independent company. (From Northern Alberta Railway fonds at Provincial Archives of Alberta)

In May 1969, the second Northwest Resources Conference was held in Grande Prairie, sponsored by the Grande Prairie Chamber of Commerce in co-operation with the Government of Alberta and Canadian National Railways. This conference marked the completion of North America's newest railway, the Alberta Resources Railway (ARR), a 234 mile line between Hinton and Grande Prairie. G. Roger Graham, former vice president of Canadian National Railways, was in attendance at the conference. The three-day event began with the official opening of the ARR by premier Harry Strom on Wednesday, May 28. For the opening ceremonies, Mr. Graham and former premier, the Right Honorable Ernest C. Manning, were presented with hard hats and gloves. They performed the final, symbolical act of clearing away the last obstacle in the path of the construction of the ARR by sawing through a tree trunk spanning the new track in front of the engine. Thursday's program featured speakers from across Canada who addressed conference delegates at the St. Joseph's High School in Grande Prairie. The highlight of the conference was a three-hour ride on the new railway the last day of the conference, with four passenger cars pulled behind the engine. Photographs of this event were taken by an unidentified photographer, reproduced for the participants, and later given to them in albums embossed with their names.