| HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | The Northern Alberta Railway Company (NAR) was incorporated on June 14, 1929 under Dominion Act 19-20 (Geo V, Cap.48) as an independent company under joint ownership of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company and the Canadian National Railway Company. In 1981, the NAR was sold to the Canadian National Railway Company and ceased to exist as an independent company.
The Northern Alberta Railway Company served the northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia regions from 1929 to 1981. In addition to operating a railway line, the NAR also operated the telegraph lines during the 1950s and inaugurated a trucking service in 1965. The NAR also 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.
The predecessors to the Northern Alberta Railway Company were the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway Company; the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway Company; the Central Canada Railway Company; the Central Canada Express Company, Limited; and the Pembina Valley Railway. The NAR acquired the undertakings of these five railways on July 1, 1929.
The NAR operated under a General Manager, Auditor and Treasurer whose discretion was quite limited except in ordinary matters. The real control under the Board of Directors was in the hands of an Operating Committee comprising the Vice-President of the Canadian National Railway Company, Western Region, and the Vice-President of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, Western Lines; and a Finance and Accounting Committee composed of a Finance Section and an Accounting Section.
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