Charles Melville Hays
Encyclopedia
Charles Melville Hays was an American railway
executive of the Grand Trunk Railway
. He died at sea on the RMS Titanic.
, Hays began working for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad
in St. Louis
, Missouri
, at the age of 17 in 1873. In 1878 Hays became secretary to the general manager of the Missouri Pacific Railroad
and took a similar position in 1884 with the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway.
Charles Melville Hays was a native of Rock Island, Illinois but lived in Canada for many years. He became general manager of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1896 and convinced the Canadian Prime Minister of the need for a second transcontinental railroad. Obtaining the financing for the project proved difficult, however, and by 1911 the company was facing bankruptcy. Obtaining the financing for the projects that could solve their financial woes. He intended to spend the Easter holidays with his daughter and son-in-law in Paris, and his wife joined him for the trip. News that one of his daughters in Canada was having a difficult pregnancy was among the reasons prompting the Hays to return home on Titanic's maiden voyage. He died at age 55, boarded at Southampton, England and the destination was Montreal,Quebec, Canada
in 1889.
In an 1895 reorganization of the Grand Trunk, Hays was appointed general manager effective January 1, 1896. Except for an interruption in 1901, Hays was general manager of the Grand Trunk from 1899 to 1910. In 1904 Hays was also appointed president of Grand Trunk subsidiary Grand Trunk Pacific
, then under construction from Winnipeg, Manitoba
, to Prince Rupert
, British Columbia
. Hays became president of the entire Grand Trunk system in 1909, a position he held until his death.
Arriving in Canada during a time of economic recession, Hays sought to restructure the management and operations of the Grand Trunk system and implemented a more aggressive, American railroading approach which is credited in part for a period of unprecedented growth during the first decade of the 20th century.
Hays sought to have the Grand Trunk compete with the Canadian Pacific
(CPR) on the prairies where an immigration boom was recording record traffic. In 1899, William Mackenzie
and Donald Mann
had amalgamated a number of systems into the Canadian Northern Railway
(CNoR) and spurned federal government offers of assistance in coordinating the construction of a second transcontinental railway, preferring instead to go it alone.
Hays forced the Grand Trunk to reconsider federal offers to assist in building a transcontinental system, something that the company had rejected in the 1870s, which had forced the federal government to go with the CPR. Having realized the error in not expanding west, Hays accepted the offer of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's government to build a system from Prince Rupert to Moncton, New Brunswick
, to be called the Grand Trunk Pacific.
In October 1903 the National Transcontinental Railway Act was passed by Parliament and Hays became heavily involved in supervising construction of the line west of Winnipeg (the Grand Trunk Pacific). While the Grand Trunk agreed to build the line west of Winnipeg, the federal government assumed responsibility for constructing the line from Winnipeg to Moncton, including the infamous and costly Quebec Bridge
crossing of the St. Lawrence River, with the Grand Trunk initially agreeing to operate the entire line as a single system.
Turning of the first sod for the construction of the GTP took place at an official ceremony, September 11, 1905, at Fort William
, Ontario
, by the prime minister, Wilfrid Laurier
. From there a 190-mile section of track was built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Construction Company, connecting with the NTR, near Sioux Lookout
.
The GTP proved to be controversial for Hays as he was criticized for various decisions, such as choosing Prince Rupert as the Pacific terminus, underestimating Mackenzie and Mann's competing CNoR system, and committing the entire Grand Trunk company to the GTP project. Hays's zeal to pursue construction of a well-engineered mainline in lieu of developing a network of branchlines for feeding local traffic proved to be a considerable hurdle as well.
As president of the Grand Trunk, Hays committed to competing with the CPR in a number of other areas, namely shipping and hotels. In fact Hays died while returning from a visit to England
to Canada where he was scheduled to attend the April 26, 1912, grand opening of the Château Laurier
hotel in Ottawa, Ontario
. Hays had chosen to return from England on the maiden voyage of the ocean liner RMS Titanic, which struck an iceberg
south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland the night of April 14 and sank.
Not long after Hays' death, the Grand Trunk reneged on its agreement to operate the federally owned National Transcontinental
system east of Winnipeg, and the Grand Trunk soon faced financial ruin over its decision to build and operate the GTP west of Winnipeg, particularly after the First World War caused traffic on the prairies to decline precipitously.
. They would have four daughters: Orian (Mrs. Thornton Davidson), Clara (Mrs. Hope Scott), Marjorie (Mrs. George Hall), and Louise (Mrs. Grier).
Hays was one of the 1,517 victims of the Titanic disaster; his body was subsequently recovered from the waters of the North Atlantic for burial in Mount Royal Cemetery
in Montreal. On April 25, 1912, the entire Grand Trunk system came to a halt for a five minute tribute to the company's past president. Hays never lived to see the completion of the GTP project on April 7, 1914, or the opening of the Château Laurier on June 12, 1912. His widow never remarried and died in 1955.
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
executive of the Grand Trunk Railway
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
. He died at sea on the RMS Titanic.
Early years
Born at Rock Island, IllinoisRock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
, Hays began working for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad
The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjoint segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Southern California. It was incorporated by the U.S. Congress in 1866 as a...
in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, at the age of 17 in 1873. In 1878 Hays became secretary to the general manager of the Missouri Pacific Railroad
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
and took a similar position in 1884 with the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway.
Charles Melville Hays was a native of Rock Island, Illinois but lived in Canada for many years. He became general manager of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1896 and convinced the Canadian Prime Minister of the need for a second transcontinental railroad. Obtaining the financing for the project proved difficult, however, and by 1911 the company was facing bankruptcy. Obtaining the financing for the projects that could solve their financial woes. He intended to spend the Easter holidays with his daughter and son-in-law in Paris, and his wife joined him for the trip. News that one of his daughters in Canada was having a difficult pregnancy was among the reasons prompting the Hays to return home on Titanic's maiden voyage. He died at age 55, boarded at Southampton, England and the destination was Montreal,Quebec, Canada
Career
In 1887 Hays became general manager of the Wabash Western Railroad and of the entire Wabash RailroadWabash Railroad
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including trackage in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri, Detroit,...
in 1889.
In an 1895 reorganization of the Grand Trunk, Hays was appointed general manager effective January 1, 1896. Except for an interruption in 1901, Hays was general manager of the Grand Trunk from 1899 to 1910. In 1904 Hays was also appointed president of Grand Trunk subsidiary Grand Trunk Pacific
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historical Canadian railway.A wholly owned subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway , the GTPR was constructed by GTR using loans provided by the Government of Canada. The company was formed in 1903 with a mandate to build west from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the...
, then under construction from Winnipeg, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, to Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Hays became president of the entire Grand Trunk system in 1909, a position he held until his death.
Arriving in Canada during a time of economic recession, Hays sought to restructure the management and operations of the Grand Trunk system and implemented a more aggressive, American railroading approach which is credited in part for a period of unprecedented growth during the first decade of the 20th century.
Hays sought to have the Grand Trunk compete with the Canadian Pacific
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(CPR) on the prairies where an immigration boom was recording record traffic. In 1899, William Mackenzie
William Mackenzie (railway entrepreneur)
Sir William Mackenzie was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur.Born near Peterborough, Ontario, Mackenzie became a teacher and politician before entering business as the owner of a sawmill and gristmill in Kirkfield, Ontario...
and Donald Mann
Donald Mann
Sir Donald Mann was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur.Born at Acton, Ontario, Mann studied as a Methodist minister but worked in lumber camps in Ontario and Michigan before moving to Winnipeg, Manitoba...
had amalgamated a number of systems into the Canadian Northern Railway
Canadian Northern Railway
The Canadian Northern Railway is a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its demise in 1923, when it was merged into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.-Manitoba beginnings:CNoR had its start in...
(CNoR) and spurned federal government offers of assistance in coordinating the construction of a second transcontinental railway, preferring instead to go it alone.
Hays forced the Grand Trunk to reconsider federal offers to assist in building a transcontinental system, something that the company had rejected in the 1870s, which had forced the federal government to go with the CPR. Having realized the error in not expanding west, Hays accepted the offer of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's government to build a system from Prince Rupert to Moncton, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, to be called the Grand Trunk Pacific.
In October 1903 the National Transcontinental Railway Act was passed by Parliament and Hays became heavily involved in supervising construction of the line west of Winnipeg (the Grand Trunk Pacific). While the Grand Trunk agreed to build the line west of Winnipeg, the federal government assumed responsibility for constructing the line from Winnipeg to Moncton, including the infamous and costly Quebec Bridge
Quebec Bridge
right|thumb|Lifting the centre span in place was considered to be a major engineering achievement. Photo caption from [[Popular Mechanics]] Magazine, December 1917...
crossing of the St. Lawrence River, with the Grand Trunk initially agreeing to operate the entire line as a single system.
Turning of the first sod for the construction of the GTP took place at an official ceremony, September 11, 1905, at Fort William
Fort William, Ontario
Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, by the prime minister, Wilfrid Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
. From there a 190-mile section of track was built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Construction Company, connecting with the NTR, near Sioux Lookout
Sioux Lookout, Ontario
Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It has a population of 5,336 and an elevation of 1280 ft / 390 m. Known locally as the "Hub of the North", it is serviced by the Sioux Lookout Airport, Highway 72, and the Sioux Lookout railway station...
.
The GTP proved to be controversial for Hays as he was criticized for various decisions, such as choosing Prince Rupert as the Pacific terminus, underestimating Mackenzie and Mann's competing CNoR system, and committing the entire Grand Trunk company to the GTP project. Hays's zeal to pursue construction of a well-engineered mainline in lieu of developing a network of branchlines for feeding local traffic proved to be a considerable hurdle as well.
As president of the Grand Trunk, Hays committed to competing with the CPR in a number of other areas, namely shipping and hotels. In fact Hays died while returning from a visit to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to Canada where he was scheduled to attend the April 26, 1912, grand opening of the Château Laurier
Château Laurier
The Fairmont Château Laurier is a landmark hotel in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive designed in the Châteauesque style.-History:...
hotel in Ottawa, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Hays had chosen to return from England on the maiden voyage of the ocean liner RMS Titanic, which struck an iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland the night of April 14 and sank.
Not long after Hays' death, the Grand Trunk reneged on its agreement to operate the federally owned National Transcontinental
National Transcontinental Railway
The National Transcontinental Railway was a historic Canadian railway between Winnipeg and Moncton. Much of the line is now operated by the Canadian National Railway.-The Grand Trunk partnership:...
system east of Winnipeg, and the Grand Trunk soon faced financial ruin over its decision to build and operate the GTP west of Winnipeg, particularly after the First World War caused traffic on the prairies to decline precipitously.
Personal life
On October 13, 1881 Hays married 22-year-old Clara Jennings Gregg in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. They would have four daughters: Orian (Mrs. Thornton Davidson), Clara (Mrs. Hope Scott), Marjorie (Mrs. George Hall), and Louise (Mrs. Grier).
Hays was one of the 1,517 victims of the Titanic disaster; his body was subsequently recovered from the waters of the North Atlantic for burial in Mount Royal Cemetery
Mount Royal Cemetery
Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a 165-acre terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The burial ground shares the mountain with the much larger adjacent Roman Catholic cemetery -- Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges...
in Montreal. On April 25, 1912, the entire Grand Trunk system came to a halt for a five minute tribute to the company's past president. Hays never lived to see the completion of the GTP project on April 7, 1914, or the opening of the Château Laurier on June 12, 1912. His widow never remarried and died in 1955.
Legacy
- Local Ottawa folklore suggests that Hays's ghostGhostIn traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
is rumoured to haunt the hotel that he was scheduled to open. - Charles Hays Secondary SchoolCharles Hays Secondary SchoolCharles Hays Secondary School is a public secondary school located in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada. The school serves a student population of approximately 700 students in grades 9 to 12...
, located in Prince RupertPrince Rupert, British ColumbiaPrince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, was named after Hays. - MelvilleMelville, SaskatchewanMelville is a small Canadian city located in the east-central portion of Saskatchewan. It was declared a city by the province in 1960. The city is north east of the provincial capital of Regina and south west of Yorkton. According to The World Gazetteer, it has a 2004 population of approximately...
, SaskatchewanSaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, a divisional pointDivisional pointIn Canada, a divisional point is a railway depot that includes more than just a basic siding or station.- Overview :In the coal and steam era, a divisional point would include such amenities as a substantial passenger station, freight and baggage sheds, a roundhouse, water tank, coaling and sanding...
on the Grand Trunk Pacific route, was named after Hays.