The National Dream: Building the Impossible Railway

Season 1

A dramatized documentary about the political and engineering struggle to build Canada's first trans-continental railway.

Where to Watch Season 1

7 Episodes

The Great Lone Land
E1
The Great Lone LandThe government of Sir John A. Macdonald announces its intentions to build a railway to the Pacific, bring British Columbia into Confederation and preserve Canadian sovereignty from sea to sea.
The Pacific Scandal
E2
The Pacific ScandalCanada reels in the throes of a depression as Prime Minister Mackenzie vainly tries to cope with inherited Pacific Railway frustrations. Mackenzie's health wanes as surveyors squabble, contractors milk the public purse and B.C. clamours for the promised railway. If the railway is to be salvaged, Sir John A. Macdonald must rise from the political ashes.
The Horrid BC Business
E3
The Horrid BC BusinessCanada reels in the throes of a depression as Prime Minister Mackenzie vainly tries to cope with inherited Pacific Railway frustrations. Mackenzie's health wanes as surveyors squabble, contractors milk the public purse and B.C. clamours for the promised railway. If the railway is to be salvaged, Sir John A. Macdonald must rise from the political ashes.
The Railway General
E5
The Railway GeneralIn episode 5 of The National Dream, new cities spring up as the railway snakes across the prairies. William Cornelius Van Horne is appointed CPR general manager, and he profoundly influences the future of Western Canada by his placement of railway stations.
The Sea of Mountains
E6
The Sea of MountainsConstruction in B.C. is painstakingly slower than on the Prairies. Suave contractor Andrew Onderdonk lures thousands of workers from China to help hack and tunnel through the Rockies. As the CPR creeps over the continental spine, trouble looms on the horizon.
The Desperate Days
E7
The Desperate DaysSlow, arduous construction in the mountains and north of Superior sends costs soaring as the CPR faces financial calamity. Sir John A. Macdonald is distracted by mounting troubles in the West as farmers, Indians and Métis cry for redress. In a desperate gamble, Van Horne offers to transport 9,000 troops from the East to quell the rebellion.
The Last Spike
E8
The Last SpikeEastern militiamen begin the cruellest journey in Canadian military history and the national crisis is averted. The CPR faces riots, strikes and bankruptcy before an 11th-hour government loan saves the day. In November 1885, Donald Smith drives the last spike in the CPR to link Canada from sea to sea.