Time and Sandford Fleming - RBC

Time and Sandford Fleming

He was one of the mostremarkablefiguresin
the historyof a remarkablenation.Yet we
tendto forgetall he did,perhapsbecause
the benefitsof his workare so commonplace
today.Here,an appreciatioonf the legacyof
Sir Sandford Fleming, Renaissance Man and
Canadian.The firstin an occasionalseries
on greatpeoplein Canada’spast...

[]SirSandforFdleminigsnottotalluynsungb,ut bordersof one countryc,onfusiorneigned.At

considerinwghatCanadiansowe him 63 years nooninTorontion1880,itwas11.58inHamilton,

aftehrisdeathi,tisoddthatwesorarelcyelebrate12.08in Bellevill1e2,.25inMontrealR.ailroads

hisfantastiachievemenItnsh.isownway,hedid in theUnitedStatesusedonehundredifferent

as muchas SirJohnA.Macdonalodr SirWilfrid timestandardSst.ationdsisplayerdowsofclocks

LaurietrostrapthecountrtyogetherY.etifyou tellintghetimeatdifferepnotintaslongtherail-
wereto ask a hundredassortedCanadiansto way.Veterantravellercsarriedwatcheswith

identifSyandfordFlemingm,ostof themwould asmanyassixdials.

probablysay thathe was a senatorfromNew Itwastobringsweetreasotnothistime-keeping

Brunswickor a one-timedefencemanfor the madnessthatFleminginventetdhe systemof 24

BostoBnruins. timezonesbasedona primemeridiaonflongitude

Words memorializestatesmen--wordsin atGreenwicEhn,glandS.cientifsioccietiiensitial-

speechesw,ordsin print.But Flemingwas an lytreatetdheschemeas a crackpot’dsream,but

engineera,ndashesaidhimself",engineemrusst he doggedlfyloggeidt for20 years.EarlGrey,

plodonina distincstpheroeftheirown,dealing the GovernorGeneralwho gavetheGreyCup to

lesswithwordsthanwithdeeds,lesswithmen Canadiafnootballo,ncesaidFleminghad~’the
thanwithmatter"T.houghFlemingwasin fact missionarfyervouorf St.Paul"I.n thematteorf

oneofthemoreverboseengineeorfsa verbosaege, standardtime,the big, bearded,Canadian

thetruthremaintshathislegacyliesinwhathe engineesrlowlymadetheworldgivein.By1890,

didandnotwhathesaidandothersaidabouthim. NorthAmerica,GreatBritain,Sweden,mostof

Thebenefitosfhisactsaresofamiliatrodaythat Europeand Japanhad all adoptedthe system.

wescarcelsyparethema thought. SandforFdlemingis thereasonwhyanyonetoday

Thanksto Flemingt,heworldrunson standard canopenanatlasl,ookata clocka,ndcalculatthee

time.He wasbotha professionraalilwaymaannd timeonthefarsideoftheearth.
an amateursteamshipauthority.As such he His influencoen whereCanadiangso in their

sawthat,althougthrainsandshipsgotfasterand owncountrwyillsurvivaeslongasrailwatyrains

fastert,hechaosin time-keepitnhgreatenetdo clattefrromcoastto coast.WhydoesTheOcean

canceleverygainthey made.International LimitedM,ontreal-boufnrdomHalifaxp,enetrate

schedulewserea railwayclerk’snightmarea, thisparticulfaorrestr,attlweestwarbdesidtehat

traveller’psaralletlo Babel.Evenwithinthe particulrairverW?howasitthat,in1862,gavethe

Canadiangovernmentthe firstpracticalplan, Sir Andrew MacPhail,professorof medical

workedoutto thelastcross-tiaenddollar,fora historyat McGillUniversitayndsometimaeuthor,
railwaytothePacificW?hosaid,~ThePacificRail- saidit wasjustpossiblFelemingwasnotthegrea-

way wouldsurpassin everyelementof magnitude testengineerwho everlived;he wasmerely"the

and cost any work ever undertaken by man" greatestman who ever concernedhimselfwith

--and who, a dozen years later,becamechief engineering".Flemingconcernedhimselfwith

engineerof thissame,stupendousconstruction much more.He designedCanada’sfirstpostage
job?Wholedhistoricanddeath-defyifnograysinto stampin 1851.He foundeda societyof professional

theRockyMountainsto surveynot onlytheCPR’s men,calledit TheCanadiaInnstitutea,ndlivedto

routethroughKickingHorsePassbut alsowhat celebrateits 50thanniversaryO.n September5,

wouldoneday be CNR’sroutethroughYellowhead 1883,at 4,600feetabovesealevelin theSelkirk

Pass? The answer,in every case,is Sandford Mountains,he also helpedfound the Canadian

Fleming. AlpineClubandbecameitsfirstpresident(.That

Fleminwgaswelloversixfeettall.Hisbeardhad was the day he and his partynamedRogersPass

turnedwhiteby Novemberof 1885when,at Crai- and,beforeplungingforwardon an expeditiotnhat

gellachie,B.C., a hunchbackedWinnipegger almostcostthemtheirlives,hada wild,mountain-

namedRoss took the most famousphotographin topgameof leap-frogF.lemingwas56.)

CanadianhistoryI.t showsa bunchof navviesand

dignitariesin the mountain mist. They are Makingway for nationhood

wearingdark,rumpledclothes,bowlersandcaps, withoystersand champagne

and they surroundCPR directorDonaldSmithas

he drivesthelastspikefor therailwayFleming He was the firstlithographeirn Canada,and

hadfirstplanned23 yearsbefore.BehindSmith, printedthecountry’fsirstrealtownmaps.He drew

wearinga stove-pipehat and almostdominating up an elaborateplanfor TorontoHarbour,where

the photograph,looms Fleming himself. The he tookouta row-boatanddid allthesoundings

bottomofhisbeardlooksliketheedgeofa shovel. himself.He wrotearticleson oceannavigation,

He appearsas solidandimpassivaes a totem-pole, steamboatsh,istoricalpictures,postagestamps

butthe momentmoveshimdeeply.Later,he would andcolour-blindne(sHse.wascolour-blinodn;cehe

write: unintentionalallyarmedhisfuturewifeby court-

Mostof theengineersw,ithhundredosf work- ing herin a pinksuitthatclashedwithhis red

menof all nationalitiews,hohadbeenengaged beard.)

in the mountainsw,erepresent..T.heblowson He wrotea bookof ShortDailyPrayersforBusy

the spikewere repeateduntilit was driven Households,investedso shrewdlythat he was

home. The silence,however,continuedun- wealthbyyhismid-thirtieasn,d,at thetimeof the

broken..I.t seemedas if theactnowperformed historic Charlottetownconferenceof 1864,

had workeda spellon all present.Eachone dreamed up and successfullypromoted post-

appearedabsorbedin hisownreflection.s. . conferencetripsby the Canadiandelegatesto

Suddenlya cheerspontaneouslbyurstforth,and HalifaaxndSaintJohn.He believetdhat’~thereis

it was no ordinarycheer.The subduedenthu- nothinglikethebrotherhooodf knifeand fork";

siasm,thepent-upfeelingosf menfamiliawrith andas hisownlustypartiesin OttawaandHalifax

hard work,now foundvent.Cheeruponcheer hadalreadyproved,hiswasalsoa brotherhooodf

followed..S.ucha sceneis conceivabloen the oystersandchampagneA.ftertheMaritimeparties

fieldof hard-foughbtattleat themomentwhen in 1864,theSaintJohnMorningTelegraphpatted

victoryis assured..A.s theshoutssubsideda, its editorialtummyand allowed:~TheCanadians

voicewasheardin themostprosaictones,as of aregoodfellowsanda jollyset,andwe aresorry

constantdailyoccurrence:’~Allaboardfor to partwiththem."Fleminghad madethe ground

thePacific.T"henoticewasquicklyactedupon, for the plantingof Confederationsofterthan

and in a few minutesthetrainwasin motion. before.

It passedoverthe newly-laidrailand,amid

renewedcheers,spedon itsway westward.

Fleminghad a knackof showingup at places It wasa tributenotonlyto hisreputatioans an

whereCanadianhistorycouldbreatheon him.In engineerbutalsoto hislustforwork,and more

1849,he travellefdromTorontoto Montreatlo get work, that at one time he held down no fewer

a surveyor’lsicensea,ndwalkedrightintoa riot. than threeof the biggestrailwayjobs in the

A streetmob had peltedthe Governor’scarriage country.He was chiefengineerfor the Inter-

withrotteneggsandstonesand thethrongswept colonialRailway,underconstructionbetween

Flemingto the doorsof the burningParliament Halifaxand Quebec;chiefengineerfor the CPR,

BuildingsH.e wasthen22,andonlyfouryearsout forwhichhe wastosurveytheroutetothePacific;

of his homein Kirkcaldy,Scotland.He promptly andchiefengineerof the surveyfor whatwould

organizeda small party to rescue a massive one day be the NewfoundlandRailway."No man

paintinogf QueenVictoriaA.lifelonlgoverof the withouthis extraordinarymentaland physical

BritishEmpire,Flemingwouldlatercelebrate vigourcouldhavebornethe tremendoustrain,"

suprememoments,such as crossingthe Great hisfriendandbiographeLr.,J.Burpeew,rote.~’The

Dividein theRockiesb,y drinkinag toastto Queen task was Herculean."Flemingwas the quint-

Victoriianthesparklinwgaterof analpinebrook. essentiahlard-workinSgcotin theNewWorld.

Butif Flemingwasa Scothe was alsoa super-

Aroundthe worldand back CanadianI.tisa clich~ofourhistortyhatthechal-

againviaFleming’csable lengeof conquerindgistanceto achieveunityhas
forcedCanadiansto mastersolutionsto problems

HavingweldedCanadatogetherby rail,Fleming of communicatioannd transportationF.leming’s
decidedto weldthe Empiretogetherwithcables. passionsincludedrailways,telegraphsystems,

The massivemissinglink in the imperialcom- steamshipso,ceannavigationp,ostalcommunica-
munications system lay between Canada and tionandcablestogirdletheglobe.

Australia.In 1879he wrotehisfirstletterto

proposea Pacificcable.Aftera campaignwhich, A linkbetweenthe boardrooms

fortenacitaynddippingintohisownamplepocket, andthewildernesasllabout

putevenhispromotioonf standardtimeto shame,

he atlastsawthecablego intoserviceon October He was alsothatpeculiarlyCanadiantype,a

31,1902.The PrimeMinisterof New Zealandsent gentlemaonf thewildernessH.e wasa scholar,a

a wireto congratulatheim.To marktheoccasion scientist,an unswervingchurchman,a man of

Flemingsent westboundand eastboundmessages publicaffairsY.ethe wasashardas an axe-blade,

aroundthe worldand backagain. secondonlyto theIndianat scratchinaglivingout

Even in an age that regardedwork as holy, of the wilds.He hob-nobbedwith princesand

Fleming’swork-addictiownas spectacularA.s a trappersg,overnorasndM~tis,primeministerasnd

boyin Scotland,he hadcopiedthefollowingfrom Indians,lordsand frontierhorsetraders.The

BenjaminFranklin’sPoor Richard’sAlmanack: RenaissanceMan of the Wildernesswas the link

~’Butdostthoulovelife?Thendo not squander betweenhinterlandand the boardrooms,bureau-

time,forthatisthestufflifeismadeof.Howmuch cracieasnduniversitieFsl.eminfglourisheidn both

more than is necessarydo we spend in sleep, worlds.

forgettintghatthesleepinfgoxcatchenso poultry, He crossedCanadaby foot,snow-shoed,ogteam,

and that therewill be sleepingenoughin the canoe,wagon,raftand dug-out.But he cruised

grave.Slothmakethall thingsdifficult,but Venicein a gondolaand wentup in a balloonin

industryalleasy."Flemingspenthiswholelife, Parisas well.He oncedrovea sleighfromShediac,

all88yearsofit,refusintgo squandetrime. N.B.,to RimouskiQ,ue.,a journeyofmorethan300

milesin fivedaysof ferociouwsinterweatherH.e

also visitedfive continentsby steamshipand

revelleidn thatsupremeluxury,a privaterailway

car.

Outon theprairie,he meta Siouxchiefwitha salmon-fishinogn the MatapediaRiverin Quebec.

bear-clanwecklace,skunk’sfurat hisanklesand In onlyfivedaysthere,he dinedseparatelwyith

hawk’sfeathersin hishair;in Paris,he metthe GeorgeStephen(thefutureLordMountStephen),

Princeof Walesandjoinedhim in the royalbox DonaldA. SmithClast-spikSe"mith,thefutureLord

at anopera.On thetrailofa futurerailroadh,e Strathcona)L,ord Elphinstonea,nd the Duke of

pulleda wolfskinoverhisheadandjoineda gang Beaufort.He alsofoundtimeto share"a splendid

of dancingIndiansI.n Londonhe ranintoSirJohn bonfire"withhisold friendGeorgeM. Grant,the

A. Macdonald.The two and theirwivesspenta principalof Queen’sUniversity,and Princess

coupleof daystogethers,hoppingandsightseeing Louise and Prince Leopold. They were both

in highstylealongthebanksof theThames. childreonf QueenVictoriaa,ndLouisewasthewife

of LordLorne,GovernorGeneralof Canada.At the

"Whatmadethemelecta man endof thisgruellingbackwoodsocialschedule,
whohasneverbeento college?" Fleming reported that his son had caught a
25-pounsdalmon,andthat"I lostonein gaffing--

He spentthenightof his24thbirthdasyleeping almost hooked another--finallylanded two-

on the banksof LakeHuronin threefeetof snow verytired."He wasonly53.He couldnotslowdown
and a wind thatpushedthe temperaturedown to yet.Therewouldbe sleepinegnoughin thegrave.

-14F.He spentotherbirthdaynightson feather That was the year he became chancellorof

mattresseisn thefour-posteorsf themostsumptu- Queen’sUniversityand happilyconfidedto his

oushotelsin Europe.Once,withan umbrella,he diary,"Thisis thestrangestthingof mylife.What

routeda largebearthat blockedhis path in a madethemelecta manto thehighestpositionw,ho

desolatpeartof OntarioT.hereweretimeswhenhe hasneverbeeninhislifeatcollege?H"e hadfirst

atebear,mooselips,snipe,loon,yellowlegasnd,of seenQueen’sonlya fewdaysafterhisarrivalin

course,roastbuffalo.He couldhappilyeatlunch Canadain 1845.The35 yearssincethenhadgiven

underan upturnedcanoeduringa rainstormo,r at hima lotto be thankfuflor.Hehada lovingwife,

thebestParisianrestaurants. a placecalled~’TheLodge"on the NorthwesAtrm

Sometimeshiswildernessworldandhissociety in Halifax,a familymansioncalled"Winterholme"

world converged.In 1864, for instance,the in Ottawa,a tractof salmon-fishitnegrritoriyn
Governorof New Brunswickinsistedhe come to northernNew Brunswickt,he rightto travelfree
dinner.Fleminghadno choicebutto arrivein the on someof the world’sbesttrains,independent

clotheshe had beenwearingfor weekson end in wealth,generalrespectand, in the university

the deepforest:a red flannelshirt,homespun appointmentp,restige.

trousers,rough boots. "You can imagine the Notlongbeforehe diedonJuly22,1915,Fleming

sensationI madewhenI enteredthe drawingroom reflectedon ~my greatgood fortuneto havemy

at GovernmentHouse, filled with ladies in lotcastinthisgoodlyland".Headded",Ihaveoften
wonderfutloiletsandofficersin fulldressuni- thoughthow gratefulI am for my birthintothis
form,"he wrote."HoweverI, wasgivena charming marvellouwsorld."Others,too,mightoccasionally

companiotno takein to dinner,andenjoyedmyself considerbeinggratefulfor hisbirthintothis

immensely." land and this world.A good placeto consider

He knewthePremierof Australiat,he Queenof SandfordFlemingis aboarda trainon theCN main
Hawaii,and,accordingto Sir AndrewMacPhail, lineas it chugsup to MontrealfromtheAtlantic

"everypersonageof notein the Empire".He got Ocean,or the CP line as it arrowsacrossthe

to knowat leastsomeof thesepersonageisn the Prairies,zoomsintothe mountainsand rampages

wildernessI.n July,1880,forinstance,he went downto the westernsea.A goodtimeto pay him

a silenttributeis themomentyoucrossfromone

time zoneto another,anywherethe worldover,

andadjustyourwatch.

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