From Railroad Depot

Canadian Pacific Railway
Reporting marks	CP, CPAA, CPI
Locale	Canada with branches to US cities Chicago, Illinois, Minneapolis, Minnesota and New York City, New York
Dates of operation	1881 – present
Headquarters	Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The Canadian Pacific Railway (AAR reporting marks CP, CPAA, CPI), known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a Canadian Class I railroad operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited. Its rail network stretches from Vancouver to Montreal, and also serves major cities in the United States such as Minneapolis, Minnesota, Chicago, and New York City. Its headquarters are in Calgary, Alberta.

The railway was originally built between eastern Canada and British Columbia between 1881 and 1885 (connecting with Ottawa Valley and Georgian Bay area lines built earlier), fulfilling a promise extended to British Columbia when it entered Canadian Confederation in 1871. It was Canada's first transcontinental railway. Now primarily a freight railway, the CPR was for two decades the only practical means of long distance passenger transport in most regions of Canada, and was instrumental in the settlement and economic development of Western Canada. Its primary passenger services were eliminated in 1986 after being assumed by VIA Rail Canada in 1978. A beaver was chosen as the railway's logo because it is one of the national symbols of Canada and represents the hardworking character of the company. The object of both praise and damnation for over 120 years, the CPR remains an indisputable icon of Canadian nationalism.

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