Francis Hincks, Sir Casimir Gzwoski and A.H. MacNab.
These men were three of the most important figures in Canada's early railway age. Each represents a different facet of railway development. Hincks, as Inspector-General in the Lafontaine-Baldwin administration (1848-1851), promoted the involvement of government and public funds in the construction of the new railways. MacNab was leader of the Conservative party in the Legislative Assembly in the 1850's and is famous for his declaration that "railways are my politics". Gzowski, as an engineer for the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway and, later, as promoter and builder of the Grand Trunk's Toronto-Sarnia line, symbolizes the men whose ingenuity and perseverance overcame the physical obstacles of Canadian railway construction.
