Robert Gillespie Reid

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Sir Robert Gillespie Reid (October 12, 1842, Coupar Angus, Perthshire, Scotland – June 3, 1908) was a Scottish railway contractor most famous for building large railway bridges in Canada and the United States. From 1889 until his death, he built, owned, and operated the Newfoundland Railway.

Reid was a bridge builder and railway contractor of international fame. Many of the structures that he engineered throughout the United States and Canada stand today as monuments to his skill and unswerving determination. Reid brought his business ventures to Newfoundland in 1889 and as president of the Reid Newfoundland Company he built the railway from Whitbourne to Port aux Basques. The Reid Newfoundland Company owned and operated the railway for 33 years and also ran the coastal boat and telegraph services on the island. This most distinguished gentleman made a tremendous contribution to the railway and the province as a whole.

There is a $3,500 Robert Gillespie Reid Memorial Scholarship available for The Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Sir Robert Gillespie Reid, National Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque installed at Newfoundland Railway station in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.