Robert Gillespie Reid

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. Founder of Reid Newfoundland Company, from 1889 until his death, he built, owned, and operated the Newfoundland Railway.

When a young man he spent a few years in Australia mining gold, and in 1871 he settled in North America, where he began his career as a contractor. He built one section of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was responsible for the erection of the international bridge over the Niagara River, the international railway bridge over the Rio Grande and the Lachine bridge over the St. Lawrence.

Reid brought his business ventures to Newfoundland in 1889. In 1893, he signed a contract with the government of Newfoundland, and as president of the Reid Newfoundland Company he built the railway from Whitbourne to Port aux Basques. The contract specified he work the line for ten years. In return he received a large grant of land.

In 1898, he further contracted to work all the railways in Newfoundland for fifty years on condition that at the end of this time they should become his property. This bargain, which included other matters such as steamers, docks and telegraphs, was extraordinarily favourable to Reid, who, by further enormous grants of land, became one of the largest landed proprietors in the world. Public opinion was aroused against the deal, and at first the governor, Herbert Murray, refused to ratify it.

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