Eastern New
Brunswick's Railway History
From VIA Rail's Ocean Limited
by J. A. Clowes,
234 Canterbury Avenue, Riverview, NB E1B 2R7
E-Mail: jaclowes@istar.ca
January 1999
Based on a recent article in the Upper
Canada Railway Society's "Rail & Transit" magazine.
Use this map to follow the route of the Ocean Limited through New
Brunswick.
To the rail enthusiast interested in railway history, a trip through New
Brunswick by VIA Rail's Ocean Limited can highlight part of New Brunswick's long
association with railways. Today, a seat in one of VIA's dome observation cars provides a
good vantage point for our observations. To be able to cover the full length of the
province, I boarded "The Ocean" in Amherst, Nova Scotia on a bright sunny
afternoon in late June (not in snow as seen in the picture!).
With three prime cultures, New Brunswick has seen variations in the
spelling of the many names. Therefore, be forewarned, for in general where these
variations occur, I will be favouring railway names and spelling. Also, I will be skipping
some of the more recent spurs, as well as most private sidings.
Our departure from Amherst's interesting one and a half storey red
sand-stone station was on time. As we headed out across the Chignecto Isthmus for our 10
mile journey to Sackville, New Brunswick, one has to attempt to visualize the many changes
that the Amherst station has witnessed in its nearly 130 years of railway use.
We are barely up to speed, still in Nova Scotia, about 2 miles from
Amherst, as we pass the former right-of-way of the long abandoned Fort Lawrence spur. This
spur, from its east facing switch extended a little over a mile westward to a pair of
wharves that had been established for the construction of the Chignecto Marine Railway
across the Chignecto Isthmus. Have a look at the twists and turns of this failed project
in Sarah
Chapman's Essay on this project. We are barely clear of the site of the old switch for
the Fort Lawrence spur, when one has to imagine the thumps that early trains must of made
as they crossed the twin tracks of the marine railway. The track on the Fort Lawrence Spur
was dismantled in 1917.
As we pass the cutting near the site of Fort Lawrence, visions of the 1870
railway construction workers unearthing coffins of early occupants from this fort come to
mind. It is now across the Missaguash River and officially into New Brunswick. The first
locomotive to cross the temporary trestle over the Missaguash was reported to have crossed
on Thursday, October 6, 1870. The lack of rails delayed the completion of the line into
Amherst. Rail laying was commenced in late November, 1870, and the first train from New
Brunswick was expected in Amherst on Thursday, December 29, 1870, but due to snow didn't
get there until the following day. A swing around the hill supporting Fort Beausejour puts
us onto the Tantramar marshes for our dash into Sackville, New Brunswick.
On the outskirts of Sackville, we cross the through truss bridge over the
Tantramar River. This bridge, built for double track was a reconstruction of the late
teens of this century, and resulted in the westward relocation of a half of mile of the
mainline. The space for the second track on this bridge is a carry over from days before
the adoption of modern signals, when it was planned to double track the Canadian
Government Railways between Moncton and Halifax. A glance at a railway map will show that
while Canada was criss-crossed with rail lines, there was only one line across the
Chignecto Isthmus joining the major seaports and resources of Nova Scotia with the rest of
the continent! This plus the nearness of the Bay of Fundy, saw the posting of armed
military guards at the Tantramar River Bridge during World War II.
New
Brunswick & Prince Edward Railway
As we round the final curve into the Sackville station we first pass the
connecting track and then the main line of CN's former Tormentine Subdivision. This 35
miles of railway from Sackville east to Cape Tormentine provided one of the more long term
solutions to the centuries old squabble of communications between Prince Edward Island and
the mainland, but that is a story unto itself! CN records show December 1, 1886, as the
date for opening this railway, however, the rail line had reached Cape Tormentine by
September 9, 1886, and there are plenty of indications that there was limited service on
various portions of this line for the previous couple of years. The name of this railway
was changed to the New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Railway in 1889. The New
Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Railway came under the control of the Canadian
Government Railways on August 1, 1914. The legalities of this takeover were completed in
the spring of 1915. The decision to implement a rail-car ferry service to Prince Edward
Island about this time resulted in a number of changes. On the Island, their marine
terminal was relocated from Cape Traverse to Borden, and of course the Island's narrow
gauge railway had to be changed to handle standard gauge cars from the mainland. At Cape
Tormentine, a new ferry terminal had to be constructed, and the rail line extended to it.
Heavy stone removed from the Chignecto Marine Railway project were used around the new
docks for armour stone to help tame the gales of Northumberland straits.
Island news reports state that 6:00 p.m., September 17, 1917 saw the first
"Broad (standard) Gauge" train from the mainland arrive at Borden, aboard the
then new rail car ferry, "Prince Edward Island."
This rail line provided an essential link for both passengers and freight
to Prince Edward Island during the heyday of rail service. The late 1960s and early 1970s
saw the marine terminals expand. These expansions were aimed mainly at better
accommodating highway traffic. While the opening of the "Fixed Link" in 1997
completed this evolution, the demise of rail service over the old New Brunswick and Prince
Edward Island Railway came with the end of service on both it and the remaining Island
lines effective December 31, 1989. The National Transportation Agency had approved these
abandonments by their orders of July 12, 1989. Canadian National advised the Regulators in
November 1993, that they had finished removing the rails, etc.
Sackville Wharf Branch
The rails of the Eastern Extension Railway were still being laid into
Sackville when the community was already agitating for a half mile line to a wharf on the
Tantramar River. Sackville and nearby Dorchester were in the competition to obtain more
customers, especially in New England for their lumber, wood products as well as building
stones. The east facing switch of this spur was a tenth of a mile east of the station.
This spur, like numerous lightly used ones had their rails removed in 1917, to help supply
rails and/or metal for the war efforts.
Eastern Extension Railway
The 37 miles of railway between Cook's Brook (now Painsec Junction) and
the Nova Scotia boundary was constructed by the Eastern Extension Railway. This company
was established by a contract between the province and the International Contract Company
of London, England in 1865 to build the line for a fixed price per mile. This line
designated as Division V of the Intercolonial Railway of Canada and probably caused
Sandford Fleming more headaches than any other portion of this project. Fleming's main
concerns related to its circuitous route with its many curves (that increased the distance
by a third over the length of the most direct route) and excessive grades. The selection
of this route was a political favour to a few influential residents especially around
Dorchester. The fixed price per mile of the contract added to the problem as extra easy
distance was favoured to help the company make more money.
This line now part of CN's Springhill Subdivision, saw the first 19.3
miles between Painsec Junction and Dorchester formally opened on Tuesday, December 8,
1868. While squabbles over the completeness of this line and reports of ballasting, etc.,
were still showing up in early 1870, the line into Sackville was put in service about the
middle of December 1869.
Dorchester Wharf Branch
Dorchester like Sackville had the capability of shipping by water from the
nearby Memramcook River. In order to access this wharf, a rail line about a mile long
extended from a west facing switch, about a half a mile east of the Dorchester station, to
the timber crib wharf. The Dorchester Wharf Branch had two tracks on its wharf and like
the one at Sackville, was dismantled in 1917.
Chemical Industrial Park Spur
In the early 1970s, the New Brunswick provincial government promoted a new
industrial park for the shores of the Petitcodiac River at Dorchester Cape, a couple of
miles downstream from the old Dorchester Wharf. This new industrial complex was to be
served by a 2.7 mile spur that would leave the main line with a west facing switch about a
half of mile east of the original Dorchester wharf branch. The goal was to entice
industries to locate in this new complex on the basis that it would have both rail and
marine access. However, Mother Nature had different ideas about the use of a floating dock
for docking ships, the high tides kept washing it away. Today the site has a number of
abandoned metal buildings, and by the cars stored on the portion near the main line, it
looks like a site for dead storage of cars.
Painsec Junction
Once we are on the tangent west of this junction, we can see the straight
alignment of the former European and North
American Railway on its run between Moncton and Point du Chene and it becomes obvious
that the line curving in from Dorchester and Sackville was the added-on Eastern Extension
Railway.
The European and North American Railway, originally built as a broad
(5'-6") gauge line between Saint John and Point du Chene, New Brunswick, is the
original rail line of the Canadian National Railways family in New Brunswick. The St.
Andrews and Quebec railway is older, but it became part of the Canadian Pacific system in
the province.
The original 16.8 miles between Shediac and Moncton was opened to the
public on August 20, 1857. While the line from Shediac to Moncton was the first eastern
section opened, the line extended about 2 miles further to Point du Chene and its wharf.
Originally the line was planned to extend from Cape Brule about another 2 miles east of
Point du Chene to Saint John. However, the open exposure of Cape Brule and its poorer
harbour resulted in the selection of Point du Chene. In the early days Shediac was site of
the railway's first shops and headquarters. Following the establishment of the
Intercolonial, the Shediac shops were relocated to Moncton in the early 1870s. November
11, 1872 saw the European and North American's broad gauge changed to 4'-8 1/2".
The Portland (Maine) Convention of July 31, 1850 was a major influence
towards the construction of the European and North American Railway. Simply put, the goal
of the 1850 convention was to push for the extension of the New England railroad network
through Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to an ice free harbour as near as possible to
Europe. Competition between Saint John and St. Andrews, also helped the European and North
American Railway's cause, since a harbour on Northumberland Strait not only extended Saint
John's market area along the European and North American Railway, but provided a shorter
and easier route by water to the Saint Lawrence River. Also it supplied a portage route
especial for such things as coal from Cape Breton, thus avoiding the lengthy trip around
the southern tip of Nova Scotia.
However, like so many other locations, technological changes made Point du
Chene redundant. Pressures from the coastal summer resorts and highways expansion to serve
them saw the gradual shortening of the European and North American from its original 11.58
miles between Painsec Junction and Point du Chene. In the early 1970s it terminated at
Shediac, 9.7 miles from Painsec Junction. By 1980 it was further reduced to a 5.4 mile
line ending at Scoudouc. Today, 101.8 miles of the European and North American Railway
from Scoudouc to its original western terminal - Saint John - is still operated.
Buctouche Junction
From Painsec Junction, 4.8 miles west along the European and North
American Railway towards Moncton we pass another historic railway junction. This was the
junction of the Buctouche and Moncton Railway, later the Moncton and Buctouche Railway, that between
September 1, 1887 and January 1, 1965 connected with the European and North American
Railway. Between 1888 and 1914 it also had a diamond crossing of the Intercolonial since
the Moncton & Buctouche Railway extended its line across the marshes into the eastern
end of Moncton. Near its Moncton station it joined the Moncton Wharf Branch. In the latter
years of this extension, the Moncton Street Railway
used the Moncton & Buctouche for some suburban service.
From Buctouche Junction, the Moncton & Buctouche extended 29.94 miles
to the village of Buctouche, on the Northumberland Strait. The Canadian Government
Railways gained operating control of the line and effective August 10, 1914, the Buctouche
trains commenced using the Intercolonial station in Moncton. Canadian National obtained
regulatory permission to abandon its operations to Buctouche effective January 1, 1965.
Under this decision CN retained 1.7 miles of its Buctouche Subdivision extending from
Buctouche Junction. This trackage has been renamed the Humphrey Spur and today the
junction is simply Humphrey. The Humphrey spur has had a number of extra tracks
constructed from it in recent years and serves one of Moncton's industrial parks.
Moncton Trackage
I have already skipped the Dieppe Spur on our way into Moncton, but
without a map of the city, I would just confuse most people attempting to describe the
trackage around this city. Hopefully, we can have a separate page on this before too long.
Moncton
Our train arrives at the modern single storey Moncton station on time.
This is the fourth Moncton station. There seems to be a sizable group of passenger waiting
to join us on our northward trip.
The early 1960s saw the second complete change of the so-called
"downtown" railway lands. As we mentioned the Intercolonial Railway of Canada
shops and other facilities were relocated to Moncton starting in 1872. The marshes of the
Petitcodiac River were gradually filled-in, and by 1892 the downtown railway facilities
occupied 77 acres. In February 1883, the original three storey brick and stone
Intercolonial office building was destroyed by fire. The following year the railway
replaced it with a larger red brick building on Main street that survived until it was
demolished in the 1960s as part of CN Moncton's commercial redevelopment.
Until February 1906, the downtown railway property was the site of the Intercolonial Railway shops, but on Saturday, February
24, a fire destroyed a major portion of these shops. This led to the first redevelopment
of the downtown property. As the new shops were built along the Intercolonial mainline to
the north adjacent to John Street, the old shop site was transformed into expanded railway
yards, that would last until the 1960s when Gordon Yard was constructed and the downtown
property turned over to commercial development.
Main Lines North & West of Moncton Station
By 1915 the government had accepted the fact that it would have to operate
the National Transcontinental Railway,
including their new main line from Moncton to Edmundston and west. The eastern terminus of
the N.T.R. was about 0.75 miles (railway north) of Moncton station on the Intercolonial
Railway's main line towards the John Street shops and Campbellton. The lines of both
railways remained quite close together for about the first twelve miles north of Moncton.
The first trains to and from the N.T.R. not only used the Intercolonial station in
Moncton, but operated over their line for the approximately 0.75 miles to their junction
(near the present intersection of Gordon and Cornhill Streets in Moncton). However, within
a few months the Intercolonial's line from near a point called Handshake, about 2 miles
north of the Moncton station to near Catamount was abandoned, all trains started using the
N.T.R. from their eastern terminus to Pacific Junction.
From then until late 1922, when the Canadian National completed a railway
diversion between a point on the N.T.R. main line about 3.5 miles north of Moncton at what
became Odlum Junction, and a point on the old European & North American rail line, (CN
Sussex Subdivision), about 2.5 miles west of Moncton. Over the years this cut-off has at
different times been defined as the Harcourt and Gort Subdivisions. This is the route
presently used by all trains between Moncton and the province of Québec.
So as we leave Moncton we travel along the CN Gort Subdivision, pulling
away from the European & North American railway at Marsh Junction, then pass the east
end of CN's Gordon Yard, finally connecting with the N.T.R. at Odlum Junction.
Pacific Junction - Catamount
We roll north for a few miles until we reach CN mile 11.9, Pacific
Junction. A look to the west and we see the N.T.R. heading slightly westward into the
woods of central New Brunswick. From the rear dome one can now feel and start to see the
reverse curve on the north end of the Gort Subdivision. This is the 1915 Canadian
Government Railways built connecting track between the N.T.R. and the Intercolonial. This
trackage extends with its reverse curve from near Pacific Junction, Mile 11.9 Gort
Subdivision to a point about 0.5 miles south of Catamount. Near Catamount the original
alignment of the Intercolonial and the reverse curve to the west is easily spotted as one
travels over and past it.
Beersville Coal and
Railway
Nineteen miles north of Catamount, the Intercolonial (now New Brunswick
East Coast Railway) passes through Adamsville. Back at the turn of the century, this was
the junction with the Beersville Coal and Railway Company. The Beersville Railway as it
was locally known, like many of the small industry-owned rail lines of its day, had a
roller coaster life that parallelled that of their owners' resource-based companies. In
keeping with corporate policies of the day, the Intercolonial's District Superintendent,
and General Trackmaster, made an inspection in 1899 of the then proposed Beersville
railway, and reported that they: "were pleased with the prospects of the mine and
said that if a tramway were well operated, the mine would supply a large amount of freight
to the Intercolonial."
By 1904, a 6.481 mile rail line, mostly of second-hand 57 lb. rail
acquired from the Intercolonial extended eastward to Beersville, on the Coal Branch
Railway. A second mining company moved into the area, and from a point near the eastern
end of the main line at Beersville, a branch line 2.149 miles long extended southward to
the second mine. After sort of operating for about three years, the Company went into
receivership and was sold by the courts. While the railway was owned by one coal company,
it seems that they could make both companies upset with their spasmodic service.
The prime activity on this railway between 1908 and about 1918 appeared to
have been more in the courts than on the rails. The Beersville Railway had survived
threats during World War I of having its rails removed and sold, when metal prices were
high.
Like many of these shoe-string operations, the Beersville Coal and Railway
Company appears to have struggled with various periods of operations, interspersed with
shutdowns and bankruptcies until 1923. In that year, the rail line was sold again and
possibly operated until the spring of 1929, when it was sold for the last time, and the
rails removed to help pay some of its creditors.
This is one of those lines that had not only numerous owners, but also a
number of names. At times its control extended to New York and later to Cape Breton. A
definite candidate for more research to fill in the holes in its history!
The Kent Northern Railway
Kent Junction, fourteen miles north of Adamsville, is where the Kent
Northern, a 26.5 mile line to the village of Richibucto, had its wye junction with the
Intercolonial. The promoters were hoping to make millions hauling coal from mines along
the Intercolonial to the harbour at Richibucto. Originally promoted by the Northern
Railway (of New Brunswick), they spent nine years funding and constructing their line that
was officially opened for traffic on November 1, 1883. This line was laid with iron rails
that had been released from the Prince Edward Island Railway when they laid steel rails in
1882. The Kent Northern as it was locally known was later officially designated by this
name and stayed independent until September 1, 1929 when it became part of the C.N.R.
News items from late 1885 state that a branch line extended from
Richibucto approximately 5 mile northward to St. Louis. This branch was operated until
just before 1900 when it was abandoned. Indications are that passenger service on this
branch was with a combination car on the end of freight trains. The line was constructed
by one of the Brown family connected with the Kent Northern.
CN's Richibucto Subdivision, 26.5 miles from the Newcastle Subdivision to
Richibucto was officially abandoned December 3, 1984 and the track was removed during
1986.
Passmore or Chatham Junction
Travelling north towards Miramichi (formerly Newcastle), in the area of
present day Passmore, on the east side of the Newcastle Subdivision, at mile 60.4, one can
still see plainly the concrete foundations of the long abandoned interlocking tower where
the original Northern and Western Railway
crossed the Intercolonial on its path from Devon (Fredericton North) via Blackville
eastward to Chatham and eventually Loggieville. This junction had been called Chatham
Junction in the days before the line was taken over by the Intercolonial and abandoned.
Some of the line east of the Intercolonial was constructed as the Chatham Branch Railway
and acquired by the Northern and Western Railway Company. The Chatham Branch opened in
1887, and three years later it and the Northern and Western Railway were renamed the
Canada Eastern Railway and this railway was acquired by the Canadian Government Railways
in 1904.
This east-west line across the Intercolonial was abandoned about 1912,
following the construction of a new line from the nearby Nelson Junction eastward along
the south shore of the Miramichi river to the former town of Chatham (now part of
Miramichi) and a new connection with the east end of the Loggieville Subdivision, part of
the original Northern and Western Railway. The eastern end of the Loggieville Subdivision,
east of Chatham was abandoned by the C.N.R. in November 1985.
Derby Junction
Continuing northward, after one crosses the 6-span through truss bridge
over the South-West Miramichi River, we pass the site of the former Derby Junction at its
north end. Derby Junction is on the point of land between the two large through truss
railway bridges that span the two Miramichi Rivers near their confluence.
The original rail line along the north bank of the South-West Miramichi
extended from its north pointing switch, some fourteen miles from Derby Junction to
Indiantown or Quarryville. As can be guessed from the name Quarryville, this line served a
quarry that supplied stone to the railway. About four miles from Derby Junction was
Millerton, another real original name, since its had a number of lumber mills that
provided the Intercolonial with traffic.
Following the 1904 acquisition of the Canada Eastern Railway, the rail
line was extended from Quarryville to Blackville, that permitted the abandonment of the
old Canada Eastern Railway bridge across the South-West Miramichi near Blackville and the
trackage to and across the Newcastle Subdivision. The 75 miles of railway from Derby
Junction to the crossing of the N.T.R. at McGivney was abandoned in January, 1985.
As we leave Derby Junction we cross the North-West Miramichi river bridge.
Newcastle Wharf
About one and a half mile past the North-West Miramichi River Bridge as
the railway climbs around a sweeping curve towards the VIA Rail station at Newcastle, (now
Miramichi), one passes the south point switch of the 2.03 mile spur that goes back down
grade to the Newcastle Wharf. The Newcastle spur track, along with a similar spur, at
Campbellton are two of the oldest sections of Intercolonial tracks in the northern portion
of New Brunswick. They both were constructed prior to the Intercolonial's 1873 annual
report. The Newcastle Spur saw plenty of action in October 1872 as the barque
"Amadeo" waited while the "Examplar" unloaded steel rails for the new
Intercolonial railway. The "Amadeo" had a cargo of six locomotives, two of which
were to be unloaded at Newcastle, the other four destined for Saint John, N.B. At a nearby
wharf, the barque "Miramichi," was discharging 2,700 barrels of cement to be
used on the Miramichi river bridges. The original Intercolonial Newcastle spur is still in
use.
Campbellton saw its first passenger car arriving from Moncton at naught
nine hundred hours on Wednesday, October 20, 1875. This trip had started from Moncton, the
previous day. However, since the car had broad gauge trucks, they had to be changed to
standard gauge before crossing the Miramichi River bridges and continuing its trip to
Campbellton. Early November 1875, saw the start of regular passenger service as locomotive
No. 43 left Newcastle with a heavy train for Bathurst and Campbellton.
Bartibog
Twenty miles north of Newcastle (Miramichi today) is the abandoned wye
rail junction at Bartibog. This was another resource railway, officially opened on
November 19, 1957 and built as a 23.1 mile branch line that extended westward to the Heath
Steele mine, with its zinc and copper bearing ore. This line was touted at the line's
opening as being the first new major railway construction in the Atlantic provinces for
more than 40 years.
This line cost $3,000,000 to construct and involved the clearing of 325
acres of the forest where there was neither a clearing nor a homestead. Bulldozers,
scrapers, shovels and carryalls, moved 22 million cubic feet of rock and earth to form the
roadbed. Rockcuts, some as deep as 50 feet were blasted at points along the line. Often
more than a ton of high-powered gelignite was used at a time. The result was 27 million
cubic feet of fractured rock to be removed.
CN pulled out all the stops for the opening of this line. Guests from the
east arriving by train, were provided with sleeping car accommodation near the Newcastle
station for the night of Monday, November 18, 1957. Guests from the west arrived on
Tuesday morning's Maritime Express that was due in Newcastle at 7:05 a.m. The party then
transferred to the inaugural train which departed for Heath Steele at 9:00 a.m. The
railway had arranged facilities on the special train , in Car 2, adjacent to the
"Cacouna", for newsmen covering the opening. Typewriters, copy paper, telegraph
blanks, etc., were available there for those wishing to prepare material enroute.
In addition, Canadian National Telegraphs had arranged for wire facilities
at the general offices of Heath Steele Mines Limited, so that stories could be filed from
there. Also, it was arranged for a CN Telegraphs messenger to meet the eastbound special
train at Newcastle 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to receive any press material for furtherance by
wire.
By the mid 1980's most of the ore had been shipped, that remaining was
being handled by trucks, so CN applied to abandon this one product rail line. Abandonment
became effect on October 15, 1987, and the line has been removed.
Gloucester Junction
About another 20 miles north brings one to Gloucester Junction. This was
the junction with the Caraquet Railway. The Caraquet
Railway was originally incorporated on April 18, 1874 with plans to build about 60 miles
eastward to Pokemouche. It appears that the prime reason for the construction of this line
was to access the remaining virgin timber on the peninsula and perhaps to gain better
access to mackerel fishing. Being close to Bathurst, this branch had its switch pointing
northward towards that community. Indications are that while the road had an energetic
political promoter in the person of Mr. K. F. Burns, M.P., nothing was done for about 10
years. In 1884, construction appears to have been started. A news report from July 1887
indicates that the rails were laid a distance of sixty miles from Gloucester Junction,
viz: to Pokemouche, (Inkerman) the original prospective end of the line. Mr. Burns, their
M.P., "with his usual thoughtfulness and assiduity with regard to the want of the
constituency, secured from the Dominion Government a further subsidy, which will enable
the company this year to extend the road a further distance of about seven miles. This
will bring it to Shippegan Harbour." This same report indicated that work had started
on this last seven miles into Shippegan Harbour, as well as ballasting from Caraquet to
Pokemouche, with the work expected to be finished that year, 1887.
This same report states: "The traffic, over this line, both in
passengers and freight is something remarkable. During last week upwards of 300 passengers
went over the line."
While different writers have used different dates regarding the opening of
portions of this railway, the December 17, 1887 death of nine men on a snow-plough train
from Caraquet, a couple of miles west of that community confirms that at least the 48.5
miles to Caraquet was open. This accident, defined as the worst railway accident up to
that time in the Province of New Brunswick, occurred because the bridge had been moved by
the force of the tide (and probably pan ice in the bay).
In 1885, a second company, the Gulf Shore
Railway was incorporated and built 17 miles of railway from Pokemouche Junction
southward to Tracadie and Shelia. This was in addition to the 7 miles of line from
Pokemouche Junction into Shippegan.
These two railways amalgamated on April 13, 1911 as the Caraquet and Gulf
Shore Railway. They were acquired by the Canadian Government Railways effective June 1,
1920 and became part of the Canadian National Railways.
While the line had been cut back from Shelia to Tracadie at some cloudy
date (pre-1960) in the past, all the remaining trackage beyond mile 4.34 was abandoned May
2, 1989. Today most of the abandoned roadbed is easily traced as it has been converted
into hiking trails. The 4.34 miles near Bathurst has been kept to provide rail access to
industrial lands on the east side of Bathurst Harbour.
Nepisiguit
Across the Nepisiguit River we have a junction that has seen two railways
over the life of the main line. The first of these was the Northern New Brunswick & Seaboard
Railway. This railway was incorporated under a provincial statue in 1909 to construct
a 16.93 mile line along the Nepisiguit River to the Canada Iron Corporation's ore
deposits. The community at the mine site was called Bathurst Mines. This was another
resource railway, built into the wilderness, and its fortunes followed those of the ore
deposits. The first several years appeared to have shown promise for the 30 or so families
of Bathurst Mines. The line listed four stations besides Nepisiguit Junction, and an
additional 2.9 miles of trackage was constructed for yard purposes, etc. Early in 1914 the
railway was still operating with train service Monday, Wednesday and Saturday although the
mine had shut down. A 1915 report states that the mine and railway are shut down, but one
of their group had started to run a saw mill as well as cut and ship pulp wood. This kept
some men employed. It goes on to indicate that Mr. Godin, the mill owner, would persuade
the Canadian Government Railways to run an occasional shunter to his mill and move the
products of his operation. He also secured a gasoline trolley to carry mail, tourists and
himself up and down the railway.
In 1918, pursuant to an agreement dated May 10, the Northern New Brunswick
& Seaboard Railway permitted the St. John & Quebec Railway Company to lift the
rails, turnouts, etc., for use on their line then under construction between Gagetown and
Westfield, N.B. Indications are that most of this rail was 80 lb. with a small amount of
85 lb. These rails were replaced in 1925.
Reports started about 1924 concerning the re-opening of the mines, and
even extending the railway across the province to join the Tobique Valley Railway at Plaster Rock. While
indications are that there was some reactivation of the mine during World War II, I am not
sure at this point what if any role the railway played in its operations. A dam was
constructed on the Nepisiguit River, and roads were eventually built into the mine site.
This dam became the property of the Bathurst Power & Paper Company Limited, and
supplied power to their mill in Bathurst. The paper company operated a patrol by gasoline
driven trolley along the rail line to inspect their hydro line from their dam. Otherwise
the rail line lay unused, except for the wye at Nepisiguit which CN used under a special
agreement.
In 1959, the paper company approached the Province of New Brunswick, then
owner of the railway following earlier bankruptcies, for permission to remove the line. A
Mr. Donald E. Hicks, agreed to remove the rail, for its salvage value. This was done and
the roadbed was converted to a highway, presently part of Highway # 430.
A recent (Summer 1998) radio report mentioned that there are still one or
two people living at Bathurst Mines, but in general it has been inactive community since
about the end of the War II.
The second Railway from Nepisiguit Junction, that still exists today is
the line that serves the Brunswick Mines of the Brunswick
Mining and Smelting Corporation which are located about 5 miles north-west of the old
Bathurst Mines site. Construction on this line was started in the spring of 1963 by the
Canadian National Railways. This 14.7-mile branch line carries copper, zinc and lead from
the mines to a processing plant at Belledune. It was built as a railway branch but has now
been sold and is privately owned by the Brunswick Mining and Smelting Corporation.
Bathurst Harbour Spur
Two miles north of Nepisiguit, the Bathurst Spur, a 2.4 mile line
extending eastward to a pulp and paper mill on the harbour front. This line with its south
facing switch was constructed by CN but is now operated by the paper mill.
Petit Rocher
About 12 miles north of Bathurst is Petit Rocher. Here the Intercolonial
Railway had a 1.35 miles spur down to the town's wharf. This spur had a south facing
switch, and made somewhat of a loop north and eastward to the Petit Rocher wharf. This
line was dismantled in 1914.
Belledune & Irvco
About 8 miles north of Petit Rocher, at mile 129.7 Newcastle subdivision,
one comes to the Belledune, then a couple of miles further is the Irvco complex. Belledune
is the home of the base metal smelter for the ores from the Brunswick Mines mentioned
above. This facility was constructed in the same period as the Brunswick Mines. Belledune
is mainly a yard with a short spur to the smelter.
Irvco has a private spur that serves their industrial complex associated
with the operations of Belledune.
Dalhousie Junction
A further 32 miles brings us to Dalhousie Junction, CN Mile 164.3
Newcastle Subdivision. This is the junction of the 6.2 mile Dalhouise subdivision, a line
that extends east to the community of the same name, and that is listed as being opened
June 25, 1884 and is still in use.
Campbellton Wharf Spur
This spur, as mentioned earlier, was constructed about 3 years before the
Intercolonial main line was opened to permit rails and rolling stock, etc., to be
delivered by ship for use in the construction of the Intercolonial in the area. This spur,
about one mile long, was located within the yard area and terminated on a railway owned
wharf. Turn of the century photos indicate considerable activities of transhipment between
the railway and ships.
Campbellton and Tide Head
In 1885 the Restigouche
and Victoria Colonization Railway was incorporated to build a railway from Campbellton
across New Brunswick to some point between Grand Falls and Edmundston. Meetings, talk and
surveys seem to have been the prime purpose of this company. In 1896 it changed in name to
the Restigouche and Victoria Railway. The next year the Restigouche and Western Railway took over. With
still no construction, the International
Railway Company of New Brunswick was incorporated to take over the R.& W.
Construction work didn't start until after the provincial government guaranteed the
company's bonds in 1907.
The original line of the International Railway started immediately west of
the Campbellton station with a north pointing switch. The line made a loop and roughly
paralleled the Intercolonial westward to a point about 2.7 miles south-west of Tide Head,
originally Moffat. At this point it swung more southwest along the Christopher Brook
towards St. Quentin.
The line, expected to be opened in late 1909, was delayed because of the
weather and was not opened until early in 1910.
The federal government leased the I.N.R. (International Railway of New
Brunswick) effective August 1, 1914, and it was operated by the Intercolonial Railway. In
1915, the I.N.R. was purchased by the government as part of the Canadian Government
Railways.
During 1919 a new 2.66 mile rail line was constructed from Tide Head along
Christopher Brook to the point where it met the original I.N.R. This permitted the
abandonment of the 7.4 miles between the connecting point and Campbellton, with this
section of track being removed in 1920.
The International Railway, operated by Canadian National as its St.
Quentin Subdivision, was abandoned from Tide Head (mile 0.00) to near St. Leonard, (mile
103.5) effective June 6, 1989. The rails, etc., were reported removed as of September 6,
1991.
Morrisey Rock Tunnel
Even on the long days of summer it is now dark, as the Ocean Limited
passes the Morrisey Rock Tunnel to leave New Brunswick on our journey to Montreal.
[ ARTICLES ]
©1999 Art Clowes, all rights reserved. |
