The railway's route ran 93.08 kilometres (57.84 mi) following a series of gently curving river valleys, beginning with the St. Croix River near Windsor then following the Kennetcook River and Five Mile River to the Shubenacadie River and across to Black Rock, Clifton and following the lower reaches of the Salmon River to Truro.[1] Beginning in Truro, the railway went through the communities of Clifton, Princeport, South Maitland, Kennetcook, Clarksville, Stanley, Mosherville, and Scotch Village, Brooklyn, Mantua and ended in Windsor. A number of private gypsum spurs connected to the Midland near Windsor and Mantua.
Historyedit
Midland Railway Company (MRC) Locomotive No. 1 on construction site of South Maitland Bridge (1900)
Chartered by the province of Nova Scotia, the railway received subsidies from the federal government and the town of Truro.[2] Construction started on the railway in 1898. The Midland constructed the massive South Maitland Bridge over the Shubenacadie River. On September 7, 1901 the Midland Railway opened its line across Hants County. One of the primary reasons for the railway was to export farm produce, lumber and rich gypsum deposits out of the county.
In 1905, the Dominion Atlantic Railway purchased the Midland line renaming it the Truro Subdivision, however, it continued to be commonly called the "Midland Line". The Dominion Atlantic made extensive use of the Midland Line as a shortcut to move freight bound for other parts of North America to Truro. This allowed the Dominion Atlantic, a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway to save distance, time and congestion from having to route freight through the city of Halifax. The Midland's easy grades and gentle curvatures made it easy to handle large amounts of freight.[3] The line was busiest during World War Two when in addition to heavy freight traffic, it delivered supplies and personnel to the training air fields at the Stanley Airport and Maitland. Traffic dwindled due to subsidized highway construction after World War Two, although the line became well known among railway historians for offering one of Canada's last mixed train, a passenger and freight train combined, which ran with vintage passenger equipment until passenger service ended on the Midland in 1979.[4] The last through train on the line was June 20, 1983, although a short portion of the western end of the Midland remained in use serving gypsum mines until 2001.
Tourism and popular cultureedit
Today portions of the Midland Railway roadbed are used as footpaths and ATV trails. A section of the roadbed near the Shubenacadie River bridge at South Maitland was developed in 2006 by the Fundy Tidal Interpretive Centre" as an interpretive walking trail which uses one of the remaining abutments of the railway's Shubenacadie River bridge as a lookoff.[5] The Midland Railway is featured in a Stan Rogers song on his 1976 Fogarty's Cove album entitled "Rawdon Hills" which wistfully recounts the hopes and legends of the short-lived Rawdon Hills gold rush which briefly brought a rush of development to communities along the Midland Railway.[6]
Referencesedit
^"Midland Railway Co.", Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative
^"History of Railway Companies of Nova Scotia: Midland Railway Company", Nova Scotia's Electronic Gleaner
^"Truro Subdivision: The Midland Line", Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Institute
^Greg McDonnell, "Last Train to Clarksville", Passing Trains: The Changing Face of Canadian Railroading (1991), pp. 18-19
^. Archived from the original on 2015-04-24. Retrieved 2015-03-22.
Marguerite Woodworth, History of the Dominion Atlantic Railway, 1937, p. 125-127.
The MRC at the DARDPI wiki.
December 20, 2023
midland, railway, canada, midland, railway, nova, scotian, railway, company, formed, 1896, build, railway, through, hants, county, nova, scotia, connecting, truro, windsor, completed, 1901, operated, independently, until, 1905, when, became, part, dominion, at. Midland Railway was a Nova Scotian railway company formed in 1896 to build a railway through Hants County Nova Scotia connecting Truro to Windsor Completed in 1901 it operated independently until 1905 when it became part of the Dominion Atlantic Railway and later the Canadian Pacific Railway until the line closed in 1983 Midland Railway CompanyOverviewHeadquartersTruro Nova ScotiaReporting markMRCLocaleNova Scotia CanadaDates of operation1898 1983SuccessorDominion Atlantic Railway 1905 1983TechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugeLength57 84 mi 93 08 km Contents 1 Route 2 History 3 Tourism and popular culture 4 ReferencesRoute editThe railway s route ran 93 08 kilometres 57 84 mi following a series of gently curving river valleys beginning with the St Croix River near Windsor then following the Kennetcook River and Five Mile River to the Shubenacadie River and across to Black Rock Clifton and following the lower reaches of the Salmon River to Truro 1 Beginning in Truro the railway went through the communities of Clifton Princeport South Maitland Kennetcook Clarksville Stanley Mosherville and Scotch Village Brooklyn Mantua and ended in Windsor A number of private gypsum spurs connected to the Midland near Windsor and Mantua History edit nbsp Midland Railway Company MRC Locomotive No 1 on construction site of South Maitland Bridge 1900 Chartered by the province of Nova Scotia the railway received subsidies from the federal government and the town of Truro 2 Construction started on the railway in 1898 The Midland constructed the massive South Maitland Bridge over the Shubenacadie River On September 7 1901 the Midland Railway opened its line across Hants County One of the primary reasons for the railway was to export farm produce lumber and rich gypsum deposits out of the county In 1905 the Dominion Atlantic Railway purchased the Midland line renaming it the Truro Subdivision however it continued to be commonly called the Midland Line The Dominion Atlantic made extensive use of the Midland Line as a shortcut to move freight bound for other parts of North America to Truro This allowed the Dominion Atlantic a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway to save distance time and congestion from having to route freight through the city of Halifax The Midland s easy grades and gentle curvatures made it easy to handle large amounts of freight 3 The line was busiest during World War Two when in addition to heavy freight traffic it delivered supplies and personnel to the training air fields at the Stanley Airport and Maitland Traffic dwindled due to subsidized highway construction after World War Two although the line became well known among railway historians for offering one of Canada s last mixed train a passenger and freight train combined which ran with vintage passenger equipment until passenger service ended on the Midland in 1979 4 The last through train on the line was June 20 1983 although a short portion of the western end of the Midland remained in use serving gypsum mines until 2001 Tourism and popular culture editToday portions of the Midland Railway roadbed are used as footpaths and ATV trails A section of the roadbed near the Shubenacadie River bridge at South Maitland was developed in 2006 by the Fundy Tidal Interpretive Centre as an interpretive walking trail which uses one of the remaining abutments of the railway s Shubenacadie River bridge as a lookoff 5 The Midland Railway is featured in a Stan Rogers song on his 1976 Fogarty s Cove album entitled Rawdon Hills which wistfully recounts the hopes and legends of the short lived Rawdon Hills gold rush which briefly brought a rush of development to communities along the Midland Railway 6 References edit Midland Railway Co Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative History of Railway Companies of Nova Scotia Midland Railway Company Nova Scotia s Electronic Gleaner Truro Subdivision The Midland Line Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Institute Greg McDonnell Last Train to Clarksville Passing Trains The Changing Face of Canadian Railroading 1991 pp 18 19 About us Fundy Tidal Interpretive Centre Archived from the original on 2015 04 24 Retrieved 2015 03 22 Stand Rogers Rawdon Hills Fogarty s Cove liner notes 1976 Marguerite Woodworth History of the Dominion Atlantic Railway 1937 p 125 127 The MRC at the DARDPI wiki Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Midland Railway Canada amp oldid 1162053908, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
