The railway that was

The railway was completed from Liverpool to Rapid Falls, a distance of 4.63 miles, about March 1, 1897.

On April 25, 1907, the undertaking, franchises and property of the "Liverpool and Milton Railway Company" were sold to the Halifax and South Western Railway Company (H&SWR). The property, however, was not transferred until the fiscal year end, June 30, 1911.

A charter was granted by the Nova Scotia government on April 4, 1901 to Wm. MacKenzie, D.D. Mann, and R.J. Mackenzie in the name of the H&SW to construct and operate a railway from Halifax to Yarmouth. The charter was confirmed on March 27, 1902. That Act exempted forever, from municipal taxation, the railways of the company, including lands for the right-of-way and station purposes, tracks, stations, and other buildings, rolling stock, and equipment.

The railway was completed and opened for traffic as follows:

Halifax to Mahone Junction - 67.86 miles - October 27, 1904. Bridgewater Junction to Liverpool -30.02 miles - January 30, 1904.

At this juncture in my search for information I wondered what happened to the section of the railway from Barrington Passage to Yarmouth.

Apparently under another provincial Act dated April 28, 1893, "The Coast Railway Company of Nova Scotia Limited" was incorporated to construct and operate a railway from Yarmouth to Lockeport.

The railway was completed and opened for traffic from Yarmouth to Pubnico, 28.30 miles on August 18, 1897.

The Coast Railway Company's name was changed to "The Halifax and Yarmouth Railway Company Limited." The link from Pubnico to Yarmouth, a distance of 21.70 miles, was opened on January 15, 1900 to complete the line. The property of the Halifax and Yarmouth Railway was sold and transferred to the Halifax and South Western Railway Company. On June 8, 1954, The H&SWR and 11 other companies were amalgamated into one company under the name "Canadian Northern Consolidated Railways." The latter company was amalgamated with the "Canadian National Railway Company" on June 11, 1956.

It's all history now. We lost the H&SW (Blueberry Express) when the Yarmouth to Liverpool section of the route was abandoned and the rails and ties ripped up in 1987.

Trains make Europe a great place to visit. Even the American Amtrak line, revived a few years ago, is reporting outstanding growth and success. Meanwhile Canadian politicians have made decisions that have added greater pressure on our overloaded highways, by abandoning more and more of our rail lines. Everyone appears to forget the fact that our railways opened up this great and vast country of ours and that some government services were not intended to be profitable in the first place.