The best new railroad in Canada

It was exactly a century ago that rail service was opened up along the South Shore from Halifax to Yarmouth.

The missing link was the route from Liverpool to Barrington, since rail service already existed from Halifax to Liverpool and Barrington to Yarmouth. On December 19, Nova Scotia Premier George H. Murray received a telegram from the superintendent of construction on the Halifax and South-Western Railway that the last rail had been laid at Barrington Passage.

That same day, he and the province’s Lieutenant Governor, Duncan Cameron Fraser, joined a party of dignitaries to ride the first through train from Halifax to Yarmouth. The newspapers were full of the significance of the occasion. The Advance noted with excitement that “this completes the system, and a railroad now traverses the South Shore from Yarmouth to Halifax.�

The Bridgewater Bulletin said that it had been just four years since the first sod had been turned at Hubbards for this railway. “It is difficult to realize,� the paper said, “that this portion of Nova Scotia, so hard of success, is now bound by bands of steel to the rest of the world and modern means of communication are afforded the people of the southwestern shore.�

This first train was an inspection train which arrived in Bridgewater at noon from Halifax and left at 12:30 for Liverpool. It was a magnificent day and the scenery was described as even more beautiful due to the ice and snow. Reports said the train reached Liverpool in record time, and that after a few minutes delay it left for Shelburne.

“Crossing the temporary bridge over the Mersey,� the reports said, “all on board were struck with the panoramic view presented; and thus it was all along the line – new scenery and new delights.� When Shelburne burst into view, those on board took note of the first class railway station that had been built.

There was a festive air as the train made its way along the shore. “At every station, as the handsome train passed, crowds cheered and welcomed the opening of the new steam highway. It was a glad sight to these people and set them thinking about the prosperity which must now come to them,� the Bulletin said.

It was dark by the time that the train reached Barrington Passage. Since it was an inspection train, the passengers being Halifax and South-Western officials, political leaders, businessmen and journalists, the train did not try for speed – although, the papers said, at some points it reached the astonishing speeds of 40 or 50 miles an hour.

The federal railway inspector had passed over the line a couple of days before and had pronounced the railway the best new road he had ever seen. The railway’s general manager, C.W. Spencer, who was responsible for railroads as far west as Port Arthur, said he had never seen a better piece of road.

The train pushed on to Yarmouth, where a crowd was waiting to greet it. Those on board got off and went to a special meeting of the Yarmouth Board of Trade, where local officials made speeches imploring the company to consider Yarmouth as the headquarters for the railway. However, the decision had already been made to locate the headquarters in Bridgewater. The party stayed overnight, toured the town the next morning, and at noon got on the train to head back along the shore.

Between Shelburne and Liverpool, all on board gathered in the palace car to talk about the trip. The palace car was new to the company, and was an elegantly-upholstered car that served as a dining car, sleeping car and parlour car all rolled into one. It had a kitchen, bathrooms and observation areas, with wide windows to allow viewing of the scenery. The easy chairs were converted to tables at meal times, with cupboards next to the chairs providing the silverware and table settings.

At night, the porters turned a few screws and brought up from the floor a set of sleeping berths. The easy chairs were put into the space where the berths had been located, and curtains were arranged around the sides of the berths for privacy. A palace car would be on every train from Halifax to Yarmouth.

By 7:20 in the evening the train had reached headquarters in Bridgewater, and left immediately for Halifax, where the next day those on board were entertained by the Halifax Board of Trade. The route was now ready for regular passenger traffic.

Tom Sheppard can be reached at tsheppard@tdcmailbox.com

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