Midland Railway (Canada)
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Midland Railway was a Nova Scotian railway company formed in 1896 to build a railway through
Hants County, Nova Scotia Hants County is a historical county and Census divisions of Canada, census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the West Hants Regional Municipality, and the Municipality of the District of East Hants. History For ...
, connecting
Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...
to
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...
. Completed in 1901, it operated independently until 1905 when it became part of the
Dominion Atlantic Railway The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia in Canada, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley. The Dominion Atlantic Railway (DAR) was unusually divers ...
and later the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
, until the line closed in 1983.


Route

The railway's route ran 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 The Shubenacadie River () is a river in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a meander length of approximately 72 km from its source at Shubenacadie Grand Lake to its mouth at the community of Maitland on the Cobequid Bay. The lower 30 km of t ...
and across to Black Rock, Clifton and following the lower reaches of the Salmon River to Truro. Beginning in Truro, the railway went through the communities of Clifton, Princeport, South Maitland, Kennetcook, Clarksville
Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
, Mosherville, and Scotch Village,
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, Mantua and ended in Windsor. A number of private gypsum spurs connected to the Midland near Windsor and Mantua.


History

Chartered by the province of Nova Scotia, the railway received subsidies from the federal government and the town of Truro. Construction started on the railway in 1898. The Midland constructed the massive South Maitland Bridge over the
Shubenacadie River The Shubenacadie River () is a river in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a meander length of approximately 72 km from its source at Shubenacadie Grand Lake to its mouth at the community of Maitland on the Cobequid Bay. The lower 30 km of t ...
. 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 The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia in Canada, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley. The Dominion Atlantic Railway (DAR) was unusually divers ...
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 The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
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. 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 Stanley Airport is located in Stanley, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada, approximately northeast of Windsor. History World War II Stanley was built as RCAF Station Stanley in March 1941 to train pilots as part of the British Commonwealth ...
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 mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. In some countries, the term refers to a freight train carrying various different types of freight rather a single commodity. Although common in the ...
, a passenger and freight train combined, which ran with vintage passenger equipment until passenger service ended on the Midland in 1979. 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

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. The Midland Railway is featured in a
Stan Rogers Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983) was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter who sang traditional-sounding songs frequently inspired by Canadian history and the working people's daily lives, especially from the fishin ...
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 A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...
which briefly brought a rush of development to communities along the Midland Railway.Stand Rogers, "Rawdon Hills", ''Fogarty's Cove'' liner notes, (1976)


References

{{reflist * Marguerite Woodworth, History of the Dominion Atlantic Railway, 1937, p. 125-127.
The MRC at the DARDPI wiki.
Defunct Nova Scotia railways Truro, Nova Scotia