Springhill Junction is a

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

community in central

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

, Canada. It is approximately northwest of

Springhill, Nova Scotia Springhill is a community located in central Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The community was founded as "Springhill Mines." Coal mining led to economic growth, with its incorporation as a town in 1889. The mines in the Springhill coa ...

History

In 1872 the

Intercolonial Railway of Canada The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also completely ow ...

constructed its Truro, NS-

Moncton, NB Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because of ...

mainline through the area at the persuasion of the Spring Hill & Parrsborough Coal & Railway Company Ltd., creating a diversion several miles to the south of the preferred route running between Oxford Junction, NS and

Amherst, NS Amherst ( ) is a town in northwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, located at the northeast end of the Cumberland Basin, an arm of the Bay of Fundy, and south of the Northumberland Strait. The town sits on a height of land at the eastern boundary of th ...

. The community received its name in 1877 following completion of the Springhill & Parrsboro Railway which ran south to the mining town of Springhill and on to the

Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy (french: Baie de Fundy) is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its extremely high tidal range is th ...

port of

Parrsboro Parrsboro is a community located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada. A regional service centre for southern Cumberland County, the community is also known for its port on the Minas Basin, the Ship's Company Theatre productions, and th ...

. The SP&P changed its name to the Cumberland Railway & Coal Company Ltd. in 1884 and operated under this name through the closure of the coal mines in Springhill in 1958 and the abandonment of the railway line south of Southampton to Parrsboro on June 14, 1958. The railway continued limited services between Southampton, Springhill and Springhill Junction until permission to abandon the remaining line was granted in February, 1962. The last of the rails from the Springhill to Springhill Junction line were lifted in 1964. The Intercolonial Railway in the meantime was operated as part of the

Canadian Government Railways Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

after 1915 and was fully merged into the

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

(CNR) in 1918.

Present day

Today Springhill Junction remains a siding on CN Rail's Halifax-Montreal mainline and a

flag stop In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, st ...

for

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operati ...

's ''

Ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

'' passenger train. The official name still contains the word "junction", despite the fact that the CR&C was abandoned in 1962, making the community a run-through location on CN's mainline.

References

Springhill Junction on Destination Nova Scotia
{{coord, 45, 41, 36.9, N, 64, 6, 46.9, W, display=title General Service Areas in Nova Scotia Communities in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Rail junctions in Canada

History

Present day

See also

References