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40-459: With Canadian Confederation in 1867, a variety of canal-building projects were undertaken throughout the new country by the new federal government, including renewed interest in a canal that could transit the isthmus at Chignecto. The Chignecto Ship Railway project was first proposed in 1875 by notable civil engineer Henry Ketchum as a means to transport ships across the Isthmus of Chignecto , shortening

80-454: A drydock into which ships would float in and out. Each terminal had a lifting dock containing a steel grid measuring 235 ft (72 m) by 60 ft (18 m) connected to 20 hydraulic jacks . The grids supported the cradle which carried the vessel. The cradle was pulled from the lifting dock by hydraulic power and was then pulled along the length of the ship railway by 2 steam-powered locomotives. The terminal at Tidnish Cross Roads

120-554: A surveyor on construction of the line from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Bangor, Maine , under Edward Barron Chandler . Later, he was promoted to assistant construction engineer under chief engineer Alexander Luders Light , working on the E&;NA "Eastern Extension" line from Saint John to Shediac . King's College became the University of New Brunswick in 1859, and instituted an undergraduate course in civil engineering. Ketchum earned

160-639: A Member in 1878. In 1875 Ketchum proposed his most ambitious project, the Chignecto Marine Transport Railway , a portage railway crossing the isthmus of Chignecto from the Bay of Fundy to the Gulf of St. Lawrence via the Northumberland Strait . Construction started in 1887, however financing failed in 1890 and work stopped in 1891 with the railway nearly completed. Ketchum continued to promote

200-506: A National Historic Civil Engineering Site by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering in 1989. With the area having been an important site for trade and military activity in the 1600s and 1700s, proposals to intersect the isthmus with a canal have emerged with various degrees of seriousness since the arrival of Europeans in Canada . The earliest proposals came from traders who frequented

240-690: A barrier to marine traffic from ports on the Bay of Fundy and along the East Coast of the United States , which must instead sail a long route around the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia to reach the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence Seaway . In 1685, during an inspection of the now defunct Acadian settlement of Beaubassin , intendant Jacques de Meulles reported that a portage of one league could be made by cutting

280-490: A ditch, since the elevation is low. Various proposals for a canal crossing the isthmus were made as early as 1822. Writing in the Daily Telegraph in 1894, one shipping agent suggested that a route crossing the isthmus would reduce the sailing distance from Pictou, Nova Scotia to Boston by 200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi), and to Saint John, New Brunswick by 400 nmi (740 km; 460 mi). An agent of

320-414: A federally chartered railway. It was financed by Baring Brothers and Company , London . The Isthmus of Chignecto is a land bridge connecting the mainland province of New Brunswick with the province of Nova Scotia , which would otherwise be an island. It separates the Bay of Fundy from the Northumberland Strait by approximately 21 km (13 mi) at its narrowest point. The isthmus presents

360-517: A silver medal to be created as an academic prize at the University of New Brunswick. The Ketchum Memorial Medal was designed by the Allan Wyon Company of London, England, in the spring of 1897, and was first awarded that year. It is awarded annually to the graduating full-time civil engineering student with the highest standing. The stone arch bridge constructed near Tidnish Cross Roads for

400-570: A steamship company in Charlottetown suggested the routes to those ports from Prince Edward Island would save another 100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) by crossing the isthmus rather than sailing around Nova Scotia. The ship railway was designed to carry vessels weighing up to 2000 tons with a proposed transit time of 2.5 hours. Ships would be carried on a cradle forming an extremely wide rail car that straddled parallel twin standard gauge railway tracks, separated by 18 ft (5.5 m) to

440-449: Is a small Canadian river that forms the southern portion of the inter-provincial boundary between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on the Isthmus of Chignecto . It had historic significance in the 18th century as the de facto border between French (to the west) and English-controlled territories. The river's name is from the Mi'kmaq language, likely meaning "marsh river", in reference to

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480-449: The Chignecto Marine Transport Railway , a portage railway crossing the isthmus of Chignecto between the Bay of Fundy and the Northumberland Strait , with a steamship connection to Prince Edward Island . His first letter describing the project was published in the Daily Telegraph of Saint John in April of that year. Ketchum's plans and blueprints for the project were destroyed in

520-576: The Fredericton Collegiate School . In 1854, he enrolled in a lecture series given by English engineer Thomas McMahon Cregan at King's College in Fredericton. That same year, the college released engineering students to gain practical experience working in railway construction during the summer. From 1856 to 1860, Ketchum worked on the European and North American Railway . He first worked as

560-520: The Tantramar Marshes through which it flows. The name can be translated as "muskrat". Musaguash (Morris, 1750); Mesiguash (DesBarres, 1781); Missaguash from 1901 onward. The river flows south into Cumberland Basin . Its source is in the Missaguash Bog, several kilometres to the north. About 1672 a small group of Acadians from Port Royal , led by Jacques Bourgeois , formed a settlement on

600-570: The Tidnish River . The site of the Tidnish dock was made Tidnish Dock Provincial Park in 1982. A heritage plaque identifies the site where rock remnants and wood pilings can be seen at low tide. The remains of the dock at Fort Lawrence consist of stone work and left-over masonry. The bridge and both docks were listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places in 1985. The railway was designated

640-568: The 1877 Great Fire of Saint John . Nonetheless, in 1881 Ketchum surveyed the isthmus at his own expense, and presented his results to the new Canadian government's Minister of Railways and Canals, Charles Tupper . With the government's support, Ketchum formed the Chignecto Marine Transport Railway Company with himself as managing director. Construction started in 1887, however the London banking firm providing financing for

680-454: The 1880s. In the 50-year interim, the newly formed Government of Canada had constructed a network of railways throughout the Maritimes, meaning that any new canal would cannibalise traffic from existing public infrastructure. The commission also found that trade between the Maritimes and New England through any Chignecto Canal would have been insignificant; since both regions competitively produced

720-413: The 1890s, there was a decline in enthusiasm for canal-building projects across Canada more generally since many of the canals built in the late 1800s concluded well over-budget and did not deliver promised increases in commerce. This ended any prospects of building a canal at Chignecto until the 1930s when the idea of building a canal was investigated as part of Ottawa's fiscal stimulus program in response to

760-577: The Canadian government withdrew its subsidy for the project, and construction never resumed. Ketchum died unexpectedly on September 8, 1896, at Amherst. He was buried in Tidnish Bridge, Nova Scotia, on a plot overlooking a stone arch bridge constructed for the marine railway. His remains were later exhumed and re-interred in Sackville, New Brunswick, to be near his widow's home. Ketchum's will provided for

800-616: The Chignecto Marine Transport Railway was listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places in 1985, and stands to this day. The railway's lands were purchased by the government of Nova Scotia in 2012, and converted to a hiking trail . A 66-metre (217 ft) suspension bridge was constructed for the trail to cross the Tidnish River , and was named the Henry G. C. Ketchum Memorial Suspension Bridge. Missaguash River The Missaguash River (French: Rivière Missaguash)

840-637: The Economic Research Corporation argued that a canal at Chignecto would help to reinvigorate a struggling Maritime Economy. More recently, celebrated Maritime scholar of public administration Donald Savoie argued for infrastructure spending on projects like Chignecto, which he argued to be key for Maritime economic development and is an undertaking that the federal government should have completed long before as part of its promises at Confederation in 1867. Henry Ketchum Henry George Clopper Ketchum (February 26, 1839 – September 8, 1896)

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880-507: The Great Depression . The thought was that the construction would stimulate the depressed region and the canal would increase the Maritimes' economic vitality over the long-term. A substantial investigation was undertaken by the newly formed Chignecto Canal Commission which concluded that such a canal was economically unviable due to changes in the political and economic landscape which had occurred since Henry Ketchum 's project had begun in

920-544: The area in the 1600s and 1700s. These early proposals occurred well prior to the creation of any strong central government in Canada which would have been able to undertake a project of this magnitude, making the Chignecto Ship Railway project (which occurred after the creation of a Canadian central government ) the first serious attempt to intersect the Chignecto isthmus. When the Chignecto Ship Railway went defunct in

960-480: The centre of each track. The tracks were built on a route that was almost perfectly straight for a distance of 17 mi (27 km) between the southwestern terminal on the Bay of Fundy, located at Fort Lawrence and the northeastern terminal on the Northumberland Strait, located at Tidnish Cross Roads . At each terminal the twin railway tracks descended on an incline into a stone-lined basin similar to

1000-572: The financing of debts in Uruguay and Argentina. This created the Panic of 1890 . By August 1891 work on the ship railway ground to a halt and would never restart. Ketchum appealed to the federal government for help in finishing the project but in 1892 the Parliament of Canada refused to extend the time period for the contract with the Chignecto Marine Transport Railway Company. Ketchum never ceased lobbying for

1040-513: The line follow a circuitous route to pass through his hometown of Dorchester . The resulting delays bankrupted the International Contracting Company, and construction was taken over by Clark, Punchard and Company. Ketchum contracted with the new financiers to complete the line as far as Dorchester. In 1868, a contract dispute led to a lawsuit in which Ketchum was eventually awarded a settlement of CA$ 95,000 . In 1869, Ketchum

1080-551: The program's first diploma on June 5, 1862. In 1860, Ketchum was hired as a district engineer on construction of the Santos and São Paulo Railway in Brazil, under Scottish engineer James Brunlees . Ketchum oversaw construction of the complicated Mugi Viaduct. The viaduct consisted of eleven spans atop wrought iron and stone pillars as high as 150 feet (46 m), and was built with a curve radius of 30 chains . Under Ketchum's supervision

1120-575: The project and worked to secure the remaining funds until his sudden death in 1896. Henry George Clopper Ketchum was born February 26, 1839, in Fredericton, New Brunswick . His parents, George Edward and Mary Ann ( née Phillips) Ketchum, were United Empire Loyalists . Ketchum married Sarah Elizabeth Milner on August 21, 1866, in Sackville, New Brunswick . They were married until his death in 1896, and had no children. Ketchum attended grammar school at

1160-504: The project but died unexpectedly on September 8, 1896, in Amherst . He was buried in Tidnish Bridge at a cemetery that overlooked the unfinished ship railway. The tracks were eventually pulled up and recycled while nature slowly claimed the rail bed. Some of the stones used for the breakwaters at Tidnish were moved in 1917 to Cape Tormentine and used in the construction of the docks used for ferry service to Prince Edward Island . The land for

1200-491: The project failed in 1890. With 16 miles (26 km) of rail bed constructed over the 17-mile (27 km) route and 13 miles (21 km) of track laid, the company ran out of money and construction stopped in 1891. By 1896 the English financiers had raised the estimated CA$ 1.5   million needed to complete the project. However, with a deadline for the project's completion having passed, and despite Tupper's ongoing support,

1240-455: The project was completed in seven months. After completion of his São Paulo projects, Ketchum travelled to London, where he was granted a prize of £500 "in testimony to his ability as an engineer and his integrity and zeal as agent." He was made an associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1866, later becoming a full member in 1878. Ketchum returned to New Brunswick in 1865, and

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1280-466: The project was three-quarters complete with 16 mi (26 km) of the rail bed finished, and 13 mi (21 km) of the track laid. A bridge and large stone arch culvert were built at Tidnish Bridge - a community which received its name due to this infrastructure. And the terminals were built including the docks, breakwaters, and lock. In fall 1890 the primary financiers of the project, Baring Brothers & Co., faced potential insolvency due to

1320-518: The railway's right-of-way was purchased by the Government of Nova Scotia in 2012. Most of the rail bed is still visible in aerial and satellite photos in the 21st century and supports several recreation trails. The keystone bridge constructed near Tidnish Cross Roads remains, and now carries the Henry Ketchum Trail, a 4 km (2.5 mi) walking trail following the former rail bed, over

1360-452: The sailing distance between the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence by avoiding the necessity of sailing 500 nmi (930 km) around Nova Scotia. A canal had been proposed for the isthmus but financing was proving difficult to secure. Ketchum submitted his proposal to the Government of Canada in 1881. In 1882 the Chignecto Marine Transport Railway Company was incorporated as

1400-566: The same types of goods, neither would have much advantage in trading with the other. The Chignecto Canal Commission concluded by stating "this Commission is strongly of opinion that the proposal to construct a canal at Chignecto offers no national or local advantages at all commensurate with the estimated outlay." Following the Second World War there have been several proposals to build a canal at Chignecto although none of them have advanced far enough to materialise into any construction. In 1960,

1440-607: The south bank of the Missaguash near its mouth named Beaubassin . The settlers reclaimed the salt marsh bordering the Missaquash for cultivation by constructing dykes to keep out the sea. This village grew until 1750. The French priest Jean-Louis Le Loutre led Mi'kmaq warriors to burn down the village to force the Acadians to relocate to French-held territory north of the Missaquash. He wanted to bring French settlers together in

1480-570: Was a railway engineer and businessman in maritime British North America and later Canada. Born in Fredericton , Ketchum was the first graduate of the University of New Brunswick 's undergraduate civil engineering program in 1862. His early career saw him working on construction of several rail lines in New Brunswick and a significant viaduct in Brazil. He was made an Associate of the British Institution of Civil Engineers in 1866, and

1520-510: Was hired as chief engineer on construction of the New Brunswick Railway 's line from Fredericton to Edmundston , a track length of 170 miles (270 km). He also worked on the Quebec and New Brunswick Railway 's line between Woodstock and Rivière-du-Loup around this time. In 1875, Ketchum opened a private consulting practice in Fredericton. At this time he began work on proposals for

1560-584: Was hired as resident engineer with International Contracting Company, which had been contracted for an extension of the European and North American Railway from Moncton to Truro, Nova Scotia . He was assigned to construction of a line from Painsec Junction east of Moncton to the border of Nova Scotia at the Missaguash River . Controversy erupted when the Premier of New Brunswick , Albert James Smith , insisted that

1600-482: Was located on Baie Verte and had a moderate tidal range and was protected by two breakwaters. However, the terminal at Fort Lawrence was located on Cumberland Basin at the discharge point of the Missaguash River on the inter-provincial boundary with New Brunswick and had a high tidal range, necessitating the construction of a lock to accommodate different water levels. Construction began in October 1888 and by 1890

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