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64-489: Construction began in 1871 but costs almost bankrupted the government by the next year, a problem that helped pave PEI's entrance into Confederation. The work was picked up by the Canadian Government Railways and largely completed by the mid-1880s. The PEIR saw heavy use, especially during World War II , but like many railways saw declining use through the 1970s. The line officially closed on 31 December 1989 and

128-605: A fixed link in 1985–1986, following aborted attempts at building a highway/railway causeway across Abegweit Passage in 1957 and 1965–1969, saw CN accelerate its attempts to withdraw railway service on Prince Edward Island. In 1975 the railway station in Elmira was re-opened to become the Island's first railway museum. The museum is housed in the actual Elmira railway station. The museum originally included two former Canadian National Railway passenger cars: one former wood sided baggage car and

192-474: A former IRC bridge over the Miramichi River at Newcastle, New Brunswick . Branches were also constructed at this time off PEIR lines to Vernon Bridge , Montague , and Elmira . From 1915 to 1918, PEIR and IRC would come to be known collectively as the Canadian Government Railways (CGR), although each company would maintain its separate corporate identity and management. The most revolutionary change to

256-590: A nesting site for cormorants and terns for the next three decades (1960s to 1990s). Ice and wind and wave damage by the turn of the 21st century had caused the majority of the old piers to collapse and are now mostly invisible from the bridge. In 1992 the Government of Canada signed an agreement with Strait Crossing Joint Venture (SCJV), an international construction consortium, to build the Northumberland Strait Crossing Project (today known as

320-619: A new line was built connecting the Charlottetown-Summerside main line at Emerald Junction with another Northumberland Strait port at Cape Traverse . From Cape Traverse, iceboats would cross the Abegweit Passage to Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick during the winter months. Another new line was built east from Charlottetown to Murray Harbour , part of which included building the Hillsborough River Bridge , using

384-401: A railway bridge across the river, allowing for train travel to the eastern side. The Prince Edward Island Railway had constructed a railway line from Southport (now part of Stratford) to Murray Harbour . Like all of the other lines on the Island at the time, the line was built using the 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge. The last remaining link in this line involved crossing

448-465: A result, CN increasingly began to avoid investing capital into improving railway infrastructure in the province. In a classic "demarketing" strategy, CN's deteriorating track conditions resulted in further loss of service to trucks. By the early 1980s CN made it clear the days of its railway operations on Prince Edward Island were numbered, but Island politicians at the provincial and federal level managed to dissuade CN from abandoning. The renewed talk of

512-411: A steel railway post office (RPO) car. In the 1990s arson claimed the baggage car. Approximately a decade later, RPO was scrapped having succumbed to age and a lack of preservation activities. The trucks from the baggage car are still on the property. Several railway cars were on display at the provincially operated railway museum at Elmira until the mid-2000s but have since been scrapped due to neglect on

576-534: A vital role in Canada's wartime effort, moving vast numbers of troops and supplies. A notable role was the relief and reconstruction in Halifax after the 1917 Halifax Explosion and one CGR employee, Vince Coleman became a celebrated hero in the explosion. The first system to be taken over was the bankrupt Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) on September 6, 1918, whereby the government-appointed Board of Management for CNoR

640-790: Is a bridge crossing the Hillsborough River estuary between Charlottetown and Stratford in Queens County, Prince Edward Island . The current road bridge, built in 1962, replaced a 1905 rail bridge crossing the same span which was known by the same name. The first bridge was built by the Prince Edward Island Railway to complete a rail line from Charlottetown to Murray River . The single-lane bridge opened in 1905, and incorporated iron spans from two bridges in Miramichi, New Brunswick built about 30 years earlier. As rail service in

704-635: Is located adjacent to a replica railway station. Both can be seen from the Confederation Bridge . Two former railway tank cars reside beside the railway on the property of Island Construction on the Sherwood Road in Charlottetown. Both tank cars are adjacent to the railway trail can be easily seen and photographed from the trail. These tank cars are 36' long each. During the final years of railway operation on PEI these tank cars could be seen parked in

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768-525: Is now used as the Elmira Railway Museum. Located wholly within the province of Prince Edward Island , construction of the PEIR started in 1871, eventually financed by Canada . The line was initially built to 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge, under the supervision of Chief Engineer John Edward Boyd a native of Saint John, New Brunswick who first advocated the use of narrow gauge for

832-547: The Charlottetown Conference a decade earlier. The railway construction debts pushed the colony into reconsidering Confederation, and following further negotiations, Prince Edward Island became a province of Canada on July 1, 1873. The understated provision in the Prince Edward Island Terms of Union reads as follows: That the railways under contract and in course of construction for the Government of

896-550: The Confederation Bridge ) between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Part of the agreement negotiated with the Government of Prince Edward Island provided for a federal-provincial cost-sharing to have Strait Crossing Joint Venture take ownership of and expand the Hillsborough River Bridge from 2 lanes to 4. This expansion had been studied since the late 1970s when traffic delays began to occur as residential development took place in areas east of Charlottetown, namely

960-634: The New Brunswick Railway in the 1860s, and was responsible for the first surveys of the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway and the Toronto and Nipissing Railway in Ontario . The PEIR was frequently criticized for its meandering path, reputedly caused by construction contractors who were paid by the mile; this may also be accounted for in economies taken by reducing the amount of grading and trenching required by going around hills and obstacles. At one point there

1024-534: The Prince Edward Island Railway (PEIR), and the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR). There were also several minor branch railways in the province of New Brunswick that were acquired by CGR during this time. The deepening financial crisis in Canada's railway industry toward the end of the First World War saw the majority of major railways across the country nationalized by the federal government. The CGR played

1088-646: The Trans-Canada Highway network across the country. The Prince Edward Island component was planned between the ferry terminals in Borden and Wood Islands via Charlottetown. As part of this national project, an improved crossing of the Hillsborough River was deemed necessary, however it required several years of negotiation over joint federal and provincial funding before construction could begin. A new 2-lane highway bridge opened in 1962 to carry Route 1 over

1152-564: The Borden railway yard and were used to store fuel oil for the ferry boats. Both tank cars are painted a light blue colour (the same paint scheme they featured during their railway service). The western end of the PEIR starts in Tignish, abutting Church Street which forms the downtown axis. A wye-junction just west of the end serves as a turnaround, running north to Maple Street. The line initially runs west-southwest out of town but soon turns south towards

1216-721: The CGR, although in many regions, such as the Maritimes, the public continued to refer to its trains and facilities by their old name of the Intercolonial. The CGR moniker ceased to be used after 1918, but the CGR itself existed on paper until the late 20th century, largely due to real estate leases and other agreements. A Privy Council order dated July 22, 1993, authorized the sale of CGR to the Crown corporation CN for one Canadian dollar . Hillsborough River Bridge The Hillsborough River Bridge

1280-619: The CNR fold on July 12, 1920. GTPR's parent company, the bankrupt Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) was nationalized on May 21, 1920, and was absorbed into the CNR on January 30, 1923. Although the CGR only existed for a short period of time before evolving into the Canadian National Railway, it was a very visible Canadian railway in World War One due to the large scale of wartime railway operation. Large amounts of rolling stock were lettered for

1344-478: The Charlottetown abutment of the bridge, boarding a bulldozer and demanding in front of local media, that the bridge be reopened. CNR relented and reopened the bridge, making temporary repairs, however the long-term viability of the bridge, then approaching 85 years of age (when its 30-year service in New Brunswick was taken into account), was in doubt. By the mid-1950s, the federal government had begun to develop

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1408-539: The Hillsborough River parallel to, and immediately upstream of, the single lane railway bridge. The new bridge used the original soil-infilled approach causeways on both sides of the river that had been used for the railway bridge. Thus, though the span is straight, the overall crossing takes a distinctive curving alignment. The causeways were widened to the Trans-Canada Highway standard width of 3 lanes (2 travel lanes and emergency shoulders) and lengthened to narrow

1472-722: The Hillsborough River to Charlottetown. The Intercolonial Railway was a sister company to the PEIR in the neighbouring Maritime provinces and Quebec . Like the PEIR, it was owned by the Government of Canada and it was upgrading its mainline through northeastern New Brunswick to handle heavier locomotives and rail cars. The Intercolonial Railway crossed the Southwest Miramichi River and Northwest Miramichi River between Nelson and Newcastle using two iron bridges set upon stone piers, as designed by engineer-in-chief Sir Sandford Fleming . These spans were considered surplus after their heavier replacements were installed, thus

1536-650: The Island, shall be the property of Canada; Thus the Government of Canada came to inherit the PEIR in 1874 at the same time as construction was progressing on the Intercolonial Railway (IRC), which would link the strategic winter ports of the Canadian Maritimes with Central Canada . New locomotives were purchased from the United Kingdom and from Canadian manufacturers along with new rail cars. In 1885,

1600-573: The Murray Harbour Line continues eastward a short distance before turning south at Hermitage, and then eastward again when it meets the Belle River on the south coast, running the remaining distance to Murray Harbour. A spur was later added in the Belle River area to Wood Islands . This collection of spurs on the PEIR is the only area that has not been fully converted to rail trail use, with several sections currently undeveloped. Like many lines of

1664-615: The Northumberland Strait ferry service: * denotes combination train ferry / ferry Canadian Government Railways Canadian Government Railways ( reporting marks CGR , IRC ) was the legal name used between 1915–1918 for all federal government-owned railways in Canada . The principal component companies were the Intercolonial Railway of Canada (IRC), the National Transcontinental Railway (NTR),

1728-464: The PEIR occurred in 1915 when a new icebreaking railcar ferry called Prince Edward Island was ordered by the federal government, arriving from the United Kingdom with a capacity of 12 rail cars, however it would not be until 1917 that the port facilities at Port Borden and Cape Tormentine would be ready to handle the vessel. In the meantime, the Prince Edward Island continued to operate

1792-497: The PEIR was a completely captive system, having no need for interchange with mainland North American railways. Following the start of railcar service in 1917, the lines to Charlottetown and Summerside from Borden were dual-gauged , capable of handling mainland cars with the standard gauge of 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) and the PEIR's narrow gauge of 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ). In September 1918, management of CGR (including PEIR)

1856-516: The bridge was unsafe for any rail traffic and the rails were removed while the railway instituted taxi service for passengers travelling to Murray Harbour, allowing them to board passenger trains at its terminus near the bridge abutment in Southport. No longer used for rail traffic, CNR wished to rid itself of operating the bridge and tried to get the provincial government to take ownership. The provincial government, which had been getting away with having

1920-507: The bridge when trains were not crossing; for this purpose, wood planks were placed between and on each side of the rails. The railway bridge saw steady use through to the early 1930s when the PEIR's successor, Canadian National Railways (CNR), completed the conversion of the rail lines in the province from narrow (3 feet 6 inches (107 cm)) to standard (4 feet 8.5 inches (143.5 cm)) gauge. The larger dimensions and weight of standard gauge rail cars and locomotives saw

1984-434: The communities of Bunbury , Southport , Kinlock , Keppoch and Cross Roads , creating changes in commuting patterns. Studies indicated that vehicle counts on the 2-lane bridge were approaching 30,000 trips per day. SCJV expanded the bridge in 1995, placing additional continuous span girders on each side of the original structure with expanded piers, then removing of the guardrails and concrete sidewalk and bridge deck from

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2048-490: The eastern side of the airport. The line continues eastward out of Summerside to the New Annan area, where several large potato processing factories were built. Today this is the site of major factories for Cavendish Farms , which runs two dozen factories in this area. The line runs through Kensington and then turns south to Emerald Junction , where a wye junction splits off a spur leading southwest to Borden-Carleton, serving

2112-401: The era, small whistle-stop towns sprang up all along the line, typically where the railway crossed an existing road. These often bear the terms "Junction", "Crossing" or "Station" as part of their names. Many of these exist only as names on a map today, the dwellings long since gone. Due to its relatively recent abandonment, and especially due to maintenance as part of the rail trail conversion,

2176-452: The extension was added. The line continues westward, avoiding Cascumpec Bay , which extends inland to the west for some distance. This takes the line through Elmsdale and O'Leary , where it starts bending back toward the east and south, running through Wellington (and forming Wellington Station). Here it turns east to Summerside . Just west of Summerside a wye was built to provide a spur line to service Summerside Airport , running along

2240-503: The federal government decided to salvage the structure for use on the PEIR's line to Murray Harbour. Both bridges, consisting of 12 spans, were transported on barges to Prince Edward Island. Before installing the structure, the PEIR hauled thousands of rail car loads of soil excavated alongside the railway line east of the St. Dunstan's University campus several miles northwest of the bridge abutment. These railcars were pushed in 10-15 car trains to

2304-401: The federally owned railway company operate this important bridge for many years, sought to delay any handover and at one point in the early 1950s, CNR engineers barricaded the bridge to public travel, partly out of concern that the bridge was unsafe, and partly to pressure the provincial negotiators. The provincial government was outraged and Premier J. Walter Jones staged a publicity stunt at

2368-411: The former ferry docks. The line continues east from the junction, running east and south to Royalty Junction, just north of Charlottetown. Here a wye formed a spur serving the downtown area. The line continues away from Charlottetown running east-northeast to Mount Stewart , where it splits in a wye just west of town. The mainline continues northeast, while a major spur bends south and then southwest for

2432-599: The northeast through Bunbury. From here it runs roughly eastward to Lake Verde, where a wye provides a spur running south a short distance to a large turning loop at Vernon Bridge . With the closing of the Hillsborough bridge, a second wye was added just to the east of the first, spurring off the Short Line that runs northward to meet the Montague/Georgetown spur just south of Mount Stewart, near Maple Hill. The mainline of

2496-412: The northern edge of the original western terminus of the line at Alberton . Here the line folds back on itself, leaving town west-northwest almost parallel to the incoming line, an artifact of its later extension. The line originally bent south to run through town to the docks at Northport . The line to Northport was turned into a spur by building a large wye junction at the sharp curve that developed when

2560-410: The original structure, replacing it with an integrated deck. This work took place without any significant delays or closures. For taxation purposes, the Hillsborough River Bridge structure owned by SCJV is jurisdictionally within the town of Stratford; the municipal boundary between Stratford and Charlottetown is thus located at the western abutment of the bridge on the approach causeway. Additional work

2624-509: The part of the PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation. An ex-CN caboose 78431 was acquired and moved to museum in 2009. In 1990, a diesel locomotive (class MLW RSC-14 number 1767) donated to Summerside several years earlier, needed to be moved to nearby Kensington . Although now abandoned, the railway's tracks were still intact between both locations, except for several grade crossings at local roads where rails had been removed. The locomotive

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2688-406: The province was converted to standard gauge and heavier service, use of the bridge declined until it was deemed unsafe for all traffic in the 1950s. As the Trans-Canada Highway project was planned in the 1950s, improving the crossing of the Hillsborough River was deemed essential. A new, improved 2-lane road bridge was built immediately upstream of the old rail bridge, opening in 1962. The bridge

2752-461: The rails removed between 1990 and 1992, with the provincial government receiving a one-time payment of $ 200 million to upgrade the road network in exchange for not opposing the closure. The provincial government purchased the properties in 1994, and 75 per cent of the route now forms the basis of the Confederation Trail rail trail system. The station in Elmira at the eastern end of the line

2816-677: The railway was pressed into service to supply a radar base in Tignish, as well as a flight training school in Mount Pleasant , midway between Summerside and Tignish. Increased use of diesel locomotives in North America during and after the Second World War saw CNR completely dieselize its operations on Prince Edward Island by the late 1940s as a means to save money on hauling bulk coal to the province. This meant that Prince Edward Island rail lines had diesel locomotives fully one decade before

2880-524: The railway's structural engineers deem the railway bridge unsafe, so a bypass route from Mount Stewart Junction to Lake Verde Junction was built as a depression -era project. Following the opening of the "Short Line", all heavy rail traffic bound for Murray Harbour was routed through Mount Stewart. The rails on the Hillsborough River Bridge were standard gauged but only lightweight rail cars and locomotives were permitted to use it, thus its use by CNR declined markedly. In 1950 CNR structural engineers felt

2944-563: The rest of Canada saw the last of steam , giving the province a prominent place in Canadian railway history as one of the first regional dieselization projects. The rising popularity of automobiles travelling on government-funded all-weather highways saw passenger rail traffic decline sharply during the 1950s and into the 1960s. The last passenger train on Prince Edward Island operated in 1968, being replaced by buses thereafter. CN (name change to Canadian National Railway or acronym CN in 1960)

3008-524: The route of PEIR remains easily visible in aerial and satellite photos. Steven Boyko notes on his blog Side note: RDC D302 was tested on PEI in March 1958 but "it proved unsuitable because of difficulties it encountered crossing the ferry ramp, and negotiating the sharp turns between Borden and Charlottetown". The following vessels were owned and operated by CNR/CN (1918–1977), CN Marine (CN subsidiary, 1977–1986) or by successor Marine Atlantic (post-1986) on

3072-439: The run to Montague Junction. Here a wye forms a spur running southwest to Montague and southeast and Georgetown. The mainline continues out of Mount Stewart and passes through Morell , and, on the eastern side of town, begins to parallel the northern coast of the island as far as Saint Peter's Bay. Here it leaves the coast and continues eastward to a wye at Harmony Junction, where it originally looped back westward and then south for

3136-518: The sandstone bedrock beneath the riverbed. The bridge had a motorized swing span in the centre to permit ship traffic to operate upriver on the Hillsborough River, with 2 supporting piers when the span was opened. The bridge opened in 1905 and immediately revolutionized travel in southeastern Prince Edward Island, allowing narrow gauge passenger and freight trains to operate between Charlottetown and Murray Harbour, as well as pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages and sleighs (and later automobiles) to use

3200-494: The service to the port of Pictou, Nova Scotia from Georgetown and Charlottetown for the next two years. The new ferry port at Borden required the Cape Traverse-Emerald Junction line be modified, and a line was constructed to Borden, along with marshalling yards and other facilities. The Cape Traverse line would only last a few more years before being abandoned following the move to Borden. Up until this point,

3264-476: The short run to Souris. The Harmony wye made the Souris line a spur, with the mainline continuing east to its ultimate end in Elmira. Like the western end, a wye junction and spur just west of Elmira allowed the trains to turn around. The Murray Harbour Line started at the end of the mainline spur in Charlottetown, crossing the Hillsborough River Bridge (the original pilings can still be seen) before bending sharply to

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3328-427: The span to roughly half that of the railway bridge. The new bridge structure was constructed using structural steel as an arched truss using 2 piers. The emergency shoulders on the bridge structure were occupied by concrete sidewalks. The original railway bridge immediately downstream of the new highway bridge was dismantled and the iron structure was scrapped, although the stone piers were left in place. These became

3392-412: The use of icebreakers , some of which were the largest of their kind in the world at one time. Trucks soon began to take traffic away from freight operations on Prince Edward Island, particularly as CNR improved the ferry system to accept more road vehicles. By the 1970s, critical agricultural cargo such as the potato harvests were increasingly transferring to trucks with each successive season. As

3456-556: The waterfront and used to in-fill large areas for expanded rail yards and wharves, as well as to build an approach causeway from the Charlottetown side. A corresponding approach causeway was built on the Southport side using soil excavated along the railway line in Bunbury east of the bridge. The remaining gap had 11 stone piers constructed deep into the mud of the Hillsborough River using cofferdams and high pressure air, with stone being imported from Nova Scotia and cemented into place atop

3520-548: Was a major presence in Prince Edward Island's economy, from operating the freight and passenger railway (and later bus) services, to a large fleet of company owned and operated ferries. The ferry system was noteworthy by the fact that it was mandated by Prince Edward Island's "Terms of Union" under the British North America Act of Canadian Confederation , to provide "efficient steamship service." This required

3584-464: Was completed from Tignish to Charlottetown by 1924, and remaining lines in the east end of the province were completed by 1926 except for the Murray Harbour line which was standard gauged by September 1930. The last significant railway construction on Prince Edward Island occurred during the early 1930s when the Hillsborough River Bridge carrying the Murray Harbour line over the Hillsborough River

3648-591: Was instructed to take responsibility for all CGR operations as well. Later that year, the federal government created the Canadian National Railways (CNR) as a means to simplify the funding and administration of the nationalized railway system, which was formally brought about by an order issued on December 20, 1918, by the Privy Council . The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) was nationalized after defaulting on loan payments March 7, 1919, and entered

3712-560: Was on average one railway station for every 2.5 miles (4 km) of track. The main line connected the northwestern port of Alberton (later extended to Tignish ) with the Northumberland Strait ports of Summerside , Charlottetown , Georgetown , and Souris . By 1872, construction debts threatened to bankrupt the colony. The United Kingdom had consistently encouraged the small colony to enter into Canadian Confederation , something which it had been avoiding since playing host to

3776-518: Was removed and trains trying to reach Southport on the opposite side of Charlottetown Harbour would have to run over 30 miles (48.3 km) via Mount Stewart Junction and the Short Line . CNR was busy on Prince Edward Island during the Second World War when a 2-mile (3.2 km) spur line was built from St. Eleanors , west of Summerside, to service a new air force base ( CFB Summerside ), and

3840-407: Was towed by construction machinery across temporary tracks built over these roads to its new location, where it remains on display as part of a community-operated railway museum. The former Kensington Railway Station was designated a National Historic Site of Canada . Another railway car is currently undergoing preservation at Borden-Carleton . This car is a plywood sided, former CNR, caboose and

3904-463: Was transferred to the newly nationalized Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR). These companies were assumed by a new Crown corporation established by the federal government in December 1918, called Canadian National Railways (CNR). By 1923 all corporate entities ceased to exist under CNR. Soon after CNR took over, it was decided to standard gauge all narrow gauge trackage on Prince Edward Island. This

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3968-464: Was unable to handle the heavier standard gauge cars, thus a 10-mile (16.1 km) connecting track called the Short Line was built from a point at Maple Hill Junction on the Mount Stewart Jct.-Georgetown line, to connect with the Murray Harbour track at Lake Verde Junction . In 1951, the Hillsborough River bridge was deemed too weak to carry even the lightest engines and cars, thus the trackage

4032-480: Was undertaken by the provincial government on the approach routes to the span, with additional infilling of Charlottetown Harbour to extend Water Street through the former railway yard ( CN Rail abandoned rail service in PEI on December 31, 1989) and intersection with Grafton Street and Riverside Drive. Additional redesign work was undertaken on the Southport side of the bridge to allow for a more efficient traffic flow. In 2021

4096-452: Was widened to carry 4 lanes of traffic in 1995. The Hillsborough River is a 30 km long and up to 1 km wide tidal inlet which empties into Charlottetown Harbour. During the 1800s, a seasonal passenger ferry service operated between the Charlottetown waterfront and Ferry Point on the opposite side. When the river was frozen in winter, horse-drawn sleighs would cross the ice. In 1905, the Prince Edward Island Railway (PEIR) constructed

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