Newfoundland Railway!
Railway
The Newfoundland railway operated for a little over a century. From 1882-97 the trains ran over completed portions of a projected trans-insular line. The first passenger train across the island ran in June 1898. Regular passenger service ceased in July 1969, and the last freight ran in June 1988. The railbed has since been designated a "T'railway" and a linear provincial park.
Built to narrow (3'6") gauge for reasons of economy, the Newfoundland railway was the longest such line in North America, and was regarded with particular affection by railway buffs (its gently mocking nickname, "the Newfie Bullet" dates only from World War II). The main line was 548 miles, from St. John's to Port aux Basques. Numerous branch lines made the operating trackage in the peak years (1915-31) 906 miles. | |
Of course, the railway has a particular mystique for Newfoundlanders as well. The line connected the major bays to each other, and the old headland "fishing capitals" to the new towns of the interior. The railway provided substantial employment and created a brotherhood of railwaymen as well as a network of railway families. It also provided the first overland link to the mainland. The saga of the line's construction across the interior and its continued operation in the face of enormous difficulties was a source of national pride in Newfoundland. After Confederation with Canada in 1949 the railway continued as a symbol of Newfoundland's former independence. The construction era figures in our history much as the building of the great trans-continental lines does in the history of Canada and the United States: as both a milestone in the march of progress and an exercise in nation-building.
Although the first construction contract was let in 1881, it was not until 1890 and the advent of contractor Robert Gillespie Reid (1842-1908) that the line extended beyond the Avalon Peninsula. The Reid family ran the railway until 1923, when operations were taken over by the
The Newfoundland railway operated for a little over a century. From 1882-97 the trains ran over completed portions of a projected trans-insular line. The first passenger train across the island ran in June 1898. Regular passenger service ceased in July 1969, and the last freight ran in June 1988. The railbed has since been designated a "T'railway" and a linear provincial park.
Built to narrow (3'6") gauge for reasons of economy, the Newfoundland railway was the longest such line in North America, and was regarded with particular affection by railway buffs (its gently mocking nickname, "the Newfie Bullet" dates only from World War II). The main line was 548 miles, from St. John's to Port aux Basques. Numerous branch lines made the operating trackage in the peak years (1915-31) 906 miles. | |
Of course, the railway has a particular mystique for Newfoundlanders as well. The line connected the major bays to each other, and the old headland "fishing capitals" to the new towns of the interior. The railway provided substantial employment and created a brotherhood of railwaymen as well as a network of railway families. It also provided the first overland link to the mainland. The saga of the line's construction across the interior and its continued operation in the face of enormous difficulties was a source of national pride in Newfoundland. After Confederation with Canada in 1949 the railway continued as a symbol of Newfoundland's former independence. The construction era figures in our history much as the building of the great trans-continental lines does in the history of Canada and the United States: as both a milestone in the march of progress and an exercise in nation-building.
Although the first construction contract was let in 1881, it was not until 1890 and the advent of contractor Robert Gillespie Reid (1842-1908) that the line extended beyond the Avalon Peninsula. The Reid family ran the railway until 1923, when operations were taken over by the