Fredericton Branch Railway

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The Fredericton Branch Railway is an historic Canadian railway that operated in New Brunswick.

1 Incorporation
2 Construction
3 Merger with NBR
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Incorporation

The Fredericton Railway Company pre-dated Confederation and was incorporated in 1866 to build a railway line from the European & North American Railway "Western Extension" at Hartt's Mills to Fredericton. The route was surveyed north from Hartts Mills through the communities of Rusagonis, Waasis, Doak and Salamanca to a location on the edge of the capital city's downtown.

[edit] Construction

construction was held in early November 1867 at Salamanca and rails were laid from the fall of 1868 through the fall of 1869. The first passenger train arrived in Fredericton on 2 November 1869 and with the completion of the "Western Extension" 29 days later on 1 December, the city was connected by rail to Carleton and McAdam.

[edit] Merger with NBR

In 1875 the Fredericton Branch Railway was incorporated and took over the operation of the line from Fredericton to Fredericton Junction (which had been renamed from Hartt's Mills). On September 26, 1883, the New Brunswick Railway Company acquired the Fredericton Branch Railway for US$150,000. The NBR had also acquired the New Brunswick and Canada Railway and the E&NA "Western Extension" (then called the Saint John and Maine Railway), thus with the purchase of the Fredericton Branch Railway, the NBR gained control of all the railways in western New Brunswick.

On July 1 1890, the Canadian Pacific Railway leased the NBR for 999 years. Under CPR operation, the line to Fredericton saw expanded freight and passenger service, particularly after the Fredericton Railway Bridge was built by the Fredericton & St. Mary's Bridge Co. in 1889. The Fredericton & St. Mary's Bridge Co. was a subsidiary of the Canada Eastern Railway which was acquired by the Intercolonial Railway. The CPR received trackage rights over the bridge to connect its lines from South Devon to Minto and Norton in the east and Woodstock in the west. In 1922, the CPR opened the new York Street Railway Station at the end of the railway line into downtown Fredericton. This new brick station became the focal point of inter-city trains until passenger service to Fredericton was reduced during the 1950s and ceased on 28 April 1962. From that date until 1981, the CP railway line to Fredericton carried exclusively freight traffic. CP operated a local freight train as a "turn" from Fredericton to the divisional yard at McAdam during the 1960s-1970s which was nicknamed "The Oriental" (the train received this monicker after a carload of rice derailed near Tracy). This train was cancelled in the early 1980s after the divisional point at McAdam was eliminated; thereafter, freight for Fredericton was dropped off and picked up by a local train at Fredericton Junction. In 1981, VIA Rail cancelled its Atlantic passenger train service from Saint John to Montreal. To placate local concerns, VIA implemented RDC service from Saint John to Fredericton via Fredericton Junction. This development saw passenger rail service return to Fredericton for the first time in 19 years and VIA contracted CP to upgrade the trackage and speed of the line into Fredericton. The 1985 restoration of the Atlantic saw the RDC service to Fredericton cancelled and in 1988, all CPR lines east of Montreal were placed under the Canadian Atlantic Railway business unit to address mounting financial losses. In November 1993, CPR abandoned its railway line to Fredericton and the rails were removed the following year.

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