Dominion Atlantic Railway
Encyclopedia
The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic Canadian
railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia
, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley
.
The DAR's corporate headquarters were originally located in London, United Kingdom until 1912, followed by Montreal, Quebec, but was always operationally headquartered in Kentville, Nova Scotia
where the railway retained a unique identity and a high degree of independence until the end of steam. A depiction of Evangeline
from the poem Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie published in 1847 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
was incorporated into the DAR logo along with the text 'Land of Evangeline Route'.
The company is still legally incorporated and files annual returns with the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock; its headquarters are now in Calgary, Alberta. Portions of the line are still operated by the Windsor and Hantsport Railway
.
The Dominion Atlantic Railway was unusually diverse for a regional railway, operating its own hotel chain, steamship line and named luxury trains such as the Flying Bluenose
. It is credited with playing a major role in developing Nova Scotia's tourism and agriculture industries.
(W&A) and the Western Counties Railway (WCR). The larger and more successful W&A bought out the rival WCR for $265,000. The merger was authorized by the provincial legislature in 1893.
The W&A owned the track between its namesake port towns of Windsor
and Annapolis Royal
, and had also negotiated trackage rights to operate over the Intercolonial Railway's former Nova Scotia Railway
"Windsor Branch" between Windsor Junction
and Windsor, as well as on the IRC mainline from Windsor Junction into Halifax. The WCR on the other hand, operated between Yarmouth
and Digby
. The new DAR thus had a gap in its trackage between Annapolis Royal and Digby, which would otherwise be continuous from Yarmouth to Halifax. The gap was eventually closed in the early 1890s with government assistance.
Although the DAR technically connected to the Intercolonial Railway at Windsor, the IRC rarely operated on this line and left it to the DAR beyond the mainline connection at |Windsor Junction. The DAR system also connected with the Midland Railway at Windsor, the Nova Scotia Central Railway (NSCR ) and the Middleton and Victoria Beach Railway
(M&VBR) at Middleton
, and the Halifax and Southwestern Railway
(H&SW) at Yarmouth. The NSCR and M&VBR were both eventually purchased by the H&SW.
The DAR also had a branch north of Kentville
to Kingsport
, the former Cornwallis Valley Railway
completed in 1889. A westward extension of this branch was started in 1905 on a line formally chartered as the North Mountain Railway from a junction on the Kingsport line at Centreville west to Weston
. It was completed in 1914.
Also in 1905, the DAR purchased the Midland Railway, giving a more direct connection between Windsor and the Intercolonial Railway at Truro
where lines headed east to Pictou
and Cape Breton Island
, and west to New Brunswick
.
and "the New Yorker" connecting with Boston and New York steamships in the summer. The railway bought the first Pullman parlour cars in all of Canada for this service.
Influenced by promotional themes from Yarmouth steamship companies, the DAR developed an identity as "The Land of Evangeline Route" exploiting interest in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
's poem about the Acadians. This promotion grew to include a whole series of posters, postcards, books, named locomotives and a prominent herald depicting Evangeline which was seen on all DAR publications and most locomotives. The DAR purchased land at Grand Pre in 1917 and built a large garden and replica church dedicated to the memory of the Acadians. It became not only a popular tourism destination but also evolved into a shrine to Acadian people.
The successful development of this market created a remarkable growth in DAR passenger traffic which soared to over 200,000 riders a year in its first five years and is regarded by historians as the introduction of mass tourism in Atlantic Canada.
and Gulf of Maine
ports of Windsor, Digby and Yarmouth. A key component to the DAR's passenger and freight business was through the connections with various ferries that operated in these waters, mostly from Digby and Yarmouth. A smaller service also operated across the Minas Basin
from the smaller ports of Kingsport
and Wolfville
.
In 1901, the DAR owned and operated nine steamships in the Bay of Fundy and Minas Basin services, serving routes between Digby-Saint John, New Brunswick
with connections to the CPR and IRC, and Kingsport-Parrsboro-Wolfville connecting at Parrsboro
with the Cumberland Railway's line to Springhill
; the MV Kipawo
being the 13th and last vessel on this particular service. The service was terminated during World War II
after the vessel was requisitioned by the Royal Canadian Navy
.
In 1904, service was expanded to use three surplus steamships to include a Gulf of Maine operation between Yarmouth-Boston and Yarmouth-New York. These services launched the DAR into the forefront of Nova Scotia's nascent tourist industry and the railway subsequently built a resort hotel at Digby, the Digby Pines Resort
and the Cornwallis Inn in Kentville. After the Canadian Pacific Railway
purchased the DAR in 1911, they sold some of its steamship connections, such as the Yarmouth steamships, but expanded others, such as the Digby-Saint John route, which received large new steamships such as the SS Princess Helene
.
industry in the Annapolis Valley. The arrival of the railway in the 1860s transformed apples from a minor locally-consumed crop to a large export industry, eventually shipping millions of barrels every year as the major supplier of apples to the United Kingdom.
Following a brief slump in World War I
, apple traffic reached its peak in the 1930s. Over 150 apple warehouses were built along the DAR mainline and its branchlines. For many decades, the period from September to April saw heavy apple traffic on the DAR, moving apples from warehouses to ocean steamers at Halifax, often requiring double-headed specials.
These exports were sharply curtailed during World War II
and Nova Scotia never regained its market share in Europe. Nova Scotia's apple industry eventually stabilized after the war but on a smaller scale. The large Scotia Gold co-operative apple processing plant was built beside the DAR mainline at Coldbrook, Nova Scotia
using the railway to ship apple and fruit products until the 1970s.
On November 13, 1911, the DAR and all of its subsidiaries was leased by the Canadian Pacific Railway
. The move gave the CPR access to the port of Halifax. The new owners allowed the DAR to retain its independence in operations and corporate identity for many decades, making it "the most famous railway in the province". George Graham, a rising CPR superintendent, was appointed General Manager in 1915 to upgrade and expand the DAR. Major new investments were made in locomotives and service facilities. Graham built the Grand Pre Park and built a chain of DAR railway hotels including the Digby Pines Resort
, the "Cornwallis Inn" in Kentville and the Lord Nelson Hotel
in Halifax. With its own steamships, hotels and branchlines, the DAR was regarded by some as a "Canadian Pacific in miniature".
Throughout the First World War the DAR played an important wartime role. It shipped large numbers of troops from the major Canadian Army training base near Kentville
(Aldershot Military Camp). A DAR relief train was one of the first trains to rush with help after the Halifax Explosion
in 1917.
The DAR's importance increased in the Second World War as it was the sole railway serving HMCS Cornwallis, a Royal Canadian Navy
training and operations base on Annapolis Basin, RCAF Station Greenwood at Greenwood and RCAF Station Stanley at Stanley
, as well as the Aldershot Military Camp. HMCS Cornwallis, Digby and Yarmouth were also important RCN operating ports.
being mined in Nova Scotia). The railway experimented with two diesel-electric ALCO S-3 switchers for several months, which were placed in service on July 1, 1956. Steam locomotives were not displaced until the arrival of ten EMD SW1200RS road switchers in April 1959. The SW1200RS' replaced the S-3's, and all but one steam locomotive, which was retained for a short time, a switcher used in service between Kentville and local communities until 1961. The railway also saw CPR introduce two Budd Company
Rail Diesel Cars in August 1956 to reduce operating costs of its passenger services which had previously been conventional trains hauled by steam locomotives.
Declining passenger business and the collapse of the Annapolis Valley's apple industry led to reduction in service. The DAR's steamship services on Minas Basin and the Gulf of Maine were abandoned, although the company maintained the passenger/auto ferry connection between Digby and Saint John. With passenger service falling, the DAR sold its hotel chain as well as the Grand Pre Park in 1957. The S-3's and the original two RDC's were lettered Dominion Atlantic, which makes them unique as the only diesel era equipment lettered for a Canadian Pacific subsidiary line. However, the SW1200RS' and subsequent RDCs were lettered Canadian Pacific. Throughout the rest of the railway's existence, only maintenance of way vehicles, passenger timetables, tickets, stationary, and stations carried the DAR moniker.
By the 1970s, the DAR was starting to see its operations west of Kentville reduced to branchline status. The Cornwallis Valley Railway
branchlines north of Kentville to Kingsport and Weston
were abandoned on January 31, 1961, for lack of passenger traffic and the postwar collapse of the apple industry and reduced to a three mile spur line to Steam Mill Village. CPR began reducing its passenger service to minimal levels between Halifax-Yarmouth and Windsor-Truro upon construction of the parallel taxpayer-funded all-weather Highway 101
between Halifax and Kentville after 1970. In a 1969 agreement with the provincial and federal governments, CPR built a new passenger/auto ferry for service between Saint John and Digby, while the governments built new ferry terminals and connecting highways. Both of the new ferry terminals were built away from the railway lines, so that neither permitted rail-side transfers at the dock from passenger train to ferry, causing the Dayliner or RDC service to suffer further declines in passenger numbers.
The only bright spot for DAR was in gypsum
traffic, a mineral that was quarried just east of Windsor and hauled to expanded port facilities at Hantsport
; it was in high demand throughout the post-war years during the North American housing construction boom. Prior to Hantsport's expansion, gypsum had also been hauled farther west to the Annapolis Basin at Deep Brook
, however shipping operations were consolidated at Hantsport in the post-war years.
In 1978, financial responsibility for the Halifax-Yarmouth passenger services was transferred to the federally owned Crown corporation Via Rail
from the DAR/CPR. The Windsor-Truro mixed train
passenger service was abandoned after being deemed non-essential, reducing that line to branch line freight status. Passenger service on the DAR began to rise, particularly after a 1983 schedule change which provided a daily return trip to Halifax from all points on the line, as well as improved connections to other Via trains at Halifax. Via also introduced refurbished Budd RDCs, and began a modest promotional campaign which included naming the train after its DAR roots, the Evangeline
. By 1984, Via reported that traffic in its Halifax-Yarmouth service had quadrupled to an average of more than 100 passengers per trip, eclipsing most of the decline experienced in previous decades. The Evangeline would continue operating until January 15, 1990, following a massive cut in funding to Via's branchline services ordered in the 1989 federal budget.
, abandoned its trackage which connected to the DAR at Yarmouth and Middleton. On May 22, 1986, the DAR abandoned its tracks between Truro and Mantua, just east of Windsor where it continued to serve a gypsum quarry. In 1988, CPR announced that all of its money-losing services east of Montreal would be grouped under a new internal marketing division called Canadian Atlantic Railway
(of which the DAR was one component, along with CPR properties in New Brunswick
, Maine
, and the Eastern Townships
of Quebec
).
The fate of any possible resurgence in freight and passenger traffic on the tracks west of Kentville was sealed with the construction of final links in the all-weather Highway 101
between Kentville and Yarmouth in the mid to late 1980s; in addition, there were several large steel bridges on this section of the railroad that were nearing the end of their maintenance lifecycle, thus requiring major expenditures. By 1989, almost the only trains using this portion of the DAR were the Via RDCs, which was experiencing passenger declines due to recent highway expansion and competing bus services, as well as changes to Via connecting train schedules. In the January 15, 1990, cuts to Via Rail by the government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
, the RDC service between Halifax and Yarmouth was abolished.
On March 27, 1990, CPR abandoned the DAR's trackage west of Kentville to Yarmouth, concentrating efforts on the more-profitable eastern end of the DAR which hauled gypsum and served a concentration of industries in New Minas
as well as a short remnant of the Kingsport line between Kentville and Steam Mill Village. On September 16, 1993, the DAR operated the last freight train in Kentville and by October had reduced its western-most trackage to New Minas. The locomotive shop facilities were moved that month from Kentville to Windsor.
subsidiary, including the DAR. Although the New Brunswick-Quebec section of CAR would actually be abandoned for a short period at the end of December 1994, the DAR was sold to Iron Road Railways
, owner of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
. The DAR operated its last four trains on Friday, August 26, 1994, just 36 days short of one hundred years.
Its successor, the Windsor and Hantsport Railway
, began operations on August 27, 1994, maintaining service on the remnants of the DAR between Windsor and New Minas, including the remnant of the Truro Subdivision that served the large open pit gypsum mines several miles east of Windsor, as well as operating the "Windsor Branch" to Windsor Junction where the system had a connection with CN's mainline between Halifax and Montreal. The W&H assumed the original long-term lease of the Windsor Branch from CN which is set to expire in 2013.
A number of DAR stations were restored for adaptive re-use such as a town library in Wolfville, a restaurant in Bridgetown and a museum in Middleton. Two stations, Hantsport and Wolfville, are federally protected buildings, designated since 1992 under the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act
.
Only one DAR steam locomotive was preserved, No. 999 Fronsac, at the Canadian Railway Museum
in Delson, Quebec
. The DAR's business car Nova Scotia is preserved privately as a restaurant in Orillia, Ontario
while a passenger coach, No. 1303 Micmac, is preserved at the Canada Science and Technology Museum
in Ottawa, Ontario. A snowplow and combine car (used for the Windsor-Truro mixed train service until 1978) are preserved at the Musquodoboit Railway Museum in Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia
.
Strangely, the town of Kentville, once headquarters to the DAR, has shown little interest in the railway's legacy and turned down all offers to preserve equipment or buildings. The DAR's large 2-storey station housing the railway's headquarters was the oldest station in Nova Scotia and one of the oldest wood railway stations in Canada was demolished in 1990. In May 2007, the town of Kentville revealed plans to demolish the town's last surviving railway structure, the ten-stall roundhouse. The move triggered a protest movement led by such groups as the Nova Scotia Railway Heritage Society as it was the last such structure in all of Nova Scotia and one of the last in Canada; it was still in remarkably good condition and many organizations felt it could be converted for public or commercial purposes. Unfortunately it was demolished on 9–10 July 2007.
In addition to the Dominion Atlantic's major influence on tourism and heritage presentation in Nova Scotia, it also inspired several generations of writers. The noted Canadian poet Charles G. D. Roberts wrote a book of prose and verse sponsored by the railway in 1900. The Dominion Atlantic features prominently in the book Blomidon Rose, a nostalgic look at the life and landscape of 1930s Annapolis Valley
by Esther Clark Wright
. In the rural Canadian classic, The Mountain and the Valley by Ernest Buckler, the railway is used as an important symbol of change and the outside world. The Dominion Atlantic inspired poetry by noted Nova Scotian writer George Elliot Clarke, a wistful, erotic poem of youth entitled "Dominion Atlantic Railway" in his book Saltwater Spirituals and Deeper Blues
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley
Annapolis Valley
The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy.-Geography:...
.
The DAR's corporate headquarters were originally located in London, United Kingdom until 1912, followed by Montreal, Quebec, but was always operationally headquartered in Kentville, Nova Scotia
Kentville, Nova Scotia
Kentville is a town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. It is one of the main towns in the Annapolis Valley, and it is the county seat of Kings County. As of 2006, the town of Kentville had a population of 5,815 people....
where the railway retained a unique identity and a high degree of independence until the end of steam. A depiction of Evangeline
Evangeline
Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie, is an epic poem published in 1847 by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during the time of the Expulsion of the Acadians.The idea for the poem came from...
from the poem Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie published in 1847 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
was incorporated into the DAR logo along with the text 'Land of Evangeline Route'.
The company is still legally incorporated and files annual returns with the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock; its headquarters are now in Calgary, Alberta. Portions of the line are still operated by the Windsor and Hantsport Railway
Windsor and Hantsport Railway
The Windsor and Hantsport Railway is a railway operating in Nova Scotia between Windsor Junction and New Minas with a spur at Windsor which runs several miles east, serving two gypsum quarries at Wentworth Creek and Mantua....
.
The Dominion Atlantic Railway was unusually diverse for a regional railway, operating its own hotel chain, steamship line and named luxury trains such as the Flying Bluenose
Flying Bluenose
The Flying Bluenose was a Canadian luxury passenger train operated by the Dominion Atlantic Railway between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia from 1891 to 1936...
. It is credited with playing a major role in developing Nova Scotia's tourism and agriculture industries.
Creation through merger
The DAR was created on October 1, 1894, through a merger of two end-to-end systems. the Windsor and Annapolis RailwayWindsor and Annapolis Railway
The Windsor and Annapolis Railway was a historic Canadian railway that operated in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.The railway ran from Windsor to Annapolis Royal and leased connections to Nova Scotia's capital of Halifax...
(W&A) and the Western Counties Railway (WCR). The larger and more successful W&A bought out the rival WCR for $265,000. The merger was authorized by the provincial legislature in 1893.
Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor is a town located in Hants County, Mainland Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,779 and was at one time the shire town of the county. The region encompassing present day Windsor was...
and Annapolis Royal
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
, and had also negotiated trackage rights to operate over the Intercolonial Railway's former Nova Scotia Railway
Nova Scotia Railway
The Nova Scotia Railway is a historic Canadian railway. It was composed of two lines, one connecting Richmond with Windsor, the other connecting Richmond with Pictou via Truro....
"Windsor Branch" between Windsor Junction
Windsor Junction, Nova Scotia
Windsor Junction is a Canadian suburban community in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. It is located 15.6 km north west of the HRM urban core, 3 km north of the Bedford Basin near the communities of Waverley, Fall River and Lower Sackville.-Railway history:The name of the...
and Windsor, as well as on the IRC mainline from Windsor Junction into Halifax. The WCR on the other hand, operated between Yarmouth
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Yarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...
and Digby
Digby, Nova Scotia
Digby is a Canadian town in western Nova Scotia. It is the shiretown and largest population centre in Digby County.The town is situated on the western shore of the Annapolis Basin near the entrance to the Digby Gut which connects the basin to the Bay of Fundy.Named after Admiral Robert Digby, RN,...
. The new DAR thus had a gap in its trackage between Annapolis Royal and Digby, which would otherwise be continuous from Yarmouth to Halifax. The gap was eventually closed in the early 1890s with government assistance.
Although the DAR technically connected to the Intercolonial Railway at Windsor, the IRC rarely operated on this line and left it to the DAR beyond the mainline connection at |Windsor Junction. The DAR system also connected with the Midland Railway at Windsor, the Nova Scotia Central Railway (NSCR ) and the Middleton and Victoria Beach Railway
Middleton and Victoria Beach Railway
The Middleton and Victoria Beach Railway was located in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It ran west from Middleton, where it joined both the Dominion Atlantic Railway, which ran from Halifax westerly to Yarmouth through the Annapolis Valley, and the Nova Scotia Central Railway, which ran...
(M&VBR) at Middleton
Middleton, Nova Scotia
Middleton is a Canadian town in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia.It is situated on the north bank of the Annapolis River. Incorporated in 1909, it is located near the centre of the Annapolis Valley, from which it gets its nickname, "The Heart of the Valley".-Economy:Founded by New England Planters,...
, and the Halifax and Southwestern Railway
Halifax and Southwestern Railway
The Halifax and Southwestern Railway was a historic Canadian railway operating in the province of Nova Scotia. The H&SW was created in spring 1901 when William Mackenzie and Donald Mann approached the provincial government with plans to finish the abortive plans for a railway from Halifax to...
(H&SW) at Yarmouth. The NSCR and M&VBR were both eventually purchased by the H&SW.
The DAR also had a branch north of Kentville
Kentville, Nova Scotia
Kentville is a town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. It is one of the main towns in the Annapolis Valley, and it is the county seat of Kings County. As of 2006, the town of Kentville had a population of 5,815 people....
to Kingsport
Kingsport, Nova Scotia
Kingsport, is a small seaside village located in Kings County, Nova Scotia on the shores of the Minas Basin.-Geography:Kingsport is located just northeast of the mouth of the Habitant River, on the west side of Minas Basin, a few miles east of Canning at the eastern end of Route 221. It is bordered...
, the former Cornwallis Valley Railway
Cornwallis Valley Railway
The Cornwallis Valley Railway was a historic Canadian railway in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. It was built in 1889 and ran from Kentville to Kingsport serving the Cornwallis Township area of Kings County...
completed in 1889. A westward extension of this branch was started in 1905 on a line formally chartered as the North Mountain Railway from a junction on the Kingsport line at Centreville west to Weston
Weston, Nova Scotia
Weston, Nova Scotia is a small community located in the central part of the Annapolis Valley. Its located about 3 miles north-west of Berwick, Nova Scotia...
. It was completed in 1914.
Also in 1905, the DAR purchased the Midland Railway, giving a more direct connection between Windsor and the Intercolonial Railway at Truro
Truro, Nova Scotia
-Education:Truro has one high school, Cobequid Educational Centre. Post-secondary options include a campus of the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in the neighboring town of Bible Hill.- Sports :...
where lines headed east to Pictou
Pictou, Nova Scotia
Pictou is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km north of the larger town of New Glasgow....
and Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
, and west to New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
.
Passenger service
The DAR exploited its steamship connections to develop a high level of passenger service not usually seen on regional railways. The DAR not only operated a busy schedule of mixed and express trains, but building on service first tried by its predecessor company, the W&A, the DAR launched several prominent named trains "The Flying Bluenose"Flying Bluenose
The Flying Bluenose was a Canadian luxury passenger train operated by the Dominion Atlantic Railway between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia from 1891 to 1936...
and "the New Yorker" connecting with Boston and New York steamships in the summer. The railway bought the first Pullman parlour cars in all of Canada for this service.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
's poem about the Acadians. This promotion grew to include a whole series of posters, postcards, books, named locomotives and a prominent herald depicting Evangeline which was seen on all DAR publications and most locomotives. The DAR purchased land at Grand Pre in 1917 and built a large garden and replica church dedicated to the memory of the Acadians. It became not only a popular tourism destination but also evolved into a shrine to Acadian people.
The successful development of this market created a remarkable growth in DAR passenger traffic which soared to over 200,000 riders a year in its first five years and is regarded by historians as the introduction of mass tourism in Atlantic Canada.
Marine operations
The DAR maintained a strategic link between Halifax and the Bay of FundyBay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
and Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...
ports of Windsor, Digby and Yarmouth. A key component to the DAR's passenger and freight business was through the connections with various ferries that operated in these waters, mostly from Digby and Yarmouth. A smaller service also operated across the Minas Basin
Minas Basin
The Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides.- Geography :- Boundary :...
from the smaller ports of Kingsport
Kingsport, Nova Scotia
Kingsport, is a small seaside village located in Kings County, Nova Scotia on the shores of the Minas Basin.-Geography:Kingsport is located just northeast of the mouth of the Habitant River, on the west side of Minas Basin, a few miles east of Canning at the eastern end of Route 221. It is bordered...
and Wolfville
Wolfville, Nova Scotia
Wolfville is a small town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. As of 2006, the population was 3,772....
.
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
with connections to the CPR and IRC, and Kingsport-Parrsboro-Wolfville connecting at Parrsboro
Parrsboro, Nova Scotia
Parrsboro is a Canadian town located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.The town is known for its port on the Minas Basin, the Ship's Company Theatre productions and the Fundy Geological Museum.-History:...
with the Cumberland Railway's line to Springhill
Springhill, Nova Scotia
-Coal mining:The first industrial coal mining in the area took place in the 1870s after a rail connection was built by the Springhill and Parrsboro Coal and Railway Company to the newly completed Intercolonial Railway at neighbouring Springhill Junction....
; the MV Kipawo
MV Kipawo
MV Kipawo is a historic Canadian passenger and freight ferry.Kipawo was launched on December 5, 1924, by the St. John Drydock & Shipbuilding Co., the first ship ever built by that yard, for the Dominion Atlantic Railway and commissioned into service on April 1, 1926...
being the 13th and last vessel on this particular service. The service was terminated during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
after the vessel was requisitioned by the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
.
In 1904, service was expanded to use three surplus steamships to include a Gulf of Maine operation between Yarmouth-Boston and Yarmouth-New York. These services launched the DAR into the forefront of Nova Scotia's nascent tourist industry and the railway subsequently built a resort hotel at Digby, the Digby Pines Resort
Digby Pines Resort
The Digby Pines Resort is a seasonal coastal resort hotel located at Digby, Nova Scotia on the shores of the Annapolis Basin. The Pines is owned by the Province of Nova Scotia and is one of the province's three "Signature Resorts," along with in Liscombe Mills and Keltic Lodge in Ingonish...
and the Cornwallis Inn in Kentville. After the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
purchased the DAR in 1911, they sold some of its steamship connections, such as the Yarmouth steamships, but expanded others, such as the Digby-Saint John route, which received large new steamships such as the SS Princess Helene
SS Princess Helene
SS Princess Helene was a historic Canadian passenger and freight ferry operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway .The Princess of Helene was built in 1930 at Dumbarton, Scotland...
.
Apple industry
The DAR was closely tied to the appleApple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
industry in the Annapolis Valley. The arrival of the railway in the 1860s transformed apples from a minor locally-consumed crop to a large export industry, eventually shipping millions of barrels every year as the major supplier of apples to the United Kingdom.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, apple traffic reached its peak in the 1930s. Over 150 apple warehouses were built along the DAR mainline and its branchlines. For many decades, the period from September to April saw heavy apple traffic on the DAR, moving apples from warehouses to ocean steamers at Halifax, often requiring double-headed specials.
These exports were sharply curtailed during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and Nova Scotia never regained its market share in Europe. Nova Scotia's apple industry eventually stabilized after the war but on a smaller scale. The large Scotia Gold co-operative apple processing plant was built beside the DAR mainline at Coldbrook, Nova Scotia
Coldbrook, Nova Scotia
Coldbrook is a Canadian suburban community in Kings County, Nova Scotia.As of 2001, the population was 1,289.The population, as of May 2006, was 4499.The total land area is 83.6458km² -External links:**...
using the railway to ship apple and fruit products until the 1970s.
Canadian Pacific Railway ownership
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
. The move gave the CPR access to the port of Halifax. The new owners allowed the DAR to retain its independence in operations and corporate identity for many decades, making it "the most famous railway in the province". George Graham, a rising CPR superintendent, was appointed General Manager in 1915 to upgrade and expand the DAR. Major new investments were made in locomotives and service facilities. Graham built the Grand Pre Park and built a chain of DAR railway hotels including the Digby Pines Resort
Digby Pines Resort
The Digby Pines Resort is a seasonal coastal resort hotel located at Digby, Nova Scotia on the shores of the Annapolis Basin. The Pines is owned by the Province of Nova Scotia and is one of the province's three "Signature Resorts," along with in Liscombe Mills and Keltic Lodge in Ingonish...
, the "Cornwallis Inn" in Kentville and the Lord Nelson Hotel
Lord Nelson Hotel
The Lord Nelson Hotel is a grand hotel in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located on the corner of Spring Garden and South Park Streets across from the Halifax Public Gardens. It was built in 1927 by a consortium of investors led by the Canadian Pacific Railway who wanted a Halifax anchor to...
in Halifax. With its own steamships, hotels and branchlines, the DAR was regarded by some as a "Canadian Pacific in miniature".
Throughout the First World War the DAR played an important wartime role. It shipped large numbers of troops from the major Canadian Army training base near Kentville
Kentville, Nova Scotia
Kentville is a town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. It is one of the main towns in the Annapolis Valley, and it is the county seat of Kings County. As of 2006, the town of Kentville had a population of 5,815 people....
(Aldershot Military Camp). A DAR relief train was one of the first trains to rush with help after the Halifax Explosion
Halifax Explosion
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...
in 1917.
The DAR's importance increased in the Second World War as it was the sole railway serving HMCS Cornwallis, a Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
training and operations base on Annapolis Basin, RCAF Station Greenwood at Greenwood and RCAF Station Stanley at Stanley
Stanley, Nova Scotia
Stanley is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, Hants County, located in the Municipal District of East Hants. Stanley is most renoun for being the birth place of the acclaimed Canadian poet Alden Nowlan.- History :...
, as well as the Aldershot Military Camp. HMCS Cornwallis, Digby and Yarmouth were also important RCN operating ports.
Post–war challenges
In the post-war years the DAR moved to replace its steam locomotives with diesel-powered models. However the railway was relatively late among its North American counterparts in doing so (possibly owing to abundant coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
being mined in Nova Scotia). The railway experimented with two diesel-electric ALCO S-3 switchers for several months, which were placed in service on July 1, 1956. Steam locomotives were not displaced until the arrival of ten EMD SW1200RS road switchers in April 1959. The SW1200RS' replaced the S-3's, and all but one steam locomotive, which was retained for a short time, a switcher used in service between Kentville and local communities until 1961. The railway also saw CPR introduce two Budd Company
Budd Company
The Budd Company is a metal fabricator and major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and was formerly a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars during the 20th century....
Rail Diesel Cars in August 1956 to reduce operating costs of its passenger services which had previously been conventional trains hauled by steam locomotives.
Declining passenger business and the collapse of the Annapolis Valley's apple industry led to reduction in service. The DAR's steamship services on Minas Basin and the Gulf of Maine were abandoned, although the company maintained the passenger/auto ferry connection between Digby and Saint John. With passenger service falling, the DAR sold its hotel chain as well as the Grand Pre Park in 1957. The S-3's and the original two RDC's were lettered Dominion Atlantic, which makes them unique as the only diesel era equipment lettered for a Canadian Pacific subsidiary line. However, the SW1200RS' and subsequent RDCs were lettered Canadian Pacific. Throughout the rest of the railway's existence, only maintenance of way vehicles, passenger timetables, tickets, stationary, and stations carried the DAR moniker.
By the 1970s, the DAR was starting to see its operations west of Kentville reduced to branchline status. The Cornwallis Valley Railway
Cornwallis Valley Railway
The Cornwallis Valley Railway was a historic Canadian railway in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. It was built in 1889 and ran from Kentville to Kingsport serving the Cornwallis Township area of Kings County...
branchlines north of Kentville to Kingsport and Weston
Weston, Nova Scotia
Weston, Nova Scotia is a small community located in the central part of the Annapolis Valley. Its located about 3 miles north-west of Berwick, Nova Scotia...
were abandoned on January 31, 1961, for lack of passenger traffic and the postwar collapse of the apple industry and reduced to a three mile spur line to Steam Mill Village. CPR began reducing its passenger service to minimal levels between Halifax-Yarmouth and Windsor-Truro upon construction of the parallel taxpayer-funded all-weather Highway 101
Nova Scotia Highway 101
Highway 101 is an east-west highway in Nova Scotia that runs from Bedford to Yarmouth.The highway follows a route along the southern coast of the Bay of Fundy through the Annapolis Valley. Between its western terminus at Yarmouth to Weymouth, the highway is 2-lane controlled access. Between...
between Halifax and Kentville after 1970. In a 1969 agreement with the provincial and federal governments, CPR built a new passenger/auto ferry for service between Saint John and Digby, while the governments built new ferry terminals and connecting highways. Both of the new ferry terminals were built away from the railway lines, so that neither permitted rail-side transfers at the dock from passenger train to ferry, causing the Dayliner or RDC service to suffer further declines in passenger numbers.
The only bright spot for DAR was in gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
traffic, a mineral that was quarried just east of Windsor and hauled to expanded port facilities at Hantsport
Hantsport, Nova Scotia
Hantsport is a rural Canadian town and seaport located in the western part of Hants County, Nova Scotia. Hantsport is located just south of the county boundary with Kings County, and sits on the west bank of the Avon River in a tidal estuary.The town is most best known for its history of...
; it was in high demand throughout the post-war years during the North American housing construction boom. Prior to Hantsport's expansion, gypsum had also been hauled farther west to the Annapolis Basin at Deep Brook
Deep Brook, Nova Scotia
Deep Brook is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Annapolis County .-References:*...
, however shipping operations were consolidated at Hantsport in the post-war years.
In 1978, financial responsibility for the Halifax-Yarmouth passenger services was transferred to the federally owned Crown corporation Via Rail
VIA Rail
Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
from the DAR/CPR. The Windsor-Truro mixed train
Mixed train
A mixed train is a train that hauls both passenger and freight cars or wagons. In the early days of railways they were quite common, but by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. As the trains provided passengers with very slow service, mixed trains have...
passenger service was abandoned after being deemed non-essential, reducing that line to branch line freight status. Passenger service on the DAR began to rise, particularly after a 1983 schedule change which provided a daily return trip to Halifax from all points on the line, as well as improved connections to other Via trains at Halifax. Via also introduced refurbished Budd RDCs, and began a modest promotional campaign which included naming the train after its DAR roots, the Evangeline
Evangeline (passenger train)
The Evangeline was a passenger train operated from 1956 to 1990 by the Dominion Atlantic Railway and Via Rail Canada between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Dominion Atlantic:...
. By 1984, Via reported that traffic in its Halifax-Yarmouth service had quadrupled to an average of more than 100 passengers per trip, eclipsing most of the decline experienced in previous decades. The Evangeline would continue operating until January 15, 1990, following a massive cut in funding to Via's branchline services ordered in the 1989 federal budget.
Railway decline in southwestern Nova Scotia
In 1981, Canadian National Railway, successor to the Halifax and Southwestern RailwayHalifax and Southwestern Railway
The Halifax and Southwestern Railway was a historic Canadian railway operating in the province of Nova Scotia. The H&SW was created in spring 1901 when William Mackenzie and Donald Mann approached the provincial government with plans to finish the abortive plans for a railway from Halifax to...
, abandoned its trackage which connected to the DAR at Yarmouth and Middleton. On May 22, 1986, the DAR abandoned its tracks between Truro and Mantua, just east of Windsor where it continued to serve a gypsum quarry. In 1988, CPR announced that all of its money-losing services east of Montreal would be grouped under a new internal marketing division called Canadian Atlantic Railway
Canadian Atlantic Railway
The Canadian Atlantic Railway is a historic Canadian and U.S. railway that existed from 1988 to 1994.The CAR was created in September 1988 as a business unit of CP Rail System to serve the Maritime Provinces and state of Maine...
(of which the DAR was one component, along with CPR properties in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, and the Eastern Townships
Eastern Townships
The Eastern Townships is a tourist region and a former administrative region in south-eastern Quebec, lying between the former seigneuries south of the Saint Lawrence River and the United States border. Its northern boundary roughly followed Logan's Line, the geologic boundary between the flat,...
of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
).
The fate of any possible resurgence in freight and passenger traffic on the tracks west of Kentville was sealed with the construction of final links in the all-weather Highway 101
Nova Scotia Highway 101
Highway 101 is an east-west highway in Nova Scotia that runs from Bedford to Yarmouth.The highway follows a route along the southern coast of the Bay of Fundy through the Annapolis Valley. Between its western terminus at Yarmouth to Weymouth, the highway is 2-lane controlled access. Between...
between Kentville and Yarmouth in the mid to late 1980s; in addition, there were several large steel bridges on this section of the railroad that were nearing the end of their maintenance lifecycle, thus requiring major expenditures. By 1989, almost the only trains using this portion of the DAR were the Via RDCs, which was experiencing passenger declines due to recent highway expansion and competing bus services, as well as changes to Via connecting train schedules. In the January 15, 1990, cuts to Via Rail by the government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
, the RDC service between Halifax and Yarmouth was abolished.
On March 27, 1990, CPR abandoned the DAR's trackage west of Kentville to Yarmouth, concentrating efforts on the more-profitable eastern end of the DAR which hauled gypsum and served a concentration of industries in New Minas
New Minas, Nova Scotia
New Minas is a village located in the eastern part of Kings County in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. As of 2001, the population was 4,300.New Minas borders the town of Kentville to the west and the unincorporated community of Greenwich to the east. The town of Wolfville, Nova Scotia is further...
as well as a short remnant of the Kingsport line between Kentville and Steam Mill Village. On September 16, 1993, the DAR operated the last freight train in Kentville and by October had reduced its western-most trackage to New Minas. The locomotive shop facilities were moved that month from Kentville to Windsor.
Selling the DAR
In 1993 CPR announced that it was selling its entire Canadian Atlantic RailwayCanadian Atlantic Railway
The Canadian Atlantic Railway is a historic Canadian and U.S. railway that existed from 1988 to 1994.The CAR was created in September 1988 as a business unit of CP Rail System to serve the Maritime Provinces and state of Maine...
subsidiary, including the DAR. Although the New Brunswick-Quebec section of CAR would actually be abandoned for a short period at the end of December 1994, the DAR was sold to Iron Road Railways
Iron Road Railways
Iron Road Railways Incorporated was a railroad holding company which owned several short line railroads in the U.S. state of Maine, as well as the Canadian provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia....
, owner of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad is a defunct United States railroad company, that brought rail service to Aroostook County, Maine. Brightly painted BAR box cars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-generation diesel locomotives operated on BAR until they were museum pieces...
. The DAR operated its last four trains on Friday, August 26, 1994, just 36 days short of one hundred years.
Its successor, the Windsor and Hantsport Railway
Windsor and Hantsport Railway
The Windsor and Hantsport Railway is a railway operating in Nova Scotia between Windsor Junction and New Minas with a spur at Windsor which runs several miles east, serving two gypsum quarries at Wentworth Creek and Mantua....
, began operations on August 27, 1994, maintaining service on the remnants of the DAR between Windsor and New Minas, including the remnant of the Truro Subdivision that served the large open pit gypsum mines several miles east of Windsor, as well as operating the "Windsor Branch" to Windsor Junction where the system had a connection with CN's mainline between Halifax and Montreal. The W&H assumed the original long-term lease of the Windsor Branch from CN which is set to expire in 2013.
Heritage and culture
Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act
The Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act was created in 1990 in response to a long-standing and widespread concern that Canada’s heritage railway stations were not being protected enough...
.
Only one DAR steam locomotive was preserved, No. 999 Fronsac, at the Canadian Railway Museum
Canadian Railway Museum
The Canadian Railway Museum Musée Ferrovaire Canadien) is a rail transport museum in Delson/Saint-Constant, Quebec south of Montreal.-Collection:...
in Delson, Quebec
Delson, Quebec
Delson is an off-island suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is situated 8 mi/13 km SSE of Montreal within the regional county municipality of Roussillion in the administrative region of Montérégie. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 7,322.On its small territory, Delson is crossed...
. The DAR's business car Nova Scotia is preserved privately as a restaurant in Orillia, Ontario
Orillia, Ontario
Orillia, pronounced ōrĭl'ēə, is a city located in Simcoe County in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe, 135 kilometres north of Toronto.Originally incorporated as a village in 1867, the history of...
while a passenger coach, No. 1303 Micmac, is preserved at the Canada Science and Technology Museum
Canada Science and Technology Museum
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is located in Ottawa, Ontario, on St. Laurent Boulevard, to the south of the Queensway .-Mission:...
in Ottawa, Ontario. A snowplow and combine car (used for the Windsor-Truro mixed train service until 1978) are preserved at the Musquodoboit Railway Museum in Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia
Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia
Musquodoboit Harbour is a Canadian rural community in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality.The community is situated on the Eastern Shore at the mouth of the Musquodoboit River. the community lies 45 kilometres east of downtown Halifax...
.
Strangely, the town of Kentville, once headquarters to the DAR, has shown little interest in the railway's legacy and turned down all offers to preserve equipment or buildings. The DAR's large 2-storey station housing the railway's headquarters was the oldest station in Nova Scotia and one of the oldest wood railway stations in Canada was demolished in 1990. In May 2007, the town of Kentville revealed plans to demolish the town's last surviving railway structure, the ten-stall roundhouse. The move triggered a protest movement led by such groups as the Nova Scotia Railway Heritage Society as it was the last such structure in all of Nova Scotia and one of the last in Canada; it was still in remarkably good condition and many organizations felt it could be converted for public or commercial purposes. Unfortunately it was demolished on 9–10 July 2007.
In addition to the Dominion Atlantic's major influence on tourism and heritage presentation in Nova Scotia, it also inspired several generations of writers. The noted Canadian poet Charles G. D. Roberts wrote a book of prose and verse sponsored by the railway in 1900. The Dominion Atlantic features prominently in the book Blomidon Rose, a nostalgic look at the life and landscape of 1930s Annapolis Valley
Annapolis Valley
The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy.-Geography:...
by Esther Clark Wright
Esther Clark Wright
Esther Isabelle Clark Wright, was a notable Atlantic Canadian historian who at the end of her life received the Order of Canada for her lifetime contributions to Canadian scholarship...
. In the rural Canadian classic, The Mountain and the Valley by Ernest Buckler, the railway is used as an important symbol of change and the outside world. The Dominion Atlantic inspired poetry by noted Nova Scotian writer George Elliot Clarke, a wistful, erotic poem of youth entitled "Dominion Atlantic Railway" in his book Saltwater Spirituals and Deeper Blues
External links
- Library and Archives Canada: Dominion Atlantic Railway
- Railways of Canada Archives: Dominion Atlantic Railway (DAR) 1900-1990
- Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative Wiki Project
- Nova Scotia Railway Heritage Society DAR Stations: List and Photos
- History of Railway Companies in Nova Scotia
- Dominion Atlantic Railway Passenger Train Schedules 1936 to 1949
- Kentville Roundhouse