
Port Borden Railstation, PEI
Posted by:
brendah
N 46° 15.017 W 063° 42.275
20T E 445689 N 5122097
Quick Description: This stationhouse has been reconstructed to serve as an interpretive centre in the Borden-Carleton Marine/Rail Historical Park.
Location: Prince Edward Island, Canada
Date Posted: 8/2/2009 2:35:17 PM
Waymark Code: WM6XM3
Views: 1
Long Description:The Park commemorates the years of marine and rail service provided
by the community and the many former employees who worked to keep
the ferries and the railcars moving.
It was difficult to find any information about the stationhouse
but I did find the following details about the line it sits on:
"The most revolutionary change to the PEIR occurred in 1915 when
a new icebreaking railcar ferry 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 ferry continued to operate
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, the
PEIR (Prince Edward Island Railway) 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 4 ft
8.5 in (1435 mm) and the PEIR's narrow gauge of 3 ft 6 in (1067
m).
In September 1918, management was transferred to the newly
nationalized Canadian Northern Railway.
In July, 1989 abandonment was announced for Prince Edward Island.
On December 31, 1989, the John Hamilton Gray carried the last
operational rail cars and locomotives off Prince Edward
Island.
Salvage crews worked throughout 1990, 1991 and 1992 removing
tracks, cross-ties, and other railway facilities. In return for
agreeing to not oppose CN's abandonment, the provincial government
was given compensation by the federal government in the form of
highway subsidies to account for increased wear on provincial roads
from trucks."
(www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Prince_Edward_Island_Railway)