
Chignecto Marine Transport Railway
Posted by:
Arvense
N 45° 59.836 W 064° 00.524
20T E 421887 N 5094238
Located near Tidnish Cross Roads, Cumberland County,
Tidnish Dock Provincial Park marks the eastern terminus of the
historic Chignecto Marine Transport Railway - one of Nova
Scotia’s most ambitious engineering projects.
Waymark Code: WM4883
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Date Posted: 07/20/2008
Views: 69
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are connected by the
Isthmus of Chignecto, a flat, low-lying area largely covered by
marsh and swamp. In 1686, the Governor of New France reported
that a ship canal could easily be cut across the isthmus, greatly
reducing the sailing distance between Port Royal, the French
capital of Acadia, and Quebec City. The Governor’s report was
to be the first of many proposals advanced over the next 200
years to move vessels across the isthmus.

In 1875, Henry G.C. Ketchum, a brilliant engineer from
New Brunswick, first suggested the idea of transporting vessels
across the isthmus by railway as a means of reducing the sailing
distance between ports on the St. Lawrence River and those on
the Bay of Fundy and Atlantic seaboard of the
United States. Ketchum’s proposal
called for the construction of
a 28 kilometre (17 mile) long
double-tracked railway from
Fort Lawrence, on the Bay of
Fundy, across the isthmus to
Tidnish Dock, on the
Northumberland Strait.
Docks at either end of the
marine railway would allow
vessels to be floated over huge
wheeled cradles which would
be lifted by hydraulic presses to
the level of the railway. The
vessel, secured within the cradle,
would then be hauled across the
isthmus by two locomotives. On reaching the other side, vessel
and cradle would be lowered into the water until the vessel floated free.
In 1888, after several years of negotiation and study, the
federal government agreed to subsidize the operation of the
marine railway on the condition that Ketchum complete the
project within a fixed time frame.
Ketchum’s firm, the Chignecto Marine Transport Railway
Company, promptly hired a contractor who, in October, 1888,
commenced work on the project. A miniature city quickly sprang
up near Amherst to house and feed the 4000 men employed on
this mammoth undertaking.
Almost as soon as construction began, unforeseen difficulties
arose. Unusually heavy rains created near-flood conditions over
much of the line, delaying work for several months. One boggy
section, over 1.6 kilometres in length, had to be excavated and
filled with rocks to a depth of 18 metres (60 feet) to form a solid
footing. Even the flow of the Tidnish River had to be altered.
Despite these challenges, work progressed on the marine
railway and, by 1891, a majority of the project had been completed.
In that year, however, work was suspended when both the
company and the contractor experienced
financial difficulties. Unable to complete
the project within the prescribed
time-frame, the company’s
charter and subsidy were cancelled
by Parliament.
For several years Ketchum tried unsuccessfully to complete
the work. Without the subsidy, however, it was impossible to
attract additional funds. The marine railway was subsequently
dismantled and sold to pay creditors. Among the few remains
which stand tribute to Ketchum’s grand scheme are the railbed,
a stone culvert over the Tidnish River, and remnants of the dock
at Tidnish Dock Provincial Park.
SOURCE:
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