The Halifax and South Western Railway (H&SW) was a railway that stretched from Halifax to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

Documentation

Halifax and South Western Railway Timetables

History

The Halifax and South Western Railway ran from Halifax to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, with a branch line from Bridgewater to Port Wade. The H&SW interchanged with the Intercolonial Railway in Halifax and with the Dominion Atlantic Railway in Middleton.

The railway was created in 1901 by Canadian railway builders William Mackensize and Donald Mann. The railway incorporated other railways (partially built or simply chartered) along the way as well as new construction. It was completed in 1906 and became part of the Canadian Northern system soon afterward.

When the Canadian Northern was nationalized in 1918, the H&SW became part of the Canadian Government Railways and soon afterward Canadian National Railways.

The first section of the line was abandoned in 1982, from Bridgewater to Liverpool. Almost all of the remainder was abandoned in 1993 with only a 7 mile spur remaining. By 2010 that was replaced by a “rail trail”, a paved recreational pathway.

See Also

• Halifax and South Western Railway Museum (web site, Facebook page)
• Back to rail documentation