A Christmas Eve Trip to Lunenburg on the Halifax and South-Western Railway (H&SW) in 1903

By Devonna Edwards, Columnist

The first railway in Halifax began in 1854 with the sod turning ceremony in Richmond located in the North End of Halifax. It was completed in 1858 and ran from Halifax to Windsor.

The Halifax and South-Western Railway (H&SW) was created in the spring of 1901 and by 1906 the first H&SW train reached Yarmouth from Halifax, travelling along the province’s South Shore in Nova Scotia.

That same year construction was completed to join the H&SW tracks with the Intercolonial North Street Station. In the years before the domination of publicly funded highways, H&SW formed a critical transportation link between the various communities. The locals called the H&SW, “Hellish Slow and Wobbly.”

In 1910 a massive railway cut was built across the isthmus of the Halifax Peninsula which affected the H&SW tracks that connected with the Intercolonial Railway (ICR) mainland near Africville. In 1921 the Halifax end of the H&SW was shifted to join the new alignment in the rock cut by constructing what became known as “Southwestern Junction” in the community of Fairview, adjacent to a large new roundhouse complex.

Passenger service ended on the South Shore in 1969, and its stations fell into disuse. In 1993 the former H&SW track was abandoned west of Halifax’s Lakeside Industrial Park, leaving only a seven-mile spur, called the Chester Spur as the last reminder of this once important railway network in southern Nova Scotia. The last freight trains operated on the spur west of Southwestern Junction through to the Lakeside Industrial Park in late 2007. The rail corridor was purchased by the Halifax Regional Municipality and by 2009, rails at level crossing were lifted and paved over and by 2019 all remaining tracks of the Chester Spur had been removed and replaced by a paved recreational pathway.

Hard Travel on South Shore:
The Halifax and South-Western Railway advertised Christmas excursions for the people of Lunenburg, that were living in all parts of Canada and the United States, who wanted to spend the holidays with their folks. The advertisements made the trip sound so pleasant and joyful that countless homesick people excitedly decided to do just that. Many of them arrived in Halifax on a Friday night and Saturday morning, all anxious to spend Christmas Eve with their family and friends. They were eagerly looking forward to the train trip but instead of a first-class passenger train to convey them to their journey’s end on Christmas Eve, they found a slow-freight train consisting of several freight cars, two second and one first class passenger coaches, all coaches crowded to overflowing with some two to three hundred passengers.

The train started at 3 P.M., exactly on time, and the passenger numbers increased at each station the train stopped at until there was only standing room. Mahone Bay Junction reached at last, one hour behind time, taking five hours to cover seventy miles. At this junction, seventy-eight passengers had to change cars for Lunenburg. As they filed out into the black, stormy night, the rain was falling heavily. One passenger coach was alongside the station platform, the other two were alongside mud and water and as each passenger got off the car steps, he or she went down about four feet, sprawling in the mud as there was no platform. The scene was indescribable and the passengers getting off the train alongside the platform were even in a worse predicament. The plank platform was about two feet short of the car steps, with the result that the passengers coming out of the train could only, by the light of a kerosene lamp in the station see a platform. Taking for granted that the same platform as usual would extend to the train steps, the men, women, and children suffered the same fate. When they stepped down, they fell into the gap between the train steps and the platform, but for the intervention of a kind and helpful person many would have suffered serious injury.

Their misery continued; after leaving the train via the mud and water they tried to enter the train station to seek shelter from the rain. The waiting room was only 7X12 with seating for about ten people so many passengers were obliged to stand out in the rain. To add insult to injury, after waiting about fifteen minutes they were told that the trains would now have to cross at Bridgewater instead of at Mahone Bay Junction as previously advertised. The trains were both ready at the same time, Lunenburg had the right of way but Bridgewater had the pull and got there first, so some sixty of seventy Lunenburg passengers were kept out in the cold and rain on Christmas Eve for an hour and a half. Passengers in the station, although out of the weather, had to stand continuously for three hours since there were only a few seats. The train station was lighted with a kerosene lamp and had no sanitary convenience which added to their misery, not to mention that they had nothing to eat.” Merry Christmas!”

Finally, the word was received that the train which was to take them to Lunenburg was off the track at Bridgewater and they would have to wait until they got it on again. At about 10 PM they got the train on the track again and they finally arrived at Mahone Bay Junction with several freight trains. They left for Lunenburg and arrived there about 11 PM Christmas Eve, wet, tired, hungry and mad! Victims of mismanagement! Many of the passengers after arriving at Lunenburg still had miles to drive before reaching their home.

A Special Christmas Massage – The Train of Life
At birth we boarded the train and met our parents, and we believed they would always travel by our side. As time goes by, other people will board the train; and they will be significant – our siblings, friends, children, strangers and even the love of your life. However, at some station our parents will step down from the train, leaving us on this journey alone. Others will step down over time and leave a permanent vacuum. Some, however, will go so unnoticed that we don’t realize they vacated their seats.

This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations requiring that we give the best of ourselves. The mystery to everyone is: we do not know at which station we ourselves will step down. So, we must live in the best way, love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are.

It is important to do this because when the time comes for us to step down and leave our seat empty, we should leave behind beautiful memories for those who will continue to travel on the train of life. I wish you a joyful journey for the coming years on your train of life. Reap success, give lots of love and be happy. Most importantly, thank God for the journey!

Author unknown

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!