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Inverness and Richmond Railway

By John R. Cameron

The people of Inverness were long-suffering and a bit jaded by the time the Inverness and Richmond finally made Broad Cove. The railway up the west coast of Cape Breton Island had a long history of proposals, since there was adequate traffic along the route to justify a railroad even in today's tighter market. Significant coal mines existed at Mabou, Port Hood, St Rose, Chimney Corner and Broad Cove (Inverness). There were a great many efforts to extend the railway north to Cheticamp, but there was a much smaller market there and, while promises were made, in fact the railway stopped for good at Inverness.

The first effort to reach Broad Cove from the Strait of Canso was the Inverness Railway (1874, c.63). In addition to the railway, the company was authorized to run a ferry across the Strait of Canso to connect to the projected Eastern Extension. The Inverness Coal Field and Railway Company was the new company name (1875, c.67). Its powers were extended to include coal mining at Broad Cove and to provide a free right of way for its railway. These powers were repealed in 1876 (c.75), and the company again renamed to the Inverness Coal, Iron and Railway Company. A preferred stock issue was authorized in 1878 (c.57). The company was revived in 1886 (c.146), but lost its railway powers and became strictly a coal mining company with respect to the mines at Broad Cove. At the same time, it was authorized to sell its undertaking.

Coming at Broad Cove from a different direction was the Inverness and Victoria Railway (1887, c.57), which was to be built "from some point on the Cape Breton railway now being constructed by the Dominion government, via Whycocomagh to Broad Cove coal mines, Margaree and Baddeck, with a branch to Cheticamp and other points" (s.1).

The same year, the first Inverness and Richmond Railway was chartered (c.60) to run from Margaree to Mabou and Port Hood, then to Hawkesbury, "connecting with the Cape Breton railway now being constructed", with a branch to Whycocomagh. The Act was amended in 1888 (c.78) for corporate matters and the route was altered (c.79) to run from the rear of Port Hawkesbury in Richmond County [the precise location of the Richmond Inverness boundary in this area was not resolved until a few years ago] through Port Hastings, Judique, Port Hood, Mabou and Margaree to a point at Eastern Harbour, Cheticamp. The County of Inverness was authorized to borrow up to $25,000 for the right of way (c.83). The legislature was growing impatient; the time was extended only to May 1, 1889 (1889, c.83). This probably meant the railway construction was about to get underway.

In 1890, Inverness County, which had already agreed to pay for the right of way, agreed to pay a subsidy of $20,000 per ten miles of road completed (c.68) and obtained authority to borrow up to $100,000 to cover the cost of the estimated fifty miles of railway from Port Hastings to Broad Cove Coal Mines. The subsidy would be half if a Dominion subsidy was acquired. A smaller subsidy was offered for the extension to Cheticamp. Appeals from right of way appraisals were dealt with at the same session (c.69) and the corporate structure was altered (c.70).

Surprisingly, the Inverness and Victoria was extended for a further three years in 1891 (c.84). At the same session, Inverness made another attempt to finalize the land claims (c.88).

In 1892, the legislature was more concerned with seeing the railway completed. The charter of the Inverness and Richmond as extended to 1894 to allow for the completion of the line from Port Hawkesbury to Cheticamp (c.105) and was extended again in 1894 (c.94), 1896 (c.105) and 1897 (c.89).

There was a little more progress in 1898. Inverness County was authorized to borrow up to $50,000 for the right of way (double what was first authorized in 1888) (c.106). An agreement between the county and the railway was ratified (c.107). The railway's charter was amended to cover a line from the Strait of Canso to Cheticamp by way of Port Hood, Mabou, Broad Cove and Margaree. A branch from Mabou to Whycocomagh was contemplated, to connect with the Intercolonial near Orangedale. (Most earlier Whycocomagh connections had been planned for the Margaree Valley; this proposal ran by Lake Ainslie). The agreement recites the county's intention to grant up to $100,000 at the rate of $1,000 per mile, to be payable $50,000 on completion of the line to Broad Cove and the remainder on completion to Cheticamp. While the company agreed to construct the line to Broad Cove, the extension to Cheticamp depended on federal and provincial subsidies of $3,200 cash per mile. The provincial government was already committed to that level of subsidy. Interestingly, the agreement refers to a resumption of construction. Completion to Broad Cove was anticipated for July 1, 1898.

In 1899 (c.133), the agreement between Inverness and the company was extended to give an extra year to complete the line to Broad Cove, with thirty miles to be finished in 1899 and the remaining 23 miles in 1900. The company was also authorized to construct a branch from the Intercolonial to Port Malcolm, another example of successful construction leading to expansion plans.

The railway neared completion in 1900. The province had been talked into a subsidy of $4,000 per mile, $800 per than allowed by the General legislation (c.41). This subsidy was only for the Broad Cove line. Inverness increased its borrowing limit for the land claims to $60,000 (c.81) and revised the way it was handling claims (c.82). The railway obtained approval to once again extend its completion date, this time to June 15, 1901, with the first thirty miles to be completed in 1900 (c.85). A recital confirms that thirty miles of track had been laid by December 31, 1899. Finally, the municipality and the newly incorporated town of Port Hawkesbury agreed on their respective shares of the land claims (c.86).

The railway was pretty well finished in 1901. Inverness municipal council obtained authority to pay its bonus of $1,000 per mile for a branch from the main line to Orangedale as originally agreed, but inadvertently omitted from the agreement (c.107). A new method of settling the land damage claims was adopted (cc.109, 111). The right of way lands issue came up again in 1902 (cc.104, 105).

Now that the railway had been built from the Strait of Canso to Broad Cove and was in operation, it was financially more secure. So it looked for traffic, and bought the Inverness-Richmond Collieries and Railway Company of Canada, which operated coal mines at Broad Cove (1902, c.162). The merged company was renamed the Inverness Railway and Coal Company.

In 1903, the legislature tidied up some loose ends. Some of the land expropriated on plans filed before 1899 had been abandoned by the railway. In consideration of the construction of the coal shipping pier at Port Hastings and the promise to build another at Cheticamp when the railway gets there, if needed, and the company's gift of land at Broad Cove (property of Broad Cove Coal company), the municipality agreed to pay for the rest of the land needed for the railway (c.97). The pier at Port Hastings had to be completed by January 1, 1903 (it must have been, or an extension would have been built into the statute). The company did not get authority to grant (free) an eighth of an acre to the new town of Inverness for a town building until 1909 (c.92). The site was at the corner of Railway Street and Central Avenue.

[SOURCE: A Legislative History of Nova Scotia Railways, by John R. Cameron, 1999.]

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