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Windsor and Annapolis Railway

By John R. Cameron

In 1866, the next major construction was initiated with the Act incorporating the Windsor and Annapolis Railway Company, chartered to join the two namesake towns. The statute (c.1) recites a contract of October 26, 1865, with George Knight and Company, London, to construct the railway. The new company would be the constructing, owning and operating entity. Land would be provided free (an almost-universal principle applicable to Nova Scotia railways over the next fifty years). Construction was to begin May 1, 1866. Appended to the statute was a memorandum of agreement signed by Avard Longley, Commissioner of Railways, and George Knight on October 26, 1865. The western terminus would be either Annapolis or Troop's Point, on the north side of the Annapolis Basin opposite Annapolis. A subsidy of œ32,000 was to be provided towards the cost of the Avon River crossing. The parties agreed on joint operation of the province's Windsor Branch. Also validated was a February 1, 1866 contract to build the line.

Then, in 1867, a new contractor appears. Brassey, Punchard and Clark contracted to build the railroad under a new company of the same name (c.36). Provisions of the two statutes are almost identical, but the contract is now of November 22, 1866, and George Knight disappears from the picture. Real progress was now expected (and received). Provision was made to obtain the right of way in Hants County (c.4) and a station in Windsor (c.40). The province capitalized the subsidy for the new railway at œ188,600 and authorized borrowing for that sum plus the œ32,000 for the Avon bridge (c.7).

In 1868, the legislature clarified that, while the railway might be exempt from general property taxes (a question later litigated), it was not exempt from dyke rates levied on the proprietors to maintain dykes and drains on the old Acadian marshes (c.24). Commissioners to appraise the value of the land taken for the railway in Kings and Annapolis counties were provided for: cc.32 and 33. The appraisals by the juries, already done (based on plans filed in late 1867) were deemed inadequate and unjust in many instances. Further legislation (c.34) dealt with additional damages in Kings County.

In 1869, the corporate documentation was completely rewritten (c.23), essentially to reflect the English Companies Act. The shareholders and bondholders were undoubtedly happier with a more familiar corporate structure. The company did have a March 1, 1867 English incorporation. While most corporate action would take place in England, the articles provided for a Nova Scotia board of directors. Railway land damages continued to be a matter of concern: 1869, cc.33,34, 37; 1870, cc.31, 32, 33, 56.

The Windsor and Annapolis Railway Mutual Sick and Accident Fund Society was incorporated in 1873 (c.86) for the benefit of the employees of the Windsor and Annapolis Railway.

In 1877, the province undertook to guarantee the interest on œ50,000 of debenture stock of the railway, reciting an arrangement with the creditors of the railway February 12, 1875 (c.28). The province was called upon to honour this guarantee, and the Appropriations Act for many years contained an item of $14,500 for Windsor and Annapolis Railway interest. In 1878, the guarantee was extended to the whole of the œ75,000 issue (c.22).

In 1885, the Windsor and Annapolis was permitted to change the site of its station at Middleton (c.89), to a site that would better suit a common station with the Nova Scotia Central (originally the Nictaux and Atlantic).

In 1893, the Windsor and Annapolis was authorized to buy its rival, the Western Counties Railway (by then called the Yarmouth and Annapolis), for the sum of œ265,000. The merged company was named the Dominion Atlantic Railway. Refer 1893 cc.141, 142 and 143.

The Windsor and Annapolis was a fairly successful railway. It was built quite quickly compared to most and, while it had its financial problems from time to time, eventually became a successful adjunct to the Canadian Pacific system as the senior partner in the four railways that became the Dominion Atlantic.

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

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