Construction of a railway across Newfoundland echoed North American enthusiasm for railways asengines of economic development and symbols of progress. After rejecting Confederation with Canadain 1869, railway construction was championed in Newfoundland as the "work of a country."
Early Development and Construction
After a preliminary reconnoitre in 1868, the first railway survey was made in 1875. This traced an almost direct route across the interior. However, the imperial government was reluctant to allow a route which would have its western terminus at St. George's Bay, on the French Shore.
The railway question re-emerged in 1878, when William V. Whiteway formed a government. In 1880 a committee of the House of Assembly recommended construction of a narrow-gauge line from St. John's to Halls Bay, which would stop short of the French Shore and provide access to the mining district of western Notre Dame Bay. Legislation was introduced for a survey and the government was empowered to negotiate a construction contract.
In April 1881 the government selected the Newfoundland Railway Company, fronted by New York lawyer A.L. Blackman, to construct a narrow-gauge (3'6") line to Halls Bay, with a branch to Harbour Grace, Conception Bay. Construction began on 9 August. That first year 20 miles were graded (from Fort William on St. John's harbour to Conception Bay South), and 10 miles of rail were laid. The first locomotive, one of five purchased from Prince Edward Island, was landed at on 5 December. Service to Topsail began in June 1882. By September the line had reached Holyrood.
Fort William Railway Depot, St. John's, ca. 1880s
This train station was destroyed by fire on March 31, 1900 and a new station was built at Riverhead.
Courtesy of Archives and Special Collections (Coll-137, 31.01.022), Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL.
In 1883 the Blackman company defaulted, with the main line section of the first phase(to Harbour Grace Junction, now Whitbourne) nearing completion. The company's bondholders continued with construction of the Harbour Grace branch. In the spring of 1884 trains were running daily (excepting Sunday) to Avondale, and three times a week to Whitbourne. That November the line was completed to Harbour Grace. Construction of the main line did not begin again in earnest until 1890.
Trestle Reconstruction, ca. 1880s
Reconstruction of a trestle at Lower Gullies (now Riverdale, Conception Bay South).
From the A.R. Penney Collection. Courtesy of Harry Cuff Publications.
In the interim, the Thorburn government (1885-1889) had built a branch line to Placentia as a public work. Beginning operations in October 1888, the branch included a section, from Whitbourne to Placentia Junction, which was later incorporated into the main line. In June 1889 funds were voted for a location survey toward Halls Bay, and by the fall 16 miles had been graded west from Placentia Junction.
In June 1890 a new Whiteway government entered into a construction contract with twoScots-Canadians who had been sub-contractors on the Canadian Pacific Railway, R.G. Reid and G.H. Middleton. Thiscontract provided for the construction of a 262-mile line from Placentia Junction to Halls Bay infive years for $15,600 per mile - the Newfoundland Northern and Western Railway. Fifteen hundred men wereemployed, and by the fall the main line had been railed a further 10 miles, to Camp 4 (just beyondLong Harbour Station). Meanwhile, Geological Surveyor J.P. Howley surveyed a location across the GaffTopsail and advised it would be possible to re-direct the line from Halls Bay to the Bay ofIslands.
In its first full construction season, 1891, Reid and Middleton laid 50 miles of newtrack, by far the best year's progress to date. The season ended on 2 December, south ofClarenville, when a blast at a rock-cut killed foreman James Saunders, and blinded Reid's sonWilliam in one eye.
Final Construction Phase and Perpetual Progress
It was in 1892, more than a decade after construction began, that main line construction enteredits final phase, six years of steady progress across an almost unpeopled interior. The season beganwith Middleton's withdrawal from the partnership and ended with the track at Benton. By this time 2,200 men had completed 80 miles of track, and Reid was building a roundhouse and machineshops (which provided much of the early rolling stock of the railway) at Whitbourne, his easternterminal. In keeping with contractual provisions for payment, service began to the end oftrack as each section was completed.
Also in 1892, it was decided to re-route the line from the Exploits River to the west coast viathe Topsail. This was embodied in a new contract with Reid in 1893. He would build the remaining 285miles from the Exploits River to Port aux Basques, and also to operate the main line (Reidpreviously committed only to operating the Placentia branch). By the end of the seasonthe end of track was Rushy Pond, just west of what is now Grand Falls-Windsor, virtually the halfway point across the island.
During the next four seasons Reid demonstrated his commitment to steady progress against obstacles,natural and political. By the end of 1894 the track had crossed the Topsail to Howley. The long-anticipated link to the west coast wasachieved in 1895, and by the end of the season the track was laid to Cooks Brook (west of CornerBrook). In 1896, with the track reaching Codroy Pond, the government acquired the Harbour Graceline, anticipating the completion of the main line and unifying railway operations under Reid. In 1897,with an election looming, the line reached Port aux Basques. The following spring Reid signed acontract to operate the entire line and, after some further work on western sections and trestles,the first regular St. John's to Port aux Basques train ran on 29-30 June 1898.
Newfoundland Railway Mainline, 1898
The first regular St. John's to Port aux Basques train ran 29-30 June 1898.
Shortly thereafter (as provided by the 1898 contract), the main line into St. John's wasre-routed seven miles, from Donovans to a new terminal at Riverhead. In 1925 another section of themain line was re-routed from Howley around the head of Grand Lake. A further 30-milediversion, around the Topsail via Buchans, was started in 1928 but abandonedwith only six miles of track laid.
