page_title: Midland Railway (Canada)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Midland Railway (Canada) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Midland Railway Company (MRC) Locomotive No. 1 on construction site of South Maitland Bridges (1900)
context_page_description: Midland Railway was a Nova Scotian railway company formed in 1896 to build a railway through Hants County, Nova Scotia, connecting Truro to Windsor. Completed in 1901, it operated independently until 1905 when it became part of the Dominion Atlantic Railway and later the Canadian Pacific Railway, until the line closed in 1983.
context_section_description: Chartered by the province of Nova Scotia, the railway received subsidies from the federal government and the town of Truro. Construction started on the railway in 1898. The Midland constructed the massive South Maitland Bridge over the Shubenacadie River.  On September 7, 1901 the Midland Railway opened its line across Hants County.  One of the primary reasons for the railway was to export farm produce, lumber and rich gypsum deposits out of the county.
  In 1905, the Dominion Atlantic Railway purchased the Midland line renaming it the Truro Subdivision, however, it continued to be commonly called the "Midland Line". The Dominion Atlantic made extensive use of the Midland Line as a shortcut to move freight bound for other parts of North America to Truro. This allowed the Dominion Atlantic, a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway to save distance, time and congestion from having to route freight through the city of Halifax. The Midland's easy grades and gentle curvatures made it easy to handle large amounts of freight. The line was busiest during World War Two when in addition to heavy freight traffic, it delivered supplies and personnel to the training air fields at the Stanley Airport and Maitland. Traffic dwindled due to subsidized highway construction after World War Two, although the line became well known among railway historians for offering one of Canada's last mixed train, a passenger and freight train combined, which ran with vintage passenger equipment until passenger service ended on the Midland in 1979. The last through train on the line was June 20, 1983, although a short portion of the western end of the Midland remained in use serving gypsum mines until 2001.
caption: Midland Railway Company (MRC) Locomotive No. 1 on construction site of South Maitland Bridge (1900)
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