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In 1874 the Caraquet Railway Company was formed to build a line around the tip of the Tracadie Peninsula to tap into the timber resources of the area and provide surrounding communities with a rail link to other markets. Construction of the 66 mile line did not begin until 1884 when enough private funding and government subsidies had been secured for building to start. The line which ran from Shippagan to Gloucester Jct. where it connected with the Intercolonial Railway was completed in 1898. In 1911 the line merged with the Gulf Shore Railway Company which operated a line from Pokemouche Jct. to Sheila. This line was originally opened in 1897. The new company was called the Caraquet and Gulf Shore Railway Company. In 1920 the Dominion of Canada purchased the line for $200,000. The line was operated by Canadian National who abandoned most of the line in 1989. Like other similar lines in New Brunswick the line suffered from a small population base with little industrial manufacturing, which could provide the line with steady business.