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During construction of the New Brunswick Railway line from Fredericton to Edmundston it was widely believed that the line would be completed into Quebec to provide a second direct rail connection with Central Canada. However, this was never completed instead the directors of the company decided to connect to Central Canada through American railways in Maine. In 1885 the Temiscouata Railway Company was incorporated to build a railway from Edmundston to Riviere-du-Loup in Quebec. However, the line was not built to finish the New Brunswick Railway connection with Central Canada but rather to provide an efficient way to move large amounts of timber from the timber rich areas of Northwestern New Brunswick to market. Indeed, Alexander Gibson had been a chief support of the New Brunswick Railway for the same reason, because the railway offered a reliable way to move his timber products to market. Construction began in 1886 and was completed in 1889. The very crooked line wound around the mountainous terrain between Riviere-du-Loup and the New Brunswick border. The following year an extension from Edmundston to Connors was opened. The total cost for construction of the line was over $2 million dollars. The line struggled financially for several years and was hurt financially by construction of the National Transcontinental Railway line in 1912 which passed by the Temiscouata line leading to increased competition for shipping business from the area. In 1940 the section of track from Edmundston to Baker Brook was abandoned, trains instead ran along the nearby National Transcontinental lines between the two stops. In 1949 Canadian National purchased the line and operated it until the 1970's when the section from Cabano to Rivere-du-loup was abandoned. The section from Clairs to Connors had already been abandoned in 1960. Canadian National continued to operate the sections of track from Edmundston to Cabano and from Baker Brook to Clair as spur lines used by local manufacturers. The final two section of track Edmundston to Cabano and Baker Brook to Clair were abandoned in 1989 and 1993 respectively.

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Temiscouata Railway line
19th Century
New Brunswick, Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


Credits:
New Brunswick Railway Museum

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Baker Brook Station
20th Century, Circa 1915
Baker Brook, New Brunswick, Canada


Credits:
New Brunswick Railway Museum