Halifax and Southwestern Railway - Canadian National

Canadian National

Under CNR, the H&SW trackage saw significant infrastructure improvements to ballast, drainage, sleeper ties, rails, switches and bridges. The line still had significant curvature throughout, a result of the rugged local topography on the South Shore (locals called the H&SW the "Hellish Slow & Wobbly"), but the improvements brought respectable track speeds and service improvements.

The Intercolonial Railway / Canadian Government Railways Halifax terminal trackage inherited by CNR underwent significant change in the late 1910s with the construction and opening of a new south-end terminal and station in 1920. This project saw a massive railway cut built across the isthmus of the Halifax Peninsula which affected the H&SW tracks that connected with the ICR mainline near Africville. In 1921, the Halifax end of the H&SW was shifted to join the new alignment in the rock cut by constructing what became known as "Southwestern Junction" in the community of Fairview, adjacent to a large new roundhouse complex.

In the years before the domination of publicly funded highways, the H&SW formed a critical transportation link between the various communities, as well as steam ship connections at Yarmouth (to Boston and New York) and Halifax (to Europe).

In the 1920s, the former M&VBR line was proving uneconomic after the closure of iron ore mines at Torbrook and the port at Port Wade. CNR applied in 1925 to abandon west of Middleton, however permission was only given to abandon west of Bridgetown. By 1928, bridges were removed and trackage would be removed in the following years.

The construction of the large Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited mill at Brooklyn in 1929 led to more traffic from the Liverpool area. Shipyards in Liverpool and Shelburne lent some traffic, as did various saw mills and logging operations at locations between Yarmouth and Halifax and between Bridgewater and Middleton/Bridgetown and New Germany to Caledonia. The naval base HMCS Shelburne opened on Shelburne Harbour during the Second World War, requiring construction of a short 1 mile spur. Heating oil and gasoline distribution terminals operated by various oil companies in communities along the lines. A distillery in Bridgetown generated some traffic, as did a forest products plant in East River. In the early 1980s a large Michelin tire factory opened in Bridgewater and required rail service. The development of the Lakeside Industrial Park near the Beechville area in the 1960s create several large industrial customers. One of them, a Volvo assembly plant attracted steady strings of autorack cars until it closed in 1998.