SCOPE: This collection contains contemporary materials related to the Chignecto Marine Transport Railway.
EXTENT: Two CDs of pictures, replications of construction photographs with descriptions, “The Chignecto Marine Transport Railway: A Brief History” by John G. McKay, and “Ketchum’s Folly” by Jay Underwood
HISTORY: The Chignecto Ship Railway is located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. Construction began in 1888 and was halted in 1891 due to funding concerns related to the indebted financiers of the project, Baring Brothers & Co. The tracks have since been pulled up, although rail bed is still visible in aerial photographs. The land remains property of the government of Nova Scotia as of 2012.
The railway was originally designed by civil engineer Henry Ketchum to carry vessels up to 2,000 tons a distance of 17 miles between the southwest terminal of the Bay of Fundy and the northeaster terminal of the Northumberland Strait. The transit was anticipated to take 2.5 hours.
ACCESS: This is collection P-058. This collection is available for on-site use only in the Rare Book and Manuscripts Reading Room. Some of the collection may be photocopied, digitally scanned or photographed, depending on condition. Researchers are advised to call ahead concerning changes in hours due to University intersessions and holidays. The St. Louis Mercantile Library is located on levels one and two of the Thomas Jefferson Library building. More information about conducting research with the archival collections of the Library, including current building hours and reading room policies, can be found on our Research page.
This collection is made available through the gracious donation of Joseph E. Vollmar, Jr.
Preferred Citation note: The preferred citation for this collection is "From the collections of the Herman T. Pott National Inland Waterways Library at the University of Missouri - St. Louis.”
