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when the name of the company was changed to the
Middleton and Victoria Beach Railway Company. At this time the eastern end of the railway was shifted east from Bridgetown to Middleton, possibly because the promoters were afraid to trust their only rail connection to the outside world to the Dominion Atlantic, but also because the railway to Bridgewater had been completed. At about this time the railway plans were approved and filed in the registry of deeds, which constituted the expropriation. The municipalities along the way, the Municipality of the County of Annapolis and the Town of Bridgetown, obtained legislative sanction to pay for the railway right of way, what was then referred to as railway damages. That was their contribution to what was generally seen as a valuable economic engine.
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necessary legislative charter each railway had to have in order to qualify for the provincial construction grant, to allow it to expropriate its right of way (which it actually owned) and to permit it to cross highways. This railway was intended to run west from
Bridgetown rather than from Middleton.
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in 1905. The construction had not been completed, and the H&SW had to finish the job. MacKenzie and Mann, who were expanding the
Canadian Northern in Nova Scotia, owned the H&SW, which had acquired the Nova Scotia Central and built a railway into Halifax from Bridgewater. The provincial
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A second attempt to get the railway started was the
Granville and Victoria Beach Railway and Development Company. The incorporation was extended in 1899. The 1897 Act had provided that the Act would cease if work had not been completed within two years. Then there was another extension in 1901,
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The earliest variant of the company was the
Granville and Victoria Beach Railway Company. The incorporators (those listed as the first members of the company) included forestry operators, merchants and lawyers from along the proposed route. This was a common way to get political support for the
105:. West of Bridgetown the Dominion Atlantic crossed a bridge to the south side of the Annapolis River while the Middleton and Victoria Beach line continued along the northern side of the river from Bridgetown west to Port Wade.
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closer to the North
Mountain and the farms there than was the Dominion Atlantic line. The two railways more or less parallelled each other between Middleton and
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west of
Bridgetown station allowed trains to turn to go back to Middleton or Bridgewater. The line from Middleton to Bridgetown was abandoned in 1983.
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where a quarter-mile wharf was built for loading and unloading of freight. This continued to be used even after the railway stopped running.
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The sale was completed July 28, 1903 (see New York Times, July 29, 1903) but the necessary statutory authority was not confirmed until 1905.
147:. The railway was used for various agricultural and forest products, but its most important through cargo was iron from the mines at
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86:. Running westward from Middleton, the Middleton and Victoria Beach line never actually ran as far as
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government fixed the length of the line at forty miles (64 kilometers) for purposes of the subsidy.
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See plans in the
Annapolis County Registry of Deeds, Lawrencetown, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia
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The first CNR leases of parts of the railbed date from about this time.
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in 1906. A portion of the line remained in operation until 1983.
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The line of the railway ran along the north side of the
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About 1928 traffic stopped west of
Bridgetown and a
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30:was a historic Canadian railway which ran from
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268:Transport in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia
179:Statutes of Nova Scotia 1891, chapter 126.
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206:Statutes of Nova Scotia 1901, chapter 160
246:"Middleton and Victoria Beach Railway",
197:Statutes of Nova Scotia 1897, chapter 82
50:. It was purchased and completed by the
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139:The railway eventually became part of
188:Statutes of Nova Scotia, Railways Act
28:Middleton and Victoria Beach Railway
90:, but made its western terminus in
62:The line's eastern terminus was in
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128:Halifax and South Western Railway
126:The railway was acquired by the
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52:Halifax and Southwestern Railway
248:Nova Scotia's Electronic Attic
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66:, where it connected with the
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263:Defunct Nova Scotia railways
141:Canadian Government Railways
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145:Canadian National Railways
68:Dominion Atlantic Railway
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16:Defunct Canadian railway
122:Purchase and Completion
273:Middleton, Nova Scotia
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70:running between
40:Annapolis County
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99:Annapolis River
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241:External links
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88:Victoria Beach
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109:Incorporation
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155:Abandonment
143:, and then
80:Bridgewater
44:Nova Scotia
257:Categories
167:References
103:Bridgetown
36:Port Wade
135:Operation
92:Port Wade
84:Lunenburg
64:Middleton
32:Middleton
149:Torbrook
76:Yarmouth
72:Halifax
48:Canada
74:and
58:Route
82:and
26:The
161:wye
38:in
34:to
21:Map
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