Latest revision as of 14:13, 13 April 2025

Kentville, Nova Scotia

Kentville with its station, rail yard and shops in 1871 at the dawn of the railway era in the town.

Halifax Subdivision, Mile 56.16 (from Windsor Junction), Mile 72.38 (from Halifax).
Subdivision Kentville, Mile 0.
Subdivision Kingsport and Spur Track D Kingsport, Mile 0.

Elevation: 38 feet^[1]

Next Station West: Coldbrook
Next Station East: New Minas
Next Station North: Aldershot

Description & History

Kentville was the headquarters of railway activity in the Annapolis Valley for over a century. The Windsor and Annapolis Railway established their operational headquarters here in 1868. The amalgamation in 1894 of the Windsor and Annapolis Railway and the Western Counties Railway led to the formation of the Dominion Atlantic Railway which centred the operation of the new and larger railway network in Kentville. (Offical corporate headquarters for the Windsor and Annapolis and the DAR were located in London, England prior to 1911. After the 1911 lease to Canadian Pacific Railway, corporate headquarters was moved from London to Montreal, but day to day operational headquarters remained firmly in Kentville.) The DAR presence in Kentville grew to occupy a long stretch of the banks of the Cornwallis River in downtown Kentville with expanding railway yards, shops and a station complex which included the operational offices of the line. The town was was well aware of the critical importance of the railway. In 1904 it paid a $6000 subsidy as a bonus for the DAR to enlarge the station.^[2] By 1912, it was estimated that over one third of the population of Kentville worked for the DAR or belonged to families of DAR employees.^[3] The railway transformed what had been a small crossroads settlement, known for stage coach inns and horse races, into the leading town of the Annapolis Valley. Kentville hosted not only the railway's extensive operation, but multiple industries such as food processing, a foundry, carriage works and even a small automobile manufacturer, as well as an extensive retail district with a grand railway hotel. In addition, Kentville was chosen as the location for the military base at Camp Aldershot and the Provincial Sanatorium because of the town's railway travel connections. The town's railway presence and prosperity peaked in the 1940s. A long and slow decline began in the 1950s as broader economic changes eroded the prosperity of the railway and the industrial and retail base of Kentville. Railway traffic and employment declined steadily, and then fell abruptly in the later 1980s. This was reflected in the railway facilities in Kentville which withered in the 1990s, beginning with the demolition of the landmark Kentville Station, followed by the gradual abandonment of the railyards and the final closure of the Kentville shops and the abandonment of the rail connection to Kentville in October 1993.

Facilities & Features

Kentville Station, Roundhouse, Coaling Tower, Cornwallis Inn, Bridges and More!

Please Click on the title for extensive listing of featured facilities.

Commerce & Industry

Operations & Orders

Gallery

Kentville_Railyard in 1871, the earliest known image, looking west.
Kentville Circa 1872.
W&AR Kentville Engine House and Lightning circa 1872.
Bird's Eve View of Kentville Nova Scotia 1879‎‎
Kentville Yard and station looking west circa 1890s.
Excavation at Kentville with Windsor and Annapolis Railway flat car No. 84, probably leveling of the hill which became the Cornwallis Inn, circa 1890.
The Aberdeen Hotel at Kentville, with DAR flat cars No. 32 and 65 and the east platform Kentville Station, circa 1895.
Kentville, circa 1896, with Kentville Railyard, Kentville Car Shop, Kentville Station and the Aberdeen Hotel.
Church Street, Kentville, circa 1900, with Kentville Station platforms to right and the T. L. Dodge hardware store to left.
Kentville circa 1900.
Kentville Station, Freight Shed, car Shop, River Street and the sanitarium in the distance, probably taken from steeple of the Presbyterian Church, corner of Aberdeen and Webster Streets, circa 1910.
Kentville Station east platform & Aberdeen Street, about 1905 with T. L. Dodge hardware store.
DAR locomotive No. 33 "Glooscap" at the Abderdeen Street crossing, Kentville, beside the P. R. Ritcey building, circa 1910.
Boxed apples being loaded onto a box car at Kentville, circa 1912.
Derailment of troop train bound for Camp Aldershot in the Kentville Railyard, Sept. 9, 1913.
The eastbound Flying Bluenose at Elderkin Creek nearing New Minas with Kentville in the background.
Eastbound passenger train at Elderkin Creek near Kentville from a hill in New Minas, circa 1920s.
The Cornwallis Inn (formerly the Aberdeen Hotel) in Kentville with the BCFA Kentville Warehouse and DAR Tennis Courts to the left, circa 1920
Track schematic for Kentville, circa 1920.
Annotated detail of Kentville Fire Insurance Map showing the Kentville Roundhouse, Kentville Machine Shop and Kentville Railyard, Aug. 1921.
Clean detail of Kentville Fire Insurance Map showing the Kentville Roundhouse, Kentville Machine Shop and Kentville Railyard, Aug. 1921.
Detail of Kentville Fire Insurance Map showing the Kentville Station, Kentville Repair Shop, Kentville Ice House, railway tennis courts and the "Back Road" spur, Aug. 1921.
Detail Kentville Fire Insurance Map with Webster Street business including the United Fruit Companies Headquarters and the P. R. Ritcey Spur, Aug. 1921.
Kentville Cornwallis River Bridge with the Kentville Six Stall Roundhouse and Engineer's Rest Bunk House in background during a flood, circa 1920-1926.
Kentville Station, 1920s.
Panoramic view of Kentville with the Kentville Railyard, the Freight Shed, the BCFA apple warehouse, the Niagara Dust Company, the Freight Shed and the Kentville Station, 1922.
British Canadian Fruit Association Kentville warehouse with a DAR Box car and the DAR Tennis Courts, 1923.
The Flying Bluenose posed at Elderkin Creek between Kentville and New Minas with the Parlour Buffet Observation Car "Annapolis Royal, circa 1924.
Dominion Atlantic Parlour car "Haligonian" and Canadian National Buffet Parlour Car 824 at the Kentville Station, with P. R. Ritcey's store in background, between 1920 and 1926.
Locomotive No. 2552 leaving Kentville with passenger train, Kentville Station in background and P. R. Ritcey warehouses to right, April 1937.
Kentville Freight Shed with DAR express trucks, drivers and staff, 1939.
Canada Foods Plant at the Kentville West Main Street, "Dennison's Crossing", with the first switches of the Kentville Railyard, circa 1948.
Topographic map from Berwick to Kentville circa 1956.
Topographic map from Kentville to Hortons Landing circa 1956.
Kentville Station 1967 & you can see a set of over head railway crossing lights.
Kentville looking east to the station, 1950s.
Kentville looking west to the roundhouse, 1950s.
Kentville Station, with locomotive No. 2551 hauling passenger train with RDC in consist, 1956-1958.
Lake Annis station, arriving at Kentville to be used as a maintenance shed, November 18, 1962.
The Confederation Train parked at Aberdeen Street level crossing, Kentville with the P. R. Ritcey Company in centre, October 1967.
Kentville Railyard with north yard tracks to left and the mainline on right, plus the Kentville Roundhouse, the Kentville Coaling Tower, the Kentville Car Shop, the Kentville Repair Shop and the Kentville Station, 1977.
Kentville Railyard, with left to right: corner of Kentville Roundhouse, CPR Van 437345, DAR scrap line, snow plows, Car Shop, Coaling Tower, Repair Shop, Kentville Station and the Kentville Track Scale, May 26, 1977.
Air photo Kentville and DAR railyard, 1970s.
Track plan of Kentville Railyard and spurs, 1974.
Map of town of Kentville and and DAR railyard, 1980s.
Air photo of Kentville Railyard, June 21, 1987.
Eastbound freight at Kentville looking from the new VIA station towards the old Kentville Station, with the P. R. Ritcey warehouse on right, February 1988.
Kentville Railyard composite photo with the Kentville Coaling Tower, Kentville Car Shop and the Kentville Repair Shop, October 1990.
DAR mainline tracks at Kentville along West Main Street looking east, 1991.
DAR mainline tracks at Kentville at the end of West Main Street looking west, 1991.
Kentville looking east from West Main Street crossing with the Canada Foods Plant, the roundhouse, car shop and yard tracks, 1992.
Kentville sign board, as viewed from Coldbrook, July 1993.
Kentville Railyard site looking south, l to r: the British Canadian Fruit Association Kentville warehouse, W.J. Burrell's Machine Shop and the Kentville Roundhouse.May 10, 2006.
The Kings County Museum, 2008 with the locomotive wheel display recovered from the Kentville Railyard.

References & Footnotes

Alexander MacNab, Windsor and Annapolis Railway, Report of Alexander MacNab Nov 1, 1873
1969 Memorandum of General Information

Reference Tag

External Links

[1] Map 13 A "PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA, Kings and Hants CountIES, Kingsport Sheet No. 84"; Hugh Fletcher, L. N. Richard, Geological Survey of Canada, Dept. of Mines, Canada, Multicoloured Geological Map 1037, 1911

[2] The Railway and Shipping World Feb. 1904-02, "Kentville Station Debenture, November Earnings"

[3] W.W. Clarke, Clarke's History of the Earliest Railways in Nova Scotia, page 45.

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 ==Description & History==
-Kentville was the headquarters of railway activity in the Annapolis Valley for over a century. The [[:Category:Windsor and Annapolis Railway|Windsor and Annapolis Railway]] established their operational headquarters here in 1868. The amalgamation in 1894 of the Windsor and Annapolis Railway and the [[:Category:Western Counties Railway|Western Counties Railway]] led to the formation of the Dominion Atlantic Railway which centred the operation of the new and larger railway network in Kentville. (Offical corporate headquarters for the Windsor and Annapolis and the DAR were located in London, England prior to 1911. After the 1911 lease to Canadian Pacific Railway, corporate headquarters was moved from London to Montreal, but day to day operational headquarters remained firmly in Kentville.) The DAR presence in Kentville grew to occupy a long stretch of the banks of the Cornwallis River in downtown Kentville with expanding railway yards, shops and a station complex which included the operational offices of the line. By 1912, it was estimated that over one third of the population of Kentville worked for the DAR or belonged to families of DAR employees.<ref>[[W.W. Clarke]], [[Clarke's History of the Earliest Railways in Nova Scotia]], page 45.</ref> The railway transformed what had been a small crossroads settlement, known for stage coach inns and horse races, into the leading town of the Annapolis Valley. Kentville hosted not only the railway's extensive operation, but multiple industries such as food processing, a foundry, carriage works and even a small automobile manufacturer, as well as an extensive retail district with a grand railway hotel. In addition, Kentville was chosen as the location for the military base at [[Aldershot|Camp Aldershot]] and the Provincial Sanatorium because of the town's railway travel connections. The town's railway presence and prosperity peaked in the 1940s. A long and slow decline began in the 1950s as broader economic changes eroded the prosperity of the railway and the industrial and retail base of Kentville. Railway traffic and employment declined steadily, and then fell abruptly in the later 1980s. This was reflected in the railway facilities in Kentville which withered in the 1990s, beginning with the demolition of the landmark [[Kentville Station]], followed by the gradual abandonment of the [[Kentville Railyard|railyards]] and the final closure of the [[Kentville Car Shop|Kentville shops]] and the abandonment of the rail connection to Kentville in October 1993.
+Kentville was the headquarters of railway activity in the Annapolis Valley for over a century. The [[:Category:Windsor and Annapolis Railway|Windsor and Annapolis Railway]] established their operational headquarters here in 1868. The amalgamation in 1894 of the Windsor and Annapolis Railway and the [[:Category:Western Counties Railway|Western Counties Railway]] led to the formation of the Dominion Atlantic Railway which centred the operation of the new and larger railway network in Kentville. (Offical corporate headquarters for the Windsor and Annapolis and the DAR were located in London, England prior to 1911. After the 1911 lease to Canadian Pacific Railway, corporate headquarters was moved from London to Montreal, but day to day operational headquarters remained firmly in Kentville.) The DAR presence in Kentville grew to occupy a long stretch of the banks of the Cornwallis River in downtown Kentville with expanding railway yards, shops and a station complex which included the operational offices of the line. The town was was well aware of the critical importance of the railway. In 1904 it paid a $6000 subsidy as a bonus for the DAR to enlarge the station.<ref>[[The Railway and Shipping World - 1904-02 - Kentville Station Debenture, November Earnings|''The Railway and Shipping World'' Feb. 1904-02, "Kentville Station Debenture, November Earnings"]]</ref> By 1912, it was estimated that over one third of the population of Kentville worked for the DAR or belonged to families of DAR employees.<ref>[[W.W. Clarke]], [[Clarke's History of the Earliest Railways in Nova Scotia]], page 45.</ref> The railway transformed what had been a small crossroads settlement, known for stage coach inns and horse races, into the leading town of the Annapolis Valley. Kentville hosted not only the railway's extensive operation, but multiple industries such as food processing, a foundry, carriage works and even a small automobile manufacturer, as well as an extensive retail district with a grand railway hotel. In addition, Kentville was chosen as the location for the military base at [[Aldershot|Camp Aldershot]] and the Provincial Sanatorium because of the town's railway travel connections. The town's railway presence and prosperity peaked in the 1940s. A long and slow decline began in the 1950s as broader economic changes eroded the prosperity of the railway and the industrial and retail base of Kentville. Railway traffic and employment declined steadily, and then fell abruptly in the later 1980s. This was reflected in the railway facilities in Kentville which withered in the 1990s, beginning with the demolition of the landmark [[Kentville Station]], followed by the gradual abandonment of the [[Kentville Railyard|railyards]] and the final closure of the [[Kentville Car Shop|Kentville shops]] and the abandonment of the rail connection to Kentville in October 1993.
 ==[[:Category:Kentville Facilities|Facilities & Features]]==
@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 ==Commerce & Industry==
 *[[Canada Foods Plant]]
+*[[United Fruit Companies]]
 *[[British Canadian Fruit Association Kentville warehouse]]
 *[[P. R. Ritcey]]
@@ Line 43: / Line 44: @@
 File:12.6.07.24.jpg|Excavation at [[Kentville]] with [[:Category:Windsor and Annapolis Railway|Windsor and Annapolis Railway]] [[:Category:Flatcars|flat car]] No. 84, probably leveling of the hill which became the [[Cornwallis Hotel|Cornwallis Inn]], circa 1890.
+File:Aberdeen KHS.jpg|The [[Cornwallis Hotel|Aberdeen Hotel]] at [[Kentville]], with DAR [[:Category:Flatcars|flat cars]] No. 32 and 65 and the east platform [[Kentville Station]], circa 1895.
 File:200803032.jpg|[[Kentville]], circa 1896, with [[Kentville Railyard]], [[Kentville Car Shop]], [[Kentville Station]] and the [[Cornwallis Hotel|Aberdeen Hotel]].
@@ Line 52: / Line 55: @@
 File:200716239 NSA.jpg|[[Kentville Station]], [[Kentville Freight Shed|Freight Shed]], [[Kentville Car Shop|car Shop]], River Street and the sanitarium in the distance, probably taken from steeple of the Presbyterian Church, corner of Aberdeen and Webster Streets, circa 1910.
-File:A020744.jpg|[[Kentville Station]] east platform & Aberdeen Street, about 1905 with [[P. R. Ritcey|T. L. Dodge hardware store]]
+File:A020744.jpg|[[Kentville Station]] east platform & Aberdeen Street, about 1905 with [[P. R. Ritcey|T. L. Dodge hardware store]].
+File:Kalkman085.jpg|[[DAR0033|DAR locomotive No. 33 "Glooscap"]] at the Abderdeen Street crossing, [[Kentville]], beside the [[P. R. Ritcey]] building, circa 1910.
+File:Hardy apples 1912.jpg|Boxed apples being loaded onto a box car at [[Kentville]], circa 1912.
+File:Kalkman075.jpg|Derailment of troop train bound for [[Aldershot|Camp Aldershot]] in the [[Kentville Railyard]], Sept. 9, 1913.
 File:Cudmore Kentville-Bluenose.jpg|The eastbound [[Flying Bluenose]] at Elderkin Creek nearing [[New Minas]] with [[Kentville]] in the background.
+File:Kalkman116.jpg|Eastbound passenger train at Elderkin Creek near [[Kentville]] from a hill in [[New Minas]], circa 1920s.
+File:Kalkman115.jpg|The [[Cornwallis Inn]] (formerly the Aberdeen Hotel) in [[Kentville]] with the [[British Canadian Fruit Association Kentville warehouse|BCFA Kentville Warehouse]] and DAR Tennis Courts to the left, circa 1920
 File:KE-00.00 Kentville.JPG|Track schematic for [[Kentville]], circa 1920.
+File:Kentville Fire Map 1921 Sheet 1 annotated.jpg|Annotated detail of Kentville Fire Insurance Map showing the [[Kentville Roundhouse]], [[Kentville Machine Shop]] and [[Kentville Railyard]], Aug. 1921.
+File:Kentville Fire Map 1921 Sheet 1.jpg|Clean detail of Kentville [[:Category:Fire Insurance Maps|Fire Insurance Map]]  showing the [[Kentville Roundhouse]], [[Kentville Machine Shop]] and [[Kentville Railyard]], Aug. 1921.
+File:Kentville Fire Map 1921 Sheet 4.jpg|Detail of Kentville [[:Category:Fire Insurance Maps|Fire Insurance Map]] showing the [[Kentville Station]], [[Kentville Repair Shop]], [[Kentville Ice House]], railway tennis courts and the "Back Road" spur, Aug. 1921.
+File:Kentville Fire Map 1921 Sheet 3.jpg|Detail Kentville [[:Category:Fire Insurance Maps|Fire Insurance Map]] with Webster Street business including the [[United Fruit Companies|United Fruit Companies Headquarters]] and the [[P. R. Ritcey|P. R. Ritcey Spur]], Aug. 1921.
+File:Kalkman40.jpg|[[Kentville Cornwallis River Bridge]] with the [[Kentville Roundhouse|Kentville Six Stall Roundhouse]] and [[DAR000051|Engineer's Rest Bunk House]] in background during a flood, circa 1920-1926.
+File:Comeaustat2.jpg|thumb|700px|left|[[Kentville Station]], 1920s.
+File:Kalkman44.jpg|Panoramic view of [[Kentville]] with the [[Kentville Railyard]], the [[Kentville Repair Shop|Freight Shed]], the [[British Canadian Fruit Association Kentville warehouse|BCFA apple warehouse]], the [[Niagara Dust Company]], the [[Kentville Freight Shed|Freight Shed]] and the [[Kentville Station]], 1922.
+File:RESOURCES OF NOVA SCOTIA Canada Dept of the Interior 1923.jpg|[[British Canadian Fruit Association Kentville warehouse]] with a DAR Box car and the DAR Tennis Courts, 1923.
+File:Kalkman17.jpg|The [[Flying Bluenose]] posed at Elderkin Creek between [[Kentville]] and [[New Minas]] with the [[DARANNAPOLISROYAL|Parlour Buffet Observation Car "Annapolis Royal]], circa 1924.
+File:Kalkman016B.jpg|[[DARHALIGONIAN|Dominion Atlantic Parlour car "Haligonian"]] and Canadian National Buffet Parlour Car 824 at the [[Kentville Station]], with [[P. R. Ritcey|P. R. Ritcey's store]] in background, between 1920 and 1926.
+File:Kalkman19.jpg|[[DAR2552|Locomotive No. 2552]] leaving [[Kentville]] with passenger train, [[Kentville Station]] in background and [[P. R. Ritcey|P. R. Ritcey warehouses]] to right, April 1937.
+File:Kalkman25.jpg|[[Kentville Freight Shed]] with DAR express trucks, drivers and staff, 1939.
+File:Canada Foods 1.jpg|[[Canada Foods Plant]] at the Kentville West Main Street, "Dennison's Crossing", with the first switches of the [[Kentville Railyard]], circa 1948.
 File:Berwick 21 H2 East.jpg|Topographic map from Berwick to Kentville circa 1956.
@@ Line 67: / Line 106: @@
 Image:KentYardBuildings2.JPG|Kentville looking west to the [[Kentville Roundhouse|roundhouse]], 1950s.
+File:Comeaustat3.jpg|thumb|1000px|left|[[Kentville Station]], with [[DAR2551|locomotive No. 2551]] hauling passenger train with [[:Category:RDC|RDC]] in consist, 1956-1958.
 File:DAR - Lake Annis Station in Kentville-Harold Jenkins Photo-18November1962.JPG|[[Lake Annis]] station, arriving at [[Kentville]] to be used as a maintenance shed, November 18, 1962.
@@ Line 77: / Line 118: @@
 Image:DAR Kentville Map 2L.jpg|Map of town of Kentville and [[Kentville Railyard|and DAR railyard]], 1980s.
 Image:Kentville 87-06-21.jpg|Air photo of [[Kentville Railyard]], June 21, 1987.
+File:Pulsifer 6.jpg|Eastbound freight at [[Kentville]] looking from the new VIA station towards the old [[Kentville Station]], with the [[P. R. Ritcey]] warehouse on right, February 1988.
 File:Tupper8.jpg|[[Kentville Railyard]] composite photo with the [[Kentville Coaling Tower]], [[Kentville Car Shop]] and the [[Kentville Repair Shop]], October 1990.
 File:Tupper50.jpg|DAR mainline tracks at [[Kentville]] along West Main Street looking east, 1991.
@@ Line 100: / Line 142: @@
 *[https://novascotia.ca/archives/builtheritage/archives.asp?ID=11 Nova Scotia Archives, "Built Heritage", Zoomable air view of Kentville rail yards, car shops, and locomotive shop, circa 1896.]
 *[https://novascotia.ca/archives/mccully/results.asp?Search=Kentville Nova Scotia Archives, "Nova Scotia from the Air", Twenty zoomable views of Kentville showing rail yards and associated structures, 1931.]
-*[https://novascotia.ca/archives/nsis/archives.asp?ID=1632&Language=English Nova Scotia Archives, "Nova Scotia Information Service", Good zoomable air view of Kentville station, car shops, rail yard, and back road siding, circa 1960.]
+*[https://archives.novascotia.ca/information-service/archives/?ID=1632&Language= Nova Scotia Information Service Nova Scotia Archives no. NSIS 14697, Good zoomable air view of Kentville station, view of Kentville station, car shops, rail yard, and back road siding, circa 1960.]
 *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Atlantic_Railway Dominion Atlantic Railway at Wikipedia]
 *[http://alts.net/ns1625/railways.html  History of Railway Companies in Nova Scotia]
@@ Line 109: / Line 151: @@
 [[Category:Subdivision Halifax|HA-56.16]]
 [[Category:Subdivision Kentville|201]]
-[[Category:Subdivision Kingsport|000]]
+[[Category:Subdivision Kingsport|00.00]]
 [[Category:Spur Track D Kingsport|000]]

Anonymous

Search

Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative - Wiki

Difference between revisions of "Kentville"

Namespaces

More

Page actions

Latest revision as of 14:13, 13 April 2025

Kentville, Nova Scotia

Description & History

Facilities & Features

Commerce & Industry

Operations & Orders

Gallery

References & Footnotes

Reference Tag

External Links

Navigation

Navigation

External Links

DARwiki

Wiki tools

Wiki tools

Anonymous

Search

Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative - Wiki

Difference between revisions of "Kentville"

Latest revision as of 14:13, 13 April 2025

Kentville, Nova Scotia

Description & History

Facilities & Features

Commerce & Industry

Operations & Orders

Gallery

References & Footnotes

Reference Tag

External Links

Navigation

Wiki tools

Page tools

Categories