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The Flying Bluenose was a Canadian luxury passenger train operated by the Dominion Atlantic Railway between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia from 1891 to 1936. It was a boat train scheduled to connect with passenger steamships to Boston and ran only during the summer months.
This summertime fast luxury train was the premier passenger service on the Dominion Atlantic Railway. It began in 1891 when the "missing gap" between Digby and Annapolis Royal was completed linking Halifax and Yarmouth by rail for the first time. This created an opportunity for a fast luxury service aimed at American tourists connecting Halifax with passenger steamers at Yarmouth. The name Flying Bluenose combined two earlier trains of the Windsor and Annapolis Railway, the Flying Acadian and the Bluenose.
The name was taken from an affectionate nickname for Nova Scotians and predated the name of the famous racing schooner Bluenose by many years. The Dominion Atlantic purchased the first Pullman parlour cars in all of Canada, the "Haligonian" and "Mayflower" for the run. After the Canadian Pacific Railway purchased the Dominion Atlantic in 1912, buffet observation cars were added, carrying the Dominion Atlantic's "land of Evangeline" herald on drumheads. The train successfully tapped a growing tourism market from New England and was an immediate success. It was joined by the New Yorker in the 1920s, a similar fast summer-only train which connected to New York steamships at Yarmouth. Famous in its day, the Flying Bluenose inspired the author Zillah K. Macdonald to write a children's book The Bluenose Express in 1928 personalizing the train's adventures in a style that predated the famous Thomas the Tank Engine characters created by British railway enthusiast Rev. Wilbert Awdry in 1942. [1] A steep decline in travel during the Great Depression eroded the market for the Flying Bluenose and it was cancelled about 1936. Equipment and services were transferred to the Dominion Atlantic's daily fast passenger trains which continued many of the traditions of the Flying Bluenose such as open observation cars, fresh Digby scallops and flower arrangements from the Grand Pre memorial gardens. VIA Rail's Evangeline Dayliner maintained the route of the Flying Bluenose until 1989, minus the luxurious elements of the older train.
The Flying Bluenose ran through Nova Scotia's scenic Annapolis Valley offering many fine views of the Annapolis Basin, Minas Basin and Cape Blomidon. It crossed several large tidal rivers. The train connected to fast passenger steamers at Yarmouth but also the DAR ferries at Digby to Saint John, New Brunswick such as SS Princess Helene and the MV Kipawo ferry at Wolfville. In Halifax, it connected to ocean liners of various lines as well as the transcontinental trains of the Intercolonial Railway of Canada and later Canadian National Railway trains such as the Ocean Limited .
Yarmouth is a town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. A port town, industries include fishing, and tourism. It is the terminus of a ferry service to Bar Harbor, Maine, run by Bay Ferries.
Middleton is a town in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Situated on the north bank of the Annapolis River, it is located close to the centre of the Annapolis Valley, from which it gets its nickname, "The Heart of the Valley".
Marine Atlantic Inc. is an independent Canadian federal Crown corporation which is mandated to operate ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
Bay Ferries Limited, or simply, Bay Ferries, is a ferry company operating in eastern Canada and is headquartered in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is a subsidiary of Northumberland Ferries Limited and a sister company to the defunct Bay Ferries Great Lakes Limited.
Digby is an incorporated town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is in the historical county of Digby and a separate municipality from the Municipality of the District of Digby. The town is situated on the western shore of the Annapolis Basin near the entrance to the Digby Gut, which connects the basin to the Bay of Fundy.
The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia in Canada, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley.
The Nova Scotia Railway is a historic Canadian railway. It was composed of two lines, one connecting Richmond with Windsor, the other connecting Richmond with Pictou Landing via Truro.
The Halifax and South Western Railway was a historic Canadian railway operating in the province of Nova Scotia.
The Evangeline Trail is a scenic roadway in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Canadian Forces Base Cornwallis is a former Canadian Forces Base located in Deep Brook, Nova Scotia.
Halifax station is an inter-city railway terminal in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, operated by Via Rail.
The Evangeline was a passenger train operated from 1956 to 1990 by the Dominion Atlantic Railway and Via Rail Canada between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Kingsport is a small seaside village located in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the shores of the Minas Basin. It was famous at one time for building some of the largest wooden ships ever built in Canada.
The Digby Pines Golf Resort and Spa is a seasonal coastal resort hotel located at Digby, Nova Scotia, on the shores of the Annapolis Basin. The Digby Pines was owned by the Province of Nova Scotia until late in 2019, and was one of the province's three "Signature Resorts," along with Liscombe Lodge Resort and Conference Center in Liscombe Mills, and Keltic Lodge Resort and Spa in Ingonish Beach.
The Windsor and Annapolis Railway (W&AR) was a historic Canadian railway that operated in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.
The Middleton and Victoria Beach Railway was a historic Canadian railway which ran from Middleton to Port Wade in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was purchased and completed by the Halifax and Southwestern Railway in 1906. A portion of the line remained in operation until 1983.
Southern Nova Scotia or the South Shore is a region of Nova Scotia, Canada. The area has no formal identity and is variously defined by geographic, county and other political boundaries. Statistics Canada, defines Southern Nova Scotia as an economic region, composed of Lunenburg County, Queens County, Shelburne County, Yarmouth County, and Digby County. According to Statistics Canada, the region had the highest decrease of population in Canada from 2009 to 2010, with a population decrease of 10.2 residents per thousand. The region also has the second-highest median age in Canada at 47.1 years old.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Nova Scotia:
Thomas Timmis Vernon Smith (1824–1890) was a civil engineer who worked on several railways throughout England, Europe and Russia before immigrating to Canada and becoming Chief Engineer on the Windsor and Annapolis Railway project in 1866. The railway opened up accessibility to the Annapolis Valley, and was vital to the establishment of its agricultural industry by enabling the transport of fruit and livestock to global markets. Vernon Smith holds the 1859 patent for the first automated steam-powered foghorn, which known as the Vernon-Smith horn.
The North Street Station was the railway terminal for Halifax, Nova Scotia from 1877 to 1920. It was built by the Intercolonial Railway in the North End of Halifax and was the second largest railway station in Canada when it opened in 1878. Damaged, but repaired after the Halifax Explosion, it served until the current Halifax terminal location opened as part of the Ocean Terminals project in the city's South End in 1919.
