Sydney and Louisburg Railway
Reporting marks
Locale	Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia Canada
Years of operation	1910 – 1968
Rail gauge	4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm)
Headquarters	Glace Bay, Nova Scotia

The Sydney & Louisburg Railway (S&L) is a historic Canadian railway. Built to transport coal from various mines to the ports of Sydney and Louisbourg, the S&L operated in the eastern part of Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The following are reporting marks assigned by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) to rail carriers operating in North America and the companies (railroads and rail equipment owners/operators) to which they were assigned. ... Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada Cape Breton Island (French: île du Cap-Breton, Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Cheap Breatuinn, Mikmaq: Unamakika), sometimes shortened to just Cape Breton, is a large island on the Atlantic coast of North America. ... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit (One defends and the other conquers) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Lieutenant Governor Myra A. Freeman Premier John Hamm (PC) Area {{{TotalArea}}} km² (12th)  - Land 53,338 km²  - Water 1,946 km² (3. ... 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Rail gauge is the distance between two rails of a railroad. ... Foot (unit of length) - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Mid-19th century tool for converting between different standards of the inch An inch is an Imperial unit of length. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... Glace Bay is a town on the east coast of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. ... Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground either by underground mining, open-pit mining or strip mining. ... Sydney, Australia Sydney, North Dakota, United States of America Sydney is a former city in Nova Scotia, Canada located on its namesake harbour. ... Louisbourg is a former town in southeastern Cape Breton Island, in Nova Scotia, Canada. ... Cape Breton County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island. ... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit (One defends and the other conquers) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Lieutenant Governor Myra A. Freeman Premier John Hamm (PC) Area {{{TotalArea}}} km² (12th)  - Land 53,338 km²  - Water 1,946 km² (3. ...

Development of the S&L

1720-1763, early efforts

Mining of the Sydney Coal Field can be traced as far back as 1720 when French soldiers from Fortress Louisbourg pried coal from exposed seams along the coast near Port Morien. Following the Seven Years' War, France ceded its remaining territories in Acadia and New France to Britain under the Treaty of Paris. Upon taking control of Ile Royale, Britain renamed it to Cape Breton Island and merged the territory into the Colony of Nova Scotia. Events January 6 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings February 11 - Sweden and Prussia sign the (2nd Treaty of Stockholm) declaring peace. ... Fortress Louisbourg (fr. ... A coastal image featured on a United States postal stamp. ... The Seven Years War (1754 and 1756–1763) pitted Great Britain, Prussia and Hanover against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony. ... There is a also a U.S. national park called Acadia National Park; For the former electoral district, see Acadia (electoral district) The national flag of Acadia, adopted in 1884. ... New France (French: la Nouvelle-France) describes the area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 to the cession of New France to the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763. ... The Treaty of Paris was signed on February 10, 1763, by the Kingdom of Great Britain, France and Spain with Portugal in agreement. ...

1763-1857, mining monopoly

In 1784, Britain split the Colony of Nova Scotia, creating the colonies of [{New Brunswick]] and Cape Breton Island, reducing Nova Scotia to just its peninsular territory. In 1788, King George III authorized his son, Prince Frederick, the Duke of York, to be granted the mineral rights to Nova Scotia (then only the peninsular portion), however events such as the Napoleonic Wars put the application on hold until the end of conflict in 1815. At that time, the Duke was in financial difficulty and had an agent apply for the mineral rights which the King had authorized, however the paperwork was misplaced. In 1820, King George III died and the Duke faced financial ruin from debts; the same year saw the Colony of Cape Breton Island merged again into the Colony of Nova Scotia. In 1825 the unfinished application was discovered and approved (for all of Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton Island), whereby the Duke signed over the rights to the General Mining Association, a wholly owned subsidiary of one of the Duke's creditors: the London jewellry firm of Rundell, Bridge and Rundell. 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... George III (George William Frederick) (4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain, and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ... His Royal Highness The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (Frederick Augustus) (16 August 1763 - 5 January 1827) was a member of the British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son of King George III. From 1820 until his own death in 1827, he was the heir... The title Duke of York is a title of nobility usually given to the second son of the British monarch, unless the title is already held by an earlier monarchs son who is still alive. ... The Napoleonic Wars are the wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule of France. ... 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... St Stevens Tower - The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben London (see also alternative names) is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ...

1858-1890, organizing and merging

The GMA maintained a monopoly on mineral rights throughout the colony until 1857-1858 when it relinquished these to the colonial government except for certain areas it had developed surrounding the Sydney, Pictou and Cumberland coal fields. Between 1858-1870, the GMA opened 19 underground mines in the Sydney Coal Field, with most production destined for export to the northeastern United States. In addition to the GMA, many independently owned collieries opened in the Sydney Coal Field after 1858, including several US-financed operations at New Victoria, Bridgeport, and Reserve. 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1858 is a common year starting on Friday. ... Wyoming coal mine Coal mining is the mining of coal. ...

Several small railways (such as the Glasgow and Cape Breton Coal and Railway Company, and the Cape Breton Railway) were built by mining companies during this time. Geographic obstacles to shipping coal were evident during this age of industrialization with the only suitable harbours being Sydney or Louisbourg; efforts to build harbours on the exposed coast near Glace Bay were rendered ineffective by the weather. Although Sydney had a much more suitable harbour than Louisbourg, the former was frequently choked by heavy sea ice during the important coal-shipment season throughout the winter months. Louisbourg Harbour, which had been selected by the French military for its year-round ice-free waters when building Fortress Louisbourg during the early to mid-18th century, again became a valuable port when a railway line was built from the mines at Reserve to Louisbourg in 1877. This line was poorly built and was soon lost to a forest fire. An icebreaker navigates through young (1 year) sea ice Sea ice is formed from ocean water that freezes. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... 1877 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Fire in San Bernardino, California Mountains (image taken from the International Space Station) A wildfire, also known as a forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, or bushfire (in Australasia), is an uncontrolled fire in wildland often caused by lightning; other common causes are human carelessness and arson. ...

1890s-1910, creation of conglomerates

Large-scale industrialization came to the Sydney Coal Field when two large conglomerates were formed in the 1890s: the Dominion Coal Company, or DOMCO (in 1893), and the Nova Scotia Steel and Coal Company, or SCOTIA (in 1900). The latter was a successor to the GMA and focused its activities on the north side of Sydney Harbour, near Sydney Mines, whereas the former was a merger of various independent companies on the south side of the harbour. The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the Mauve Decade, because William Henry Perkins aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that color in fashion, and also as the Gay Nineties, under the then-current usage of the word gay which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, with no... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1900 is a common year starting on Monday. ...

On February 1, 1893 DOMCO was incorporated and it acquired or purchased all coal mines and railway lines between Sydney and Louisbourg on the south side of Sydney Harbour. The conglomerate came to own a variety of both standard and narrow gauge railway lines, as well as various harbour facilities and coal mines. DOMCO immediately set about to standardize its operations. February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ... Narrow-gauge railways are railroads (railways) with track spaced at less than the standard gauge of 4 ft 8 in (1. ...

DOMCO's railway lines were operated as a department of the company and were rationalized beginning the following year in 1894 when the International Railway was extended to Glace Bay and Caledonia, permitting the abandonment of a roughly parallel narrow gauge line. In 1895 DOMCO extended its railway system south to Louisbourg, following a route further east than the previous 1877 attempt. In 1899, DOMCO financed the Dominion Iron and Steel Company Limited, or DISCO, which constructed a steel mill on the south side of Sydney Harbour in Sydney's Whitney Pier neighbourhood, opening in 1901; this was in direct competition to a rival steel mill that was built by SCOTIA at the same time on the north side of the harbour at Sydney Mines. In 1908 DOMCO built a spur to New Waterford and further spurs were built in the Port Morien, Birch Grove, Donkin and Broughton areas in the 1910s. During the early part of the 20th century, DOMCO's railway lines were considered to be among the most modern in Canada. 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1899 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Steel mills are the industrial plants where pig iron is converted into steel. ... 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Events and trends Technology Gideon Sundback patents the first modern zipper Harry Brearley invents stainless steel Charles P. Strite invents first pop-up bread toaster Science Einsteins theory of general relativity Max von Laue discovers the diffraction of x-rays by crystals Alfred Wegener puts forward his theory of... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

1910-1968, S&L through boom and bust

In 1910, the Sydney and Louisburg Railway was incorporated to operate all DOMCO railway lines. Note that the spelling of the name "Louisburg" is different from the spelling of the harbour and town of "Louisbourg", which follows the French naming found in Fortress Louisbourg. 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1914, the steel mill built by SCOTIA at Sydney Mines was closed, however the integrated mill at Sydney continued to expand, using Bell Island iron ore and locally produced coal as a fuel. In 1920, SCOTIA and DOMCO/DISCO merged to form British Empire Steel Corporation, or BESCO, which was reorganized as Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation, or DOSCO, in 1930; SCOTIA and DOMCO remained separate BESCO/DOSCO subsidiaries, with SCOTIA being reorganized as Old Sydney Collieries. 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Bell Island, Newfoundland Bell Island is an island located off Newfoundlands Avalon Peninsula in Conception Bay. ... This heap of iron ore pellets will be used in steel production. ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

S&L generally served the DOMCO area to the south of the harbour, while the Old Sydney Collieries had its own small industrial railway which interchanged to the Intercolonial Railway line that ran around the west side of Sydney Harbour; the federal government-owned ICR having built into the area in the 1890s. Following DOMCO's construction of the railway link between Sydney and Louisbourg in the mid-1890s, freight volumes rose sharply. Intercolonial Railway of Canada logo or herald The Intercolonial Railway of Canada (IRC), also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway, was a historic Canadian railway. ... The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the Mauve Decade, because William Henry Perkins aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that color in fashion, and also as the Gay Nineties, under the then-current usage of the word gay which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, with no... The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the Mauve Decade, because William Henry Perkins aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that color in fashion, and also as the Gay Nineties, under the then-current usage of the word gay which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, with no...

Mining employment reached a peak on Cape Breton Island immediately prior to the First World War and the dawn of increased mechanization of the underground collieries. The S&L was operating over 116 miles of track, 39 miles of which was main line, and hauling in excess of 4 million tons of freight, mostly coal; this gave the S&L the distinction of having the most freight per mile of any railway in Canada. In addition to freight, the S&L also hauled passenger trains, mainly employees going to work in the mines or coming home; passenger traffic reached a peak of 176,000 revenue passengers hauled in 1913. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... A mile is any of several units of distance, or, in physics terminology, of length. ... 1913 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

Coal production peaked during the Second World War in the early 1940s and began to drop dramatically with the advent of internal combustion engines and other sources of heat. Due to the proximity and availability of the fuel, the S&L was one of the last railways in North America to keep its fleet of coal-powered steam locomotives, with 31 on the roster during the 1950s and over 400 employees; the S&L began to dieselize in 1961 however, the last steam locomotive wasn't retired until 1966. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Events and trends The 1940s were dominated by World War II, the most destructive armed conflict in history. ... Great Western Railway No. ... Millennia: 1st millennium - 2nd millennium - 3rd millennium // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the... 1961 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ...

With coal and steel fortunes flagging, DOSCO was purchased in 1957 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Hawker-Siddley Group. Hawker-Siddley's DOSCO subsidiary announced in 1965 that its mines had only 15 years of production left and concluded that expense of opening new underground mines in the Sydney Coal Field would be too expensive. The company made its intentions clear that it would be exiting the coal mining business within months. 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

In response to a vast public outcry in industrial Cape Breton County, the Minority government of Prime Minister Lester Pearson announced J.R. Donald would head a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Cape Breton coal industry, with hearings held in 1965 and 1966. The Donald Commission recommended that a federal Crown corporation be established to acquire and manage DOSCO's coal operations, with the aim being to slowly wean the Sydney area economy off the coal industry. For minority régime, see Apartheid. ... The Right Honourable Lester Bowles Mike Pearson (April 23, 1897 - December 27, 1972) was the fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada from April 22, 1963, to April 20, 1968, and also a 1957 Nobel Laureate. ... 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... In Commonwealth countries a Crown corporation is a state-controlled company or enterprise (a public corporation). ...

"Future planning should be based on the assumption that the Sydney mines will not operate beyond 1981."

On July 7, 1967 the Cape Breton Development Corporation, or DEVCO, was established to operate the mines in the interim, while phasing them out throughout the 1970s and, at the same time, develop new economic opportunities for the surrounding communities. On March 30, 1968 DEVCO expropriated DOSCO's coal mines and the S&L, settling for a payment of $12 million. July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 177 days remaining. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Cape Breton Development Corporation, or DEVCO, is a Canadian federal government Crown corporation. ... This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ... March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in Leap years). ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... In law, eminent domain is the power of the state to appropriate private property for its own use without the owners consent. ...

The S&L was reorganized as the Devco Railway. In 1973, the Sydney and Louisburg Railway Historical Society was created. The Devco Railway (DVR) ran from Sydney,NS in Cape Breton to Glace Bay,NS also on Cape Breton. ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ...

External link

• Sydney & Louisburg Railway Historical Society - official website

References

• Campbell, Brian (1995). Tracks Across the Landscape: The S&L Commemorative History. Sydney and Louisburg Railway Historical Society, Sydney, N.S.. ISBN 0920336647.