Nova Scotia, on Canada's Atlantic Coast, is also called "Canada's Ocean Playground". The Province is steeped in a rich and varied history, as its original Mi'kmaq people were joined by French Acadian settlers, British Loyalists, Scottish Highlanders, German and French Protestants, Irish peasants fleeing famine and later by Italian and Polish miners.

          The Province boasts many firsts, including the first responsible government (as opposed to British colonial government) in Canada, the first free press in Canada and the oldest university outside Britain in the former British Empire. Nova Scotians have a rich maritime history having built the world's largest wooden ship and the North Atlantic's fastest fishing schooner. Samuel Cunard, founder of the Cunard Steamship Company was born in Halifax. Fortress Louisburg and the Halifax Citadel are excellent restorations which portray life two hundred, or more, years ago.

          Nova Scotia also has a rich and varied railway history, boasting one of the earliest railways in Canada to use steam locomotives (at the Albion Mines in Pictou County) and what was once North America's most intensively worked coal railway (the Sydney and Louisburg RR). "The Ocean Limited" was introduced in 1904 by the Intercolonial Railway to provide first-class passenger service between Halifax and Montreal. Remarkably, history can still be experienced today in Nova Scotia. Now thoroughly modernized, VIA Rail's "Ocean" continues to provide this service and is perhaps unique in being a named passenger train that has run for over a century.

          The Nova Scotia Railway Heritage Society is delighted to help introduce you to some of the railway history of Nova Scotia and to some of the museums in which you can relive past railway glories of one of Canada's most history-rich provinces. Kindly browse through the remainder of this site to learn about these museums. If you need more information, please contact the President, Jay Underwood.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: We are proud to announce that the Nova Scotia Railway Heritage Society's website was the winner of the Canadian Railroad Historical Association's 2005 Media Award.

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RAIL NEWS:

7 JULY 2007
Despite our petition, the town of Kentville  demolished the former DAR roundhouse. MORE ...

EVENTS CALENDAR:

21 SEPTEMBER 2008:
Orangedale Station Association; 122nd Anniversary Open House & Sale; Orangedale, Cape Breton; Saturday, September 21.
CONTACT: Bill Linley (902.457.2457)

27 & 28 SEPTEMBER 2008: 
The Miramichi Train Show will be held at the Northumberland Square  Mall,  Douglastown-Miramichi, NB.

18 OCTOBER 2008:
Truro Model Railway Show; NS Community College - Truro Campus; Arthur Street, Truro, Nova Scotia; Saturday, October 18

25 & 26 OCTOBER 2008:
OrangeRail - Work Day and Slide Show; Orangedale Station Association; Orangedale, Cape Breton; Saturday and Sunday October 25 and 26.
CONTACT: Martin Boston (902.756.2539)

15 & 16 NOVEMBER 2008:
Dartmouth Railway Show; Dartmouth Sportsplex; Dartmouth, NS; Saturday and Sunday, Nov 15 and 16.
CONTACT: Marc Hemphill

20-23 MAY 2010:
The local club is preparing to host the Maritime Federation of Model Railroaders Convention from Thursday to Sunday, May 20-23, 2010 here in Saint John, New Brunswick. We have invited members of the Northeastern Region (NER) of the NMRA to join us for a joint convention that will enable model railroaders from both sides of the border to meet and enjoy an exceptional convention program.

 
MORE EVENTS

2008 SLIDE SHOWS:
A NSRHS sponsored slide show will be presented at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax at 7:00pm on the second Thursday of each month except for July and August. Tentative dates for the 2008 shows are February 14, March 13, April 10, May 8, June 12, September 11, October 9,  November 13 and December 11. Please contact Bill Linley (902.457.2457) for further information.