Once a bustling rail line, a Moncton path tells a former railway's story
Moncton and Buctouche Railway changed transportation remarkably in 19th century
Walking through Irishtown Nature Park, on the northern edge of Moncton, the winding path suddenly straightens out.
According to historian and Roadside History columnist James Upham, it isn't a coincidence.
"We could look at this as like a park design approach to brutalism in some fashion or another, which it's not," Upham said from the straight, flat pathway inside the park.
"It's a railway — it's an abandoned railway, and it's the railway that kind of shaped this area that we're in right now."
The Moncton and Buctouche Railway, as it was called, was chartered in 1883 and opened in 1887, said Upham.
At that time, New Brunswick did have some roads, but Upham said in today's context, they would be some of the roughest dirt roads you could imagine.
"It's really hard to get our heads around from a modern context, of sitting in air-conditioned vehicles going along at 100 and some odd kilometres an hour down a highway," Upham told Information Morning Moncton.
"There's kind of a famous line from the early 1800s from New Brunswick to say that, you know, at that time, there was less than 10 good miles of road in the province, and they weren't consecutive."
Image | Moncton and Buctouche Railway
Caption: This photo from 1910 shows a train that worked the Moncton and Buctouche railway, with the train station just visible in the background. Upham said trains revolutionized the ability to travel. (Provincial Archives of New Brunswick P211-15313)
Open Image in New Tab
That's why, Upham said, if someone needed to get somewhere efficiently or move something from one place to another, the Moncton and Buctouche Railway did the job.
The railway made such a big difference that in the area that later became known as Saint-Antoine, businesses moved to where the train passed through.
"The community itself changed and adapted and sort of molded itself around this railway," said Upham.
"In Bouctouche itself, the railway station that was the terminus for this rail line there, it doesn't exist anymore, but it still has its own historic site."
For decades, the train chugged on, moving cargo and traffic from Point A to Point B. Upham said it didn't close until 1965.
He said trains revolutionized the ability to travel. What would now be considered a short drive would once more likely have been a trip that people "might not necessarily ever want to repeat again."
"It used to be that if you're wealthy, you didn't go anywhere — people came to see you because it was such a pain in the butt," said Upham, adding that travel for fun or enjoyment didn't exist.
"People tend to sort of think of locomotives and steam engines and stuff and even diesels, to a certain degree, as being kind of like old timey … and it was just an absolutely massive step into the future."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
10-05-2025
- CBC
Secrets in stone: 200-year-old Bell Inn's mysterious origins remain elusive
Full history of stone inn sought for more than 100 years but remains lost in time The Bell Inn in Dorchester is one of the oldest buildings in New Brunswick. It might even date back to Acadian settlement, but the specific details are lost in time. One of the remarkable things about this "very beautiful old stone building" is that it wasn't turned into a museum but remains in use today, says Roadside History host James Upham. Upham is a historian and educator who enjoys exploring the countryside of rural New Brunswick, travelling its rivers and backroads and occasionally stumbling upon "bits of clay pots" that predate the city of Rome. Bell Inn is a small, stone building with the appearance of an old cottage, located at the corner of Cape Road and Main Street. It is owned and maintained by the Westmorland Historical Society. Upham said that even if the precise date of the Bell Inn's construction isn't known, it is "certainly one of the oldest buildings in the province" and "definitely the oldest stone building that's still in use." A History of the Bell Inn by Eugene Goodrich, accessible on the Westmorland Historical Society's website, says the inn was likely built between 1811 and 1821, based on the first record of its existence. Goodrich writes that there was once a Dorchester legend that Bell Inn predates the British conquest of Acadia. In this legend, he writes, the building's core was built in the 1690s and served as a fort, which illicitly traded with Mi'kmaq and Acadians. Yet, he also writes that "there is no documentary evidence whatsoever for a structure of this date, and considerable evidence that it was, in fact, built later." Upham, however, believes that some parts of the building may actually date to the time of Acadian settlement. But even if it doesn't, he said "for us here in New Brunswick, a 200-year-old building is really old." The Bell Inn is currently being used as an apartment building. At different times, it's had different uses, including as a bakery and even as the home base of "a literal shipping empire" run by a prominent local family. According to Goodrich's document, it has also been used as a cobbler stall, a confectionery and the privately owned home of the Hickman family. The Bell Inn is a place that has stood so long and played host to so many different uses that it has engrained itself in the history of Dorchester, according to Upham. Once the shiretown of Westmorland County, Dorchester has undergone a lot of changes over the years, shifting size a number of times throughout its history based on its significance at the time. Upham said that even "an old citizen of Dorchester, a fella by the name of Percy Palmer, who passed away in 1878," is recorded as trying to figure out who actually built the Bell Inn and where it came from. The fact that the Bell Inn, a building with such a rich history, has not been turned into a museum but is still in use is "one of the fascinating things about it," Upham said. The inn has been witness, and participant, to all of the changes that Dorchester has gone through over the years. Yet, it remains subtle, said Upham. While "the hoity-toities were hoitying their toities" and building houses to live in "made of big fancy rocks," the Bell Inn took a more subtle approach, he said. "It is a shelter. It is a place for people to go when they need to go someplace."
CBC
30-03-2025
- CBC
Once a bustling rail line, a Moncton path tells a former railway's story
Moncton and Buctouche Railway changed transportation remarkably in 19th century Walking through Irishtown Nature Park, on the northern edge of Moncton, the winding path suddenly straightens out. According to historian and Roadside History columnist James Upham, it isn't a coincidence. "We could look at this as like a park design approach to brutalism in some fashion or another, which it's not," Upham said from the straight, flat pathway inside the park. "It's a railway — it's an abandoned railway, and it's the railway that kind of shaped this area that we're in right now." The Moncton and Buctouche Railway, as it was called, was chartered in 1883 and opened in 1887, said Upham. At that time, New Brunswick did have some roads, but Upham said in today's context, they would be some of the roughest dirt roads you could imagine. "It's really hard to get our heads around from a modern context, of sitting in air-conditioned vehicles going along at 100 and some odd kilometres an hour down a highway," Upham told Information Morning Moncton. "There's kind of a famous line from the early 1800s from New Brunswick to say that, you know, at that time, there was less than 10 good miles of road in the province, and they weren't consecutive." Image | Moncton and Buctouche Railway Caption: This photo from 1910 shows a train that worked the Moncton and Buctouche railway, with the train station just visible in the background. Upham said trains revolutionized the ability to travel. (Provincial Archives of New Brunswick P211-15313) Open Image in New Tab That's why, Upham said, if someone needed to get somewhere efficiently or move something from one place to another, the Moncton and Buctouche Railway did the job. The railway made such a big difference that in the area that later became known as Saint-Antoine, businesses moved to where the train passed through. "The community itself changed and adapted and sort of molded itself around this railway," said Upham. "In Bouctouche itself, the railway station that was the terminus for this rail line there, it doesn't exist anymore, but it still has its own historic site." For decades, the train chugged on, moving cargo and traffic from Point A to Point B. Upham said it didn't close until 1965. He said trains revolutionized the ability to travel. What would now be considered a short drive would once more likely have been a trip that people "might not necessarily ever want to repeat again." "It used to be that if you're wealthy, you didn't go anywhere — people came to see you because it was such a pain in the butt," said Upham, adding that travel for fun or enjoyment didn't exist. "People tend to sort of think of locomotives and steam engines and stuff and even diesels, to a certain degree, as being kind of like old timey … and it was just an absolutely massive step into the future."
CBC
30-03-2025
- CBC
Once a bustling rail line, a Moncton path tells a former railway's story
Moncton and Buctouche Railway changed transportation remarkably in 19th century Walking through Irishtown Nature Park, on the northern edge of Moncton, the winding path suddenly straightens out. According to historian and Roadside History columnist James Upham, it isn't a coincidence. "We could look at this as like a park design approach to brutalism in some fashion or another, which it's not," Upham said from the straight, flat pathway inside the park. "It's a railway — it's an abandoned railway, and it's the railway that kind of shaped this area that we're in right now." The Moncton and Buctouche Railway, as it was called, was chartered in 1883 and opened in 1887, said Upham. At that time, New Brunswick did have some roads, but Upham said in today's context, they would be some of the roughest dirt roads you could imagine. "It's really hard to get our heads around from a modern context, of sitting in air-conditioned vehicles going along at 100 and some odd kilometres an hour down a highway," Upham told Information Morning Moncton. "There's kind of a famous line from the early 1800s from New Brunswick to say that, you know, at that time, there was less than 10 good miles of road in the province, and they weren't consecutive." Image | Moncton and Buctouche Railway Caption: This photo from 1910 shows a train that worked the Moncton and Buctouche railway, with the train station just visible in the background. Upham said trains revolutionized the ability to travel. (Provincial Archives of New Brunswick P211-15313) Open Image in New Tab That's why, Upham said, if someone needed to get somewhere efficiently or move something from one place to another, the Moncton and Buctouche Railway did the job. The railway made such a big difference that in the area that later became known as Saint-Antoine, businesses moved to where the train passed through. "The community itself changed and adapted and sort of molded itself around this railway," said Upham. "In Bouctouche itself, the railway station that was the terminus for this rail line there, it doesn't exist anymore, but it still has its own historic site." For decades, the train chugged on, moving cargo and traffic from Point A to Point B. Upham said it didn't close until 1965. He said trains revolutionized the ability to travel. What would now be considered a short drive would once more likely have been a trip that people "might not necessarily ever want to repeat again." "It used to be that if you're wealthy, you didn't go anywhere — people came to see you because it was such a pain in the butt," said Upham, adding that travel for fun or enjoyment didn't exist. "People tend to sort of think of locomotives and steam engines and stuff and even diesels, to a certain degree, as being kind of like old timey … and it was just an absolutely massive step into the future."
