THE RAILWAY

The railway was built in Prince Edward Island between 1871 and 1874. It was planned to begin train service late in 1874, but winter set in early so the first train did not pass through O'Leary until May, 1875. By 1923 both narrow and standard gauge rails were provided in Western P.E.I. In the same year the railway was operated and man- aged by Canadian National Railways.

Following its course, in some cases to avoid land elevations, the track crossed the O’Leary Road three miles west of what is now called the Western Road. This junction accidentally provided an ideal nucleus for a business centre both industrially and geographically. It was in the centre of rich farming land and surrounded by many already established fishing ports such as Brae, West Point, Cape Wolfe, and Cascumpeque - all served by the railway.

Before the railway was built there were no settlers in what is pre- sent day O’Leary. However, within six years after the coming of the railway, O’Leary had a population of approximately fifty people. There were also a post office, a cooper shop, several stores, and some fine homes. O'Leary grew very quickly to become a thriving inland community.

When trains first made their appearance in P.E.I., people of all ages marvelled at their sight and longed to hear the whistle blow as it approached the local station or at the several crossings as it mean- dered through the countryside. Often people gathered at the station awaiting the arrival of the train. Indeed, it was a social event!

For more than a century trains continued to be enjoyed in this part of the province. The railway provided a convenient means of transportation for passengers, mail, and freight between West Prince and the rest of the province and the mainland.

However, the increasing use of large transfer trucks for moving goods and produce plus the popularity of the family car or cars meant less and less dependency on the railway. Consequently, in May 1989, the last train rolled through O'Leary; thus, marking the - end of an era. For many the loss of the railway was considered a calamity. The finality of the railway was clearly visible during sum- mer, 1992, when the rails were taken up and huge piles of railway ”ties" or l'sleepers” as they were called could be seen at almost any railway crossing.

It is unfortunate that the names of all the station agents and porters are not available at this time, however, here is a partial list of the ones that are known: Albert MacLellan, Edgar Jardine, Upton Seaman, Edgar MacKinnon, Bloise Ellis, William Fitzpatrick, Wendell

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