The Old Iron Horse

Pages from the past reveal many stories of the “Old Iron Horse” and its faithful train service to the people of Prince Edward Island down through the century. The historical arrival of train service to the Western end of the Province was on May 8, 1875 and on April 6, 1964 passenger service ended. Express train number 251 on entering Harper crossing , when at the Wye, kept sounding its whistle until its final stop ended at the train station in Tignish. Records show that on May 18, 1875, just ten days after the first train arrived, Most Reverend Peter Mac lntyre, Roman Catholic Bishop of Charlottetown and a former pastor at St Simon and St Jude church at Tignish, arrived by special train. With eleven sisters from the congregation of Notre Dame and forty-seven boarders to visit the Convent, where they

were housed overnight. The old iron horse held many stories back then, of extra

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