CDM 989.204.3

CDM 989.204.3

The Courtenay E & N Railway station reaches its milestone 100th anniversary in 2014.

Work began here in 1912 as recorded in the Courtenay Review newspaper from December 5th “E&N Rlwy is clearing 10 acres of land between the Lake Trail and the Cumberland Road for erection of a roundhouse and machine shops.”

Stubbs Collection at CDM

Stubbs Collection at CDM

The first passenger train into Courtenay arrived August 6th, 1914 at 4:10 pm. The Courtenay Review newspaper from August 13th noted that the train “consisted of baggage and express cars and four coaches”. The trip all the way from Victoria would have covered 139.7 miles along the tracks with the train averaging a speed of roughly 20 miles an hour.

CDM 2004.28.2

CDM 2004.28.2

The E & N Railway has provided a transportation line for a pretty diverse group over its 100 year history. From 102nd Battalion soldiers during WW I (pictured above), to the Prince of Wales in 1919, to Santa Claus in the 1920s and to circus trains with their coaches of animals and entertainers during the 1920s to the 1950s.