Windsor and Hantsport Railway

The Windsor and Hantsport Railway (

The mainline (and related spurs) were formerly owned by Canadian Pacific Railway subsidiary Dominion Atlantic Railway from 1894 to 1994 before being sold to shortline holding company Iron Road Railways. WHRC began operations on Saturday, August 27, 1994, making it Nova Scotia's second shortline railway after Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway, which was formed one year earlier.

The WHRC route between Windsor Junction and New Minas is part of CPR's (and DAR's) former Halifax Subdivision. The section from Windsor to Windsor Junction was built as the Windsor Branch of the

The WHRC had no traffic sources on the longest portion of its network, the line between Windsor and Windsor Junction, where it interchanges with

Hantsport has one of the fastest ship loaders in the world due to its location on the Avon River, which was affected by the incredible tidal range of the Bay of Fundy. The fluctuating water level meant that bulk carriers could not stay at the dock longer than 3–4 hours for fear of touching bottom. The Hantsport ship loader could move 10,000 tons of gypsum per hour.

In January 2002 WHRC purchased used

WHRC embargoed the rail line from Hantsport west to the end of track (west of the New Minas industrial park) in 2007 as a result of deferred maintenance leading to excessive costs for repairing the bridge over the Gaspereau River. WHRC worked with its customers in the New Minas industrial park (a Frito Lay potato chip plant and a Co-Op Atlantic feed mill) to create a rail-truck re-load facility in the WHRC's Windsor yard. Although the track and other infrastructure is still intact, crossings have been paved over and vegetation has been uncontrolled. No freight train has operated west of Hantsport since the line was embargoed, however, WHRC has not applied to Nova Scotia's railway regulator (the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board) to formally abandon the line; a formal abandonment would permit WHRC to scrap the infrastructure and sell the property.

The 2008-2009 economic downturn reduced residential construction activity in the United States, which was the primary market for gypsum exported from Hantsport. The reduced demand forced Fundy Gypsum Co. to idle its two Windsor area quarries for much of 2010. Parent company USG announced the permanent closure of Fundy Gypsum along with the Hantsport loading facility in late 2011.

As a result of loss of freight revenue, WHRC operated its last interchange train from Windsor to Windsor Junction on November 2, 2010. The last gypsum trains ran in the fall of 2011 after the gypsum quarries and Hantsport loader shut down and railway operations ceased by November 15, 2011.^[1]

In February 2013 the Windsor to Windsor Junction section of track returned to control of its owner Canadian National Railway (CN) after a 99-year lease expired.

This line is known as the Windsor Branch and had been built by the

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Windsor and Hantsport Railway.

• Windsor and Hantsport Railway official website
• Windsor & Hantsport Railway freight train to New Minas 27 June 2007
• CN description of partner shortline - WHRC