Fredericton Branch Railway

The Fredericton Branch Railway is an historic Canadian railway that operated in New Brunswick.

The Fredericton Railway Company pre-dated Confederation and was incorporated in 1866 to build a railway line from the European and North American Railway's "Western Extension" at Hartt's Mills to Fredericton. The route was surveyed north from Hartt's Mills through the communities of Rusagonis-Waasis, Doak and Salamanca to a location on the southern edge of the capital city's downtown.

Construction began in early November 1867 at Salamanca and rails were laid from the fall of 1868 through the fall of 1869. The first passenger train arrived in Fredericton on 2 November 1869 and with the completion of the E&NA "Western Extension" 29 days later on 1 December, the city was connected by rail to Carleton and McAdam.

In 1875, the Fredericton Branch Railway was incorporated and took over the operation of the line from Fredericton to Fredericton Junction (which had been renamed from Hartt's Mills). On September 26, 1883, the New Brunswick Railway (NBR) acquired the Fredericton Branch Railway for $150,000. The NBR had also acquired the New Brunswick and Canada Railway and the E&NA "Western Extension" (then called the Saint John and Maine Railway), thus with the purchase of the Fredericton Branch Railway, the NBR gained control of all the railways in western New Brunswick.

On July 1, 1890, the Canadian Pacific Railway leased the NBR for 999 years. Under CPR operation, the line to Fredericton (called the Fredericton Subdivision) saw expanded freight and passenger service, particularly after the Fredericton Railway Bridge was built by the Fredericton & St. Mary's Bridge Co. in 1889. The Fredericton & St. Mary's Bridge Co. was a subsidiary of the Canada Eastern Railway, which was later acquired by the Intercolonial Railway. The CPR received trackage rights over the bridge to connect its lines from South Devon to Minto and Norton in the east and in the west.

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