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Upper Clements
Upper Clements, Nova Scotia
Subdivision Yarmouth, Mile 4.78, Elevation 79'
Next Station West: Clementsport
Next Station East: Annapolis Royal
Facilities & Features
- Upper Clements Station D.A.R. Scheduled stop from 1894 to 1951
- Spur: 819 Feet for 1 locomotive & 15 cars
Description & History
Named because it was the upper end of Clements Township, the area was originally a small Acadian settlement and later settled by Loyalists about 1784.[1] The first train to arrive was on August 21, 1890, when a Windsor & Annapolis Railway work train from Annapolis Royal driven by Robert Stewart with conductor David Cook carried a load of ballast and rails to Upper Clements for the construction of the line's "missing link" to Digby.[2]
Regular rail service began on July 27, 1891 after the federal government completed the bridges of the missing link between Annapolis Royal and Digby. Service began with trains of the Western Counties Railway in 1891 which connected to the Windsor & Annapolis Railway at Annapolis Royal.[3] The Dominion Atlantic Railway took over service in 1894 after the WCR and the WAR merged to create the DAR.
An engine derailed on Train No. 100, the Yarmouth-Halifax night train at Upper Clements on Nov. 15, 1922, blocking the line for a day.[4] A larger passenger derailment occurred at Upper Clements in August 1944 when Train No. 98 derailed at mile 3 sending five passenger cars off the tracks.
A theme park opened at Upper Clements in 1989, with prominent features that borrowed on DAR and WAR themes and included a 4-6-0 locomotive (CNR No. 1521) and a large working model of WAR locomotive "Evangeline". The theme park struggled over the years and and closed in 2019. Park properties were acquired by the Annapolis Municipality and sold off. The Evangeline model and cars were sold to a you-pick blueberry farm in Aulac, New Brunswick.[5] The locomotive was donated to the Middleton Railway Museum and moved to Middleton for restoration on Dec. 17, 2020.[6]
Gallery
Track Chart of Upper Clements.
Upper Clements Station, looking southeast, with spur track in foreground, circa late 1920s, early 1930s.
Section men Hugh Potter and Harry Ruggles at Upper Clements, circa 1910-1915
Locomotive No. 540; Boom Car No. 798 and Wreck Crane No. 802 with wreck of Train No. 98 near Upper Clements, Aug. 2, 1944.
DAR coaches No. 625 and No. 23 part of Train No. 98 at Mile 3 near Upper Clements, Aug. 2, 1944.
Dining car "Blomidon" part of Train No. 98, derailed at Mile 3 near Upper Clements, Aug. 2, 1944.
Train No. 98 at Mile 3, Upper Clements, Aug. 2, 1944. L to R: unknown coach; coach No. 625; coach No. 23; unknown coach; diner "Blomidon" and a parlor/observation car.
Roofs of Train No. 98 derailed at Mile 3, Upper Clements, Aug. 2, 1944. Coaches include No. 625; No. 23.
Model of the Windsor & Annapolis Engine "Evangeline" at the Upper Clements amusement park, photographed by Dennis G. Jarvis, July 14, 2016.
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References & Footnotes
- ↑ "Upper Clements", Places and Placenames of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Archives, p. 692.
- ↑ W. W. Clarke, Clarke's History of the Earliest Railways in Nova Scotia (c. 1925) p. 11.
- ↑ Marguerite Woodworth, History of the Dominion Atlantic Railway, page 109.
- ↑ "Mishap Holds up Western Traffic", Halifax Herald, Nov. 16, 1922, Carl Riff Collection.
- ↑ Alana Pickrell, "Former Theme Park Train Finds New Home at NB Blueberry Farm, CTV News, July 31, 2023
- ↑ Elizabeth Chiu, "Steam train finds new home at Middleton museum", CBC News, Dec. 20, 2020
