Salem & Hillsborough Railroad I Traditional Geocache

The history of this rail line dates back to April 13, 1864 when The Albert Railway Company was first incorporated to build a line from the European and North American Railway (presently the Canadian National Railway) at Salisbury, New Brunswick to the parish of Hillsborough. Prior to being acquired by the Canadian Government Railways in May, 1918, this railway was known by three legal names, and like many branch lines had seen its share of service interruptions and bankruptcies. Today, we have to thank Mr. A. E. Killam, for bringing the railway into Hillsborough, since the original proposal was to take a straighter line inland several miles, thus missing Hillsborough. The early arguments against coming to Hillsborough all related to the grades! In the two miles between Salem and Weldon, the line makes a vertical drop of almost 26.82 metres (88 feet). After a run across the marshes along the Petitcodiac River the railway climbs 4.27 metres (14 feet) to the Hillsborough station. The original line over the 4.4 miles from Hillsborough to Albert Mines travelled vertically 59.74 metres (196 feet).