European and North American Railway

The European and North American Railway (E&NA) is the name for three historic Canadian and American railways which were built in New Brunswick and Maine. The idea of the E&NA as a single system was conceived at a railway conference in Portland, Maine in 1850 by railroad entrepreneur John A. Poor. The line was intended to link Portland (the eastern terminus of the US rail network) with an ice-free Atlantic port in Nova Scotia to connect with fast trans-Atlantic ships from Europe; the port at Halifax was discussed as a possible eastern terminus for the line, as was Canso. The concept was also discussed throughout the early 1850s in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Maine as a means to connect the British colonies with the railway network of the United Province of Canada. Poor himself was also promoting a connection from Portland to Richmond and built the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad (SL&A), opening in 1853, the same year it was purchased by Grand Trunk. Poor stood to benefit from a dual flow of traffic from the Maritimes to New England and the Maritimes to the Canadas. The railway most commonly referred to as the E&NA in Canada was built between Saint John and Shediac, New Brunswick as a segment of Poor's vision of a Portland-Nova Scotia line. The initial ownership of the line is unclear, however the European and North American Railway was incorporated in New Brunswick on March 15, 1851, following the Portland conference, with the intention being to start construction east toward Nova Scotia. Both Saint John, and St. Andrews, New Brunswick were vying for the E&NA to begin in their respective communities; however Saint John managed to convince the company to begin on the east side of the Saint John River. Saint John also convinced the company to forego plans to build into Nova Scotia by concentrating on reaching the Northumberland Strait first. This would give the city a steamship connection through the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Canada East, as well as allowing coal and other goods to avoid the circuitous and hazardous transit around Nova Scotia.