An Introduction to the Windsor and Hantsport Railway

The Windsor and Hantsport Railway is a 56-mile railway operating in Nova Scotia, Canada between Windsor Junction and New Minas with a spur at Windsor serving two gypsum quarries at Wentworth Creek and Mantua. The WHRC’s primary commodities include gypsum, rock, grain, vegetable oil and lumber. The majority of WHRC traffic originates at the two gypsum quarries on the spur running east of Windsor, whereby the gypsum is hauled by unit trains to the port at Hantsport. The WHRC offered a seasonal tourist excursion train, the Evangeline Express, offering passenger service between Windsor and Wolfville.

Formerly owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, the mainline and spurs were sold to Iron Road Railways and officially started operations as the WHRC in August 1994. At the time of purchase, WHRC acquired a small fleet of Alco/MLW RS23 units from CP, which until 2005 were the primary motive power for the railway.

I first encountered the WHR a few years ago while visiting family in Nova Scotia. I distinctly remember driving down the highway alongside a pair of ALCOs pulling hoppers filled with gypsum – spitting black smoke into the air as they laboured along the rails. I was smitten with the railroad and spent the evening researching it. There were only a few resources available online, but it was enough to learn the railway’s general history, the customers they served, and their locomotive roster.

Until recently I had forgotten about the WHR, as my interests had turned to the Ontario Southland Railway, and their Guelph Junction Railway operations. In researching the OSR, I found many references to WHR’s fleet of RS23’s ‘ as both the OSR and the WHR had several of these engines, and my interest was rekindled.

As such, I am planning to build a small layout based on the WHR’s likely focusing on their Windsor yard operations. This shortline is a perfect candidate for modelling as their limited industries etc. allow for reasonable selective compression. On the other hand, I have struggled to find decent information online, as the small compliments of sites that refer to the WHR are generally railfan sites ‘ which are great references for locos of the WHR but offer very little information about yard configurations, trackside structures etc. Likewise, Google Maps doesn’t have images that are a high enough resolution to be of use.

As such, I will attempt to design a layout based on what I can find. I hoping to secure the rights to feature some of the photos other sites are currently hosting, as well a feature a small compliment of videos I’ve come across. If anyone has any information that I might be able to use, I would certainly appreciate speaking with you!