A History of Elmsdale, Elmsdale West, and Brockton, Prince Edward Island

Problems with Trains — The train was more often late than not, not only at Elmsdale but also everywhere on PEI. No trains went on Sundays unless they had been stuck or derailed and were on their way _ back to Charlotte- : :1 town. This lack of . _ trains on Sunday = was a problem for many, for instance

Open boxcar for shipping live poultry. Hugh Williams umvers1ty and 001' is standing in the boxcar doorway, c.1938. lege StUdfiIltS, 01168

wishing to spend weekends with friends, those with early Monday morning business or personal ap— pointments.

Phyllis Colborne Coll.

One of the earliest problems is illustrated in the Daily Journal of Basil Stanford MacNeill’s December 2, 1912 entry: “. . .Met the train in Elmsdale on my way home and had a bad runaway. The colt went over Melvin McAusland’s barbed wire fence.

Left me and the wagon on this side. Broke out the swing and the harness in two places...”

Horses and trains didn’t mix well - the whistle blowing was all it took to send a horse running. The May 19,1914 entry in Mr. MacNeill’s Journal illustrates an— Other problem with the early days of the train: “Richard Bell’s barn was burned from Sparks from the train. . .”

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