You are standing on the railbed of the former New Westminster Southern Railway. The railway started at the US border and terminated at Brownsville, opposite to New Westminster. From this point, the line headed NE to the intersection of 192 Street and Highway 1, and then curved to the NW to where the CN tracks are now, and SW towards the intersection of the Fraser Highway and the Pacific Highway (176th Street) along Harvie Road.
In 1889, Sheafe & Co ran into trouble in trying to complete construction, failing to meet the terms of the bonus offered by the New Westminster directors. The New Westminster investors negotiated a new deal with Nelson Bennett to take over.
Subcontractors McCorvie & Bonson and Bradshaw & Lemon would complete the Leamy contracts on the NWSR to the border. Work continued apace in 1890 with the track-laying contract awarded to McCoy & O’Brien of Fairhaven.
The road was formally inaugurated on February 14, 1891 with a celebration at Blaine and a second grand opening was held November 27th when dignitaries arrived at New Westminster to fete the opening of service through to Seattle.
On both occasions Captain Asbury Insley’s new steamer Delaware ferried celebrants across the Fraser river from Liverpool station, the northern terminus, a mile above Brown’s landing.
In the meantime the line was being extended from Liverpool to South Westminster, a half-mile below Brown’s landing, where the city of New Westminster had built a ferry terminal for the river crossing.
With the railway in operating order, Bennett turned over the New Westminster Southern Railway to JJ Hill and it became part of the Great Northern Railway network.
Construction History
1890 23.51 miles of track.
1891 00.59 miles of track.
Total Mileage: 24.1 Miles.
Abandonment History
1916 Brownsville to Port Kells (to CNoR) 8.55 Miles
1918 Blaine to Hazelmere 2.69 Miles.
1919 Hazelmere to Port Kells 11.3 Miles
1.56 Miles unaccounted for, possible trackage around Cloverdale.
After the rails were removed the road along the right of way was named after the first engineer on the line - Robert Harvie.