Sunday train stop strands travellers

Saturday, 07 November 2009 00:00

November 7, 1876. With frequent stops along the way, the Saturday night train from Halifax runs about 60 miles before reaching Truro early Sunday morning. There it stops until Monday morning, stranding those passengers whose destinations are just a few more hours away. And all because of an "absurd regulation" against violating the sanctity of Sunday, complains the Halifax Citizen.

"It is very proper, of course, to conform to public feeling in regard to the preservation of the sanctity of the Sabbath, but how far this feeling is met" by detaining passengers at Truro "is a matter of doubt.

"In what respect does it contribute to the sanctity of the Sabbath to detain passengers who are within a few hours ride of their own homes, in a strange place, when they might just as well be permitted to complete their journey and spend the day and night with their families."

People have not complained about the night train from Saint John continuing its run to Halifax on Sunday, said the Citizen. "It is making the Sabbath a day of general business that they object to. It is running trains at all hours and for all purposes. It is running special trains with circus troops on board into quiet country towns during the hours of Divine Service, and similar violations of propriety that the public wish to see put down. We trust that the regulation detaining passengers at Truro will be removed."