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During the mid-1870s Ketchum became interested in the
scheme for which he is best known. The Chignecto Marine Transport
Railway Company was formed in 1882 to construct a ship railway for
transporting vessels across the Isthmus of Chignecto, thereby
facilitating shipping between the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St.
Lawrence. The proposed Chignecto Ship Railway would be 17 miles
long in a straight line from Fort Lawrence on the Bay of Fundy to
Tidnish on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with a dock at each end.
Ships would be raised by hydraulic lift from the water onto the
railway, drawn by two locomotives across the isthmus, and then lowered
into the water to resume their journey. Ketchum acted as managing
director of the project.
Construction began in
October 1888, but the Chignecto Ship Railway soon faced serious
financial difficulties. The 1890 collapse of Baring Brothers and
Company, the London bank backing the project, signalled the death of
Ketchum's dream. In 1892 The Canadian Parliament refused to
extend the time period for their contract with the Chignecto Marine
Transport Railway Company, thereby destroying any possibility of the
project being completed. Three-quarters of the work
was completed at that point, including the docks at Fort Lawrence and
Tidnish Bridge, 16 of the 17 miles of rail-bed, and 13 miles of
track. Soon after, on 8 September 1896, Ketchum died
unexpectedly
in Amherst, Nova Scotia. He was buried at Tidnish within view of the
ship railway terminus.
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Last Update: 2004/03/31