The General Mining Association (GMA) had been established in 1825 to develop mineral rights in Nova Scotia held by the Duke of York.
In compensation for this loss of mineral rights, the GMA was permitted to retain certain assets in specific geographic areas.
The lack of transportation prevented mining development at Springhill until 1870 when the construction of the Intercolonial Railway between Truro and Moncton came through the area.
The same investors also created the Pugwash and Spring Hill Railway Company, which received a charter to build a line north to the Northumberland Strait port of Pugwash from which coal could be shipped to northern Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, eastern New Brunswick and Quebec.
Under DOSCO ownership, the CR&C operated its Springhill mines as efficiently as possible, however by the 1950s, demand for coal was softening as railways dieselized and alternative heating fuels were implemented.
Declining export markets for Springhill coal saw the CR&C decide to stop shipments through the port of Parrsboro in the summer of 1958.
The 1958 Bump was caused by the use of "room and pillar" mining techniques up until the late 1930s, creating undue stress on the local geology.
Despite using the newer "long wall retreating" method, a devastating bump on October 23, 1958 killed 74 miners when the collieries collapsed.
The reason for this change in title was that the S&L had been formed under a provincial charter in 1910, which made it ineligible for federal railway subsidies.
Thus the Cumberland Railway name continued until 1968 when its property, along with DOSCO's coal mines, was expropriated by the Canadian federal government to form the Cape Breton Development Corporation (DEVCO).