Flying Bluenose

It began in 1891 when the "missing gap" between Digby and Annapolis Royal was completed linking Halifax and Yarmouth by rail for the first time.

This created an opportunity for a fast luxury service aimed at American tourists connecting Halifax with passenger steamers at Yarmouth.

Famous in its day, the Flying Bluenose inspired the author Zillah K. Macdonald to write a children's book The Bluenose Express in 1928 personalizing the train's adventures in a style that predated the famous Thomas the Tank Engine characters created by British railway enthusiast Rev.

Equipment and services were transferred to the Dominion Atlantic's daily fast passenger trains which continued many of the traditions of the Flying Bluenose such as open observation cars, fresh Digby scallops and flower arrangements from the Grand Pre memorial gardens.

VIA Rail's Evangeline Dayliner maintained the route of the Flying Bluenose until 1989, minus the luxurious elements of the older train.