Inverness and Richmond Railway

The Inverness and Richmond Railway (I&R) is a historic Canadian railway that operated on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.
The I&R traces its history to 1874 when the Inverness Railway Company was incorporated, changing its name to the Inverness Coal Field and Railway Company in 1875 and to the Inverness Coal, Iron and Railway Company in 1886.
The economically tumultuous conditions of the coal industry in Inverness County was evident as these various railway charters appeared and disappeared. The growth of the Sydney Coal Field and the establishment of the coal and steel industry in what would become Industrial Cape Breton during the late 19th century only made the future of the Inverness mines more uncertain.
The I&R was incorporated in 1887 with a charter to build a railway line from the district of Margaree in north-central Inverness County to the ports of Mabou, Port Hood and Port Hawkesbury, along with a branch to the Bras d'Or Lake port...