The Marine Railway Flume House on the Dartmouth Greenway is really coming together! The project is a life-sized reproduction of the Flume House that controlled the Dartmouth Marine Railway from 1861-1871, allowing boats to travel from the Halifax Harbour into Sullivan’s Pond and thus enter the Shubenacadie Canal waterway. The Flume House used gears and a turbine to harness the power of the water flowing from Sullivan’s Pond, and then used that power to move a boat-carrying Cradle up and down the set of tracks that existed between the pond and the Harbour. The ongoing project to recreate this impressive structure is an initiative of the HRM, with support from the Shubenacadie Canal Commission on its historical aspects. The Commission is in the home stretch of fundraising efforts, but still needs a remaining $15,000 to complete the structure’s historic elements. Click here to donate. For more information on how the Flume House and the Marine Railway worked, check out this great video that outlines the process, or stop by the Fairbanks Centre at Shubie Park to see a smaller, complete model of the structure.
