To Index

One of the last eastbound steam engines through Kensington, c. 1950, with the Summerside road in the background. The Island was chosen by the CNR as a test base for dieselization, and shift to diesel was complete here by 1950. The diesel engines needed less service and were more powerful, allowing a single engine to pull more cars. However, for railway men, the quiet, efficient diesel could never replace the romance of the churning steam engines, which-- despite their quirks-- almost seemed like a living and breathing object to them. (Lowell Huestis)

To Text