1873: under the terms of PEI joining Confederation, the federal government is obliged to provide "continuous steamship service" between the mainland and the island, and keep the iceboats running.
1917: the iceboats are replaced by an ice breakingtrain ferry, the SS Prince Edward Island, built by Armstrong Whitworth in England and operated by Canadian Government Railways. A new port was built to accommodate the ferry. She was an effective ice breaker, and could carry 12 interprovincial rail cars.[4]
1947: The ferry is replaced by the MV Abegweit. She measures 372 feet in length and displaces 7,000 tons. Her eight main engines generate 13,500 brake horsepower and drive propellers at both bow and stern. She could carry 950 passengers and 60 cars (or one complete passenger train of 16 railway cars).
1982: a new Roll-on/roll-off ferry, also called the MV Abegweit replaces the first. She is a much larger and more capable vessel, measuring 401 feet in length and displacing 12,000 tons. Her six main engines generated 18,000 brake horsepower. She could carry 974 passengers and 250 cars (or 40 tractor trailer trucks or 20 railway cars).
1989: the last train stops at Cape Tormentine on New Year's Eve, following the closure of the Prince Edward Island Railway and the branch to Sackville. This branch has since been converted into a leisure trail, known locally as the Tantramar trail.
