The Train to Mount A
Date(s) of occurrence: 1914 - 1960s
Origins: At 6:30 am on 29 October 1914 more than 150 people, including the student body of UNB along with some Fredericton citzens, boarding a specially booked train to Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB to cheer on the UNB rugby team in their game against Mount A.
Account of events: The seven hour train ride included stops at McGivney and Moncton Station, finally arriving in Sackville where the group paraded through the town and invaded eating establishments before moving on to the football field, where the UNB and Mount A fans performed their respective cheers. The UNB rugby team won the game 27-0. Following a reception hosted by Mount Allison, the UNB fans returned to the train for an 11:00 pm departure, arriving back in Fredericton at 6:00 am the next day. The University Monthly reported that "the number attending classes that morning was very much in the minority."
Note(s): The tradition of the train to Mount Allision, called the "College Special", continued to bring students to Sackville for a variety of sports events, but ended in the 1960s when it became too expensive to schedule.
Source(s):
- The University Monthly. “Excursion to Mount A.” Vol. 34, no. 2, November 1914, p. 5-6.
- Montague, Susan. A Pictorial History of the University of New Brunswick. Fredericton: University of New Brunswick, 1992, p. 65.
- Lloyd, Hugh and Wade, Scott. "Rugger at U.N.B." In Behind the Hill. Fredericton: Students' Representative Council, the Associated Alumni and the Senate of the University of New Brunswick, 1967, p. 93-99.
© UNB Archives & Special Collections, 2014