Reid Newfoundland Company

The Newfoundland railway contract awarded to the Reid Newfoundland Company in 1898 made provision for Robert Gillespie Reid to operate the main line for 50 years in return for a further grant of 5,000 acres of land per mile. He also undertook to operate the Newfoundland coastal steamer service with a government subsidy and to take over operation of – and eventually purchase – the government telegraph line. In return for an immediate payment of $1 million and the future reversion of a portion of Reid’s lands, the government agreed that after 50 years the railway was to become the property of Reid’s successors.