Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The European and North American Railway is the name for three historic Canadian and American railways which were built in New Brunswick and Maine. The idea of the E&NA as a single system was conceived at a railway conference in Portland, Maine in 1850 by railroad entrepreneur John A. Poor. The line was intended to link Portland with an ice-free Atlantic port in Nova Scotia to connect with fast trans-Atlantic ships from Europe; the port at Halifax was discussed as a possible eastern terminus for the line, as was Canso.