The New Brunswick Coal and Railway Company (NBC&R) was chartered on April 3, 1901 to build a railroad from Gibson (South Devon, near Fredericton) to Chipman.
Construction began at Chipman and proceeded to Minto by 1903. The NBC&R did not build any farther. The NBC&R purchased the Central Railway of New Brunswick in 1903, giving it a connection to the Intercolonial Railway at Norton.
The NBC&R was purchased by the Crown on April 14, 1905.
On November 4, 1914 the NBC&R was leased to the Canadian Pacific Railway for 999 years, together with the Fredericton & Grand Lake Coal & Railway Company.