The first railway station in Halifax was opened by the Nova Scotia Railway at that line's southern terminus along the Halifax Harbour at Richmond in 1858. The location was a considerable distance northward from downtown Halifax. The extension of the line to the south was blocked by concerns that locomotive embers would threaten the Royal Navy Dockyard located to the south. The first station was a large, plain wooden building with enclosed platforms. A horse-drawn street railway connected the station to the downtown.