The Quebec Central Railway (reporting mark QCR) was a railway in the Canadian province of Quebec, that served the Eastern Townships region south of the St. Lawrence River. Its headquarters was in Sherbrooke. It was originally incorporated in 1869 as the Sherbrooke, Eastern Townships and Kennebec Railway, and changed its name to the Quebec Central Railway in 1875. In 1894, it built a line southward to Mégantic to connect to Canadian Pacific Railway's east-west line, the International Railway of Maine. It would eventually own around 300 miles (483 km) of track. In 1912, the Canadian Pacific Railway leased the Quebec Central for 99 years but continued to operate as Quebec Central Railway, including passenger service to American cities.[1] The Quebec Central in turn leased the Massawippi Valley Railway, a short line from Lennoxville to Newport, in 1926; this allowed passenger service from Quebec City via Sherbrooke to the United States.
 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Sherbrooke |
| Reporting mark | QCR |
| Locale | Quebec and Vermont |
| Dates of operation | 1869–1994, 2000–2006 |
The company operated passenger trains on several long and short routes. Its longest route travelled from Quebec City to Sherbrooke, to then to Newport, Vermont. There, passengers could transfer to Boston and Maine trains, Alouette or Red Wing bound for Boston, Massachusetts. Branch sections from the latter served passengers bound for Portland, Maine.[2]: Table 1 The Boston & Maine and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad operated the Connecticut Yankee from New York City's Grand Central Terminal, up Connecticut River Valley, to Newport and along Quebec Central territory to Sherbrooke and Montreal.[2]: Table 70
Passenger service ended in April 1967, and freight service ended in November 1994. The Massawippi line's track was entirely removed in 1992. The Quebec Central was abandoned on December 23, 1994. However, because the CPR only owned 10% of the Quebec Central's stock, it could not tear up the track and dispose of the right-of-way. In December 1999, a local resident who owned a trucking company (Express Marco Incorporated) bought the railway from the CPR and revived it, with trains running starting in June 2000. The railway operated tourist excursions in addition to regular freight service. However, the company went out of business in 2006 once more ending railway traffic on the line.[3][4] The remaining portions of the line currently belong to the Ministère des Transports du Québec.[5]
Locomotive roster
edit| Number | Builder | Model | Serial | Build Date | Locomotive condition | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JMG1 | GE | U23B High Nose | 40087 | 1975-05 | Acquired by local preservation group le Groupe TRAQ in 2015 | Ex-NS 3944, Nee SOU U23B 3944 |
| SG2 | EMD | GP11 | 16684 | 1952-06 | Scrapped at CN Joffre Yard in 2015 | Ex-IC 8722, Nee ICG 8722 |
| GG3 | EMD | GP11 | 22123 | 1956-08 | Scrapped at CN Joffre Yard in 2015 | Ex-IC 8732, Ex-MBTA GP9 7543, Nee NH 1213 |
| DG4 | GE | U23B | 36811 | 1968-09 | Scrapped at East Broughton in 2016 | Ex-MEC 288, Ex-D&H 2309, Nee D&H 309 |
| RG5 | EMD | GP7u | 12365 | 1950-10 | Scrapped at CN Joffre Yard in 2015 | Ex-GRS 470, Ex-B&M 470, Ex-MEC 470, Nee MEC 564 |
| GS9 | ALCO | S2 | 74465 | 1946-05 | Scrapped at East Broughton in 2016 | Ex-Newburg & South Shore 13A |
| 1300 | GMD | FP7A | A371 | 1952-10 | In poor condition in East Broughton in 2024 | Ex-AMT 1300, exx-MUCTC 1300, nee-CP 4070/1426, was used in the 1976 movie Silver Streak |
| 1302 | GMD | FP7A | A373 | 1952-10 | Scrapped at East Broughton in 2016 | Ex-AMT 1302, exx-MUCTC 1302, nee-CP 4072/1428, was used in the 1976 movie Silver Streak |
| 1305 | GMD | FP7A | A376 | 1952-10 | Scrapped at Vallée-Jonction in 2009 | Ex-AMT 1305, exx-MUCTC 1305, nee-CP 4075/1431 |
References
edit- ^ "Quebec Central Railway". The Independent. 1914-07-06. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
- ^ a b "Northern New England Travel Guide" (PDF). Boston and Maine Rail Bus. 1946-04-28. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-05-12.
- ^ Morin, Pascal (2006-08-10). "Le Québec Central démantelé?". Journal de Sherbrooke (in French). Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Parks, Richard (2009-04-30). "A Canadian Regional Railroad: Quebec Central Railway". Archived from the original on 2019-12-20.
- ^ "On espère maintenir la vocation du Québec Central". Édition Beauce. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2013-07-28.
Bibliography
edit- Booth, John Derek (2006). Quebec Central Railway: From the St. Francis to the Chaudière. Vol. III. Pickering, Ontario: Railfare DC Books. ISBN 9781897190029.
External links
edit
- A Listing of Quebec Central Railway Information at the Wayback Machine (archived 25 February 2012)