Central Vermont Railway

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Route map from 1879

The Central Vermont Railway (CV) is a former railway company in Vermont , Massachusetts , New York and Connecticut ( United States ), and in the province of Québec ( Canada ). It existed as an independent company from 1843 to 1995.

history

prehistory

The company was founded on October 31, 1843, initially as Vermont Central Railroad (VCR). They intended to build a railway line across the state of Vermont, and thereby also connect the capital Montpelier . Since the Green Mountains in the middle of the state provided a natural barrier, a path had to be chosen that led around these mountains. It was decided to route in the valley of the White River and the Winooski River . At the point where the White River flowed into the Connecticut River , which forms the border to New Hampshire , the southeast end point should be. In Burlington , where the Winooski River flows into Lake Champlain , the new route was to find its northwestern terminus.

Construction of the network

Construction began from White River Junction in 1843 . In the meantime, other railways were also under construction, which should also end there. The Northern Railroad opened in 1847 and connected the hub with Concord . From the south, too, in the Connecticut River valley, the railway builders continued to advance. At the same time as the construction of the railway to the north-west, construction to the south also took place. On the west bank of the Connecticut River along the Sullivan County Railroad was built , which reached the state line between Vermont and New Hampshire near Windsor on February 5, 1849. Eight days later, the gap between Windsor and White River Junction also went into operation. The section from the state line to White River Junction belonged to Vermont Central. In the same year, the construction of the railway in the direction of Burlington continued and on December 31, 1849 the remaining line to Burlington terminus finally went into operation. The entire Windsor – Burlington railway , including the branch to Montpelier , had a length of 192 kilometers. Montpelier could not be connected by the continuous route because the city was in a side valley of the Winooski River. A track triangle was set up and the trains passing through that stopped in Montpelier had to change direction there.

Further development

Even before the main line to Burlington was completed, the VCR leased the Vermont and Canada Railroad for 50 years on August 24, 1849 . It was founded on October 31, 1845, and was planning a line that would branch off from the VCR main line at Essex Junction and head north to Rouses Point , New York . It was opened in 1851. There was also a branch line to the Canadian border, to which the Montreal and Vermont Junction Railroad joined to the north . This line led in Canada to St. Johns (today St.-Jean-sur-Richelieu ) and was put into operation in the early 1860s. From the beginning, VCR leased the route and ran it. A right of use existed on the route of the Grand Trunk Railway between St. Johns and Saint Lambert . The Stanstead, Shefford and Chambly Railroad with its branch line from St. Johns to Waterloo was leased in 1861. This railway extended the VCR to Sherbrooke in the 1880s . On October 31, 1923, the CV leased the line to the Canadian National Railway .

In the following years, the VCR expanded its network mainly to the south and west. This was not achieved through new buildings, but through lease agreements that were concluded with several railway companies. However, some of these contracts were terminated after a few years. So there was a leasing contract with the Sullivan County Railroad (Windsor VT – Bellows Falls VT route) from 1866 to 1876 . From March 1, 1870 to 1878 and again from June 1, 1886 to September 27, 1901 there was a contract with the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad (route Rouses Point NY – Ogdensburg NY, including branch routes). The Rutland Railroad , which operated an extensive network in the southwest of the state, was from January 1, 1871 to May 7, 1896 under the control of the VCR, which in turn was renamed Central Vermont Railroad on November 2, 1872 . The Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain and the Rutland Railroad were leased equally by VCR and Vermont & Canada.

On December 1, 1871, the VCR leased the New London Northern Railroad , the main line of which ran from New London to Brattleboro . In addition, this railway had its own leases for some branches, including from February 1880 on the narrow-gauge West River Railroad . With this contract, the VCR expanded its operations in the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut .

A branch line from St. Albans to Richford had been built by the Missisquoi Railroad , from December 24, 1886 Missisquoi Valley Railroad . The CV leased this railway from its opening on July 1, 1873 and also ran it. In Richford there was a transition to the Missisquoi and Clyde Rivers Railroad , which was later under the control of the Canadian Pacific Railway . Although the lease was terminated on November 15, 1877, a new contract was concluded on June 30, 1888. The Missisquoi Valley became the property of CV on April 15, 1899. From December 1, 1873 to 1877, the CV leased the Harlem Extension Railroad , the route of which ran south from Rutland to Chatham , where it was connected to the Boston and Albany Railroad . It was later taken over by the Rutland Railroad.

The short branch line to Montpelier was initially extended to Barre by the Montpelier and White River Railroad to the southeast . CV had leased it from the founding of this railway. The CV later extended this route to Williamstown . The final merger with the company took place on December 9, 1891. The Montreal, Portland and Boston Railway , whose route from Saint Lambert (later from Montreal ) via Marieville to West Farnham , could be leased from 1877. It was later extended to Frelighsburg .

After financial problems, the Consolidated Railway of Vermont acquired the CV on June 30, 1884 , which was leased back to the Central Vermont Railroad the following day. At the same time, the merger with Vermont and Canada Railroad, leased since 1849, took place. In 1885 the entire company was finally leased to the Grand Trunk Railway , which acquired ownership of the railway on March 20, 1896 and finally merged with the Canadian National Railway on January 20, 1923 .

In 1888 or 1889 the CV was able to lease the Burlington and Lamoille Valley Railroad with its Essex Junction – Cambridge Junction route before it ran into further financial difficulties. To simplify administration, the CV merged on September 29, 1898 with the Montreal & Vermont Junction, the Missisquoi Valley Railroad, which had emerged from the Missisquoi Railroad in 1886, with the Montreal, Portland & Boston and the Burlington & Lamoille Valley Railroad. On November 18 of the same year, the Central Vermont Railway Company was founded, which on May 1, 1899 bought the Central Vermont Railroad.

After the Canadian National Railway took over Grand Trunk, calm returned to the business structure. When a flood in November 1927 destroyed large parts of the CV main line and some branch lines in southern Vermont, extensive financial resources had to be mobilized. The State of Vermont participated, although some routes were no longer economical. Nevertheless, most of the routes were reopened in February 1928. The renewed financial problems resulting from these construction measures and the global economic crisis led to the fact that the railway company was acquired on January 31, 1930 by Central Vermont Railway Inc. , which was founded on July 30, 1929 . In addition, some subsidiaries went into the possession of this company, which had been independent until then. These were the Central Vermont Terminal , Central Vermont Airways , Central Vermont Warehouse , Centmont Corporation and Brooksay Realty .

In 1951 the merger with the last leased company, the New London Northern Railroad, took place. By US standards, the scheduled use of steam locomotives ended in 1957 with the completion of dieselization . In 1971 the Canadian National Railway sold its US-based route parts to the Grand Trunk Corporation , including large parts of the CV network.

Central Vermont Locomotives 1994

After the Amtrak , which carries out long-distance passenger transport in the USA, had to discontinue its Montrealer express train due to the poor track position on the former Vermont Valley Railroad , it acquired this route and sold it to CV on September 9, 1988. The route was renewed and passenger traffic could be resumed. On February 4, 1995, the Grand Trunk Corporation sold the CV to local investors who reorganized the company in New England Central Railroad .

Today only the main route New London – White River Junction – Burlington, including the branch to Montpelier, as well as the former Vermont & Canada from Essex Junction to East Alburgh exist from the network of CV . The New England Central Railroad also operates the former GT route from East Alburgh to Cantic (Québec) . Passenger traffic exists on the main route between Amherst (Massachusetts) and St. Albans (Vermont) by the Amtrak, whose Vermonter express train runs daily on the Washington-St. Albans wrong.

Passenger traffic on the CV trunk line

The timetable of September 28, 1913 called for four trains on weekdays and two trains on Sundays, which ran between White River Junction and Montreal. Some of them drove through cars from Boston and New York. Another train ran daily from White River Junction to St. Albans. Seven weekday and three Sunday trains ran between Windsor and White River Junction. On the section to Burlington, shuttle trains ran after all trains on the main line. A total of eleven trains ran here on weekdays and five on Sundays. The change of direction, which was initially carried out by the through trains in Montpelier, had already given way to service by shuttle trains, which waited for the connections of the mainline trains in Montpelier Junction and partly drove to Barre. The travel time from Windsor to Burlington was 4 to 5.5 hours. The journey from Essex Junction to St. Jean took about two hours. Three pairs of trains ran between St. Albans and Rouse's Point on weekdays and covered the route in 55 to 80 minutes.

According to the timetable of January 15, 1934, there were still three daily trains from Windsor to Montreal as well as a weekday train to St. Albans and a weekday train that only ran to White River Junction. Eight weekday and six Sunday shuttle trains ran to Montpelier, all of which went to Barre. The Essex Junction – Burlington section was served in the rail replacement service with buses that followed the trains. The travel time from Windsor to Burlington and St. Jean had not changed from 1913. A pair of passenger trains ran between St. Albans and Alburgh every weekday and traveled the route in 37 minutes.

The timetable of October 25, 1964 includes three long-distance trains that ran on the former CV trunk line. The Ambassador operated daily on the New York – Montreal route and drove through cars from Boston. The Vermonter commuted daily between White River Junction and St. Albans and the Montrealer (heading north) or Washingtonian (heading south) drove between Washington and Montreal. The travel time from Windsor to Essex Junction was between 2.5 and 3.5 hours with only the Ambassador stopping at Windsor. The sections to Montpelier, Burlington, to the Canadian border at Highgate Springs and between East Alburgh and Rouse's Point were no longer operated.

In 2007 the Vermonter runs between Washington and St. Albans. For the Windsor – St. Albans about three hours. There is a bus service to and from Burlington at Essex Junction.

Sources and further reading

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Official Amtrak site for the Vermonter
  2. ↑ Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Issued November 1913. Central Vermont Rwy., Tables 64/65. Pages 103/104.
  3. ↑ Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Issued February 1934. Central Vermont Rwy., Table 3/4. Page 1079.
  4. ↑ Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Issued November 1964. Central Vermont Rwy., Table 3. page 833.

literature

  • George H. Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads 2nd Ed. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI 2000, ISBN 0-89024-356-5
  • George H. Drury: Central Vermont Railway , in: William D. Middleton, George M. Smerk, Roberta L. Diehl (Eds.): Encyclopedia of North American Railroads. Indiana University Press, Bloomington IN / Indianapolis IN 2007. Pages 214-215. ISBN 978-0-253-34916-3
  • Robert C. Jones: The Central Vermont Railway. (6 volumes) Sundance Press, Silverton CO, 1981/82.
  • Robert M. Lindsell: The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press, Pepperell, MA 2000. ISBN 0-942147-06-5

Web links

Commons : Central Vermont Railway  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files