Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad (C & PRR) is a former railway company in Vermont ( United States ) and Quebec ( Canada ). It existed as an independent company from 1835 to 1946.

history

prehistory

Early plans were made to build a railroad from northern Vermont to the Connecticut River . On November 10, 1835, the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad was founded. The railway should initially run north along the Connecticut River, but at Barnet continue into the Passumpsic River valley and down the watershed towards Newport on Lake Memphremagog . However, the plans were initially not realized and the company that was founded existed only on paper.

Construction of the network

The charter was renewed on October 27, 1843, and construction began at White River Junction in 1846 . The Northern Railroad , which opened at the end of 1847, was already under construction there from the direction of Boston . In 1848 the Vermont Central Railroad in the direction of Montpelier went into operation and in 1849 the gap to the south in the Connecticut River valley was finally closed by this railway. The Connecticut & Passumpsic Rivers Railroad opened the first section of their standard-gauge route from White River Junction to Wells River on November 9, 1848. The three companies agreed to build a joint station.

The line construction continued and in November 1850 St. Johnsbury was reached, which would later become a major crossing station. The construction of the line across the watershed turned out to be difficult, and the Canadian government refused to grant the railway company a concession for further construction on Canadian territory, so that money for the railway construction could hardly be raised. Nevertheless, the route was extended in sections. It was not until 1867 that the extension to the Canadian border was finally opened, which increased the total length of the route to 177 kilometers.

Further development

In 1870 the Massawippi Valley Railway extended the line to Canada, where the line in Lennoxville connected to the Grand Trunk Railway network . A right of use existed between Lennoxville and Sherbrooke . On July 1, 1870, Connecticut & Passumpsic leased this railway and began operating in February 1875. In March 1875 they leased the Missisquoi and Clyde Rivers Railroad , which also ran west from Newport to the Canadian border, as well as the South-Eastern Railway , which connected to this railway and to Brookport, for one year with the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad where there was a siding in the direction of Montreal.

After the C & PRR had acquired the insolvent Missisquoi & Clyde Rivers on December 9, 1880 and reorganized it into Newport and Richford Railroad , it leased this railway from June 8, 1881 to the Montreal and Atlantic Railway, which had emerged from the South-Eastern Railway.

On January 1, 1887, the Boston and Lowell Railroad finally leased the C & PRR for 999 years. This contract was transferred to the Boston and Maine Railroad three months later , after the latter had leased the Boston & Lowell in turn. From this point on, the Boston and Maine operated on the Connecticut & Passumpsic Division , as the route was now called. In the mid-1920s, Boston & Maine decided to simplify its network and sell some routes, especially those on Canadian territory. Therefore, from June 1, 1926, the line from Wells River to Lennoxville was leased to the Quebec Central Railway , a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway . The section located in Canada was later sold to this company. In 1946, the C & PRR was finally dissolved and completely incorporated into Boston & Maine. The line still exists to Newport today and is used by the Washington County Railroad . The section from Newport to the Canadian border was closed in late 2002.

literature

  • George H. Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads. 2nd edition. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha WI 2000, ISBN 0-89024-356-5 .
  • Robert C. Jones: Railroads of Vermont. Volume 2. New England Press Inc., Shelburne VT 1993, ISBN 1-881535-03-7 .

Web links