Montreal and Southern Counties Railway
The Montreal & Southern Counties Railway Company, or M & SCRC, was a railway between Montreal and Granby that opened in 1909. A junction offered an interurban connection for the city of Longueuil .
The M & SCRC was divided into two divisions: the Interurban Division was responsible for the rail traffic on the main line between Montreal and Granby, while the Suburban Division was responsible for branching between Saint-Lambert and Montréal-Sud (Longueuil).
After the merger with the Canadian National Railways , the M & SCRC had the peculiarity that outside the city tracks trams and steam locomotives (later diesel ) ran on the same route.
history
The M & SCRC was established by law of the Canadian Parliament on June 29, 1897. Operations began on October 30, 1909 between Montreal and Saint-Lambert , via Pont Victoria . The route was extended in 1910 to Longueuil , 1912 to Mackayville , Chambly , Richelieu , 1913 to Marieville , 1914 to Saint-Césaire , 1915 to Saint-Paul-d'Abbotsford and finally in 1916 to Granby . The takeover by the Canadian National Railways, created a few years earlier, took place in 1923.
The terminus in Montreal was in the southwest of the city, on the corner of McGill and Youville. The building that served as a train station still existed in 2007.
Traffic decreased from 1951 when the electric trams were replaced by a CN diesel train between Marieville and Granby. In 1955, the Canadian National Railways decided to remove the tram tracks on Pont Victoria. The last tram ran on October 13, 1956.
bibliography
- Clegg, Anthony et Omer Lavallée, Catenary through the Counties: the story of Montreal & Southern Counties Railway , Saint-Hilaire, The Classic Era, 1966, 64 pages.
- Grumley, JR Thomas, Montreal & Southern Counties Railway Co. , Ottawa, Bytown Railway Society, 2004, 67 pages.