Quebec Central Railway

The Quebec Central Railway ( QC or QCR for short ) is a railroad company in the Canadian province of Quebec . It opens up the Eastern Townships area between the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River and the border with the United States . The company's registered office is in Sherbrooke . It was founded in 1869 as the Sherbrooke, Eastern Townships and Kennebec Railway and took its current name in 1875. The route network reached a length of almost 500 kilometers. In 1912 the Canadian Pacific Railway leased the company for 999 years.

On June 1, 1926, the QC took over the Wells River- Sherbrooke route from the Boston and Maine Railroad , whose US section was later sold to the Northern Vermont Railroad and is still in operation today.

The passenger traffic on the routes of the QC ended in April 1967, the freight traffic in November 1994. Quebec Central was dissolved on December 23, 1994. However, with the Canadian Pacific only owning ten percent of the share capital, they couldn't just dismantle the rails and get rid of the route. A freight forwarder from the region bought the train, re-established the company and started rolling trains again from June 2000. In addition to regular freight transport, tourist trains also run on the route network.