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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Canadian National Railway |
| Reporting mark | CV |
| Locale | Connecticut,Massachusetts,New Hampshire,Vermont,New York, andQuebec |
| Dates of operation | 1848–1995 |
| Successor | New England Central |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
| Previous gauge | Originally built to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) |
TheCentral Vermont Railway (reporting markCV) was a railroad that operated in theU.S. states ofConnecticut,Massachusetts,New Hampshire,New York, andVermont, as well as theCanadian province ofQuebec. After decades of ownership byCanadian National Railway, the company was spun off under the nameNew England Central Railroad in 1995.
It connectedMontreal, Quebec, withNew London, Connecticut, using a route along the shores ofLake Champlain, through theGreen Mountains and along theConnecticut River valley. It also connected Montreal toBoston, in eastern Massachusetts, through a junction with theBoston and Maine Railroad atWhite River Junction, Vermont.
TheVermont Central Railroad was chartered October 31, 1843,[1] to build a line across the center of Vermont, running fromBurlington on Lake Champlain east to the capitalMontpelier, and then southeast and south toWindsor on the Connecticut River. Initial plans had the main line running through Montpelier. However, due to the difficulty of building through the Williamstown Gulf, a narrow valley south ofBarre, Vermont, and to land interests of Charles Paine inNorthfield, Vermont, a course to the west was selected. The state capital was to be served by a short branch line.
Construction began on December 15, 1845, and the first section, from White River Junction west toBethel, opened on June 26, 1848.[1] Subsequent sections opened toRoxbury on September 17, 1848,Northfield on October 10, 1848, Montpelier (including the branch fromMontpelier Junction) on June 20, 1849,Middlesex on August 30, 1849,Waterbury on September 29, 1849, and the full distance to Burlington on December 31, 1849.[1] The part along the Connecticut River from Hartford south to Windsor opened on February 13, 1849.
TheVermont and Canada Railroad was chartered October 31, 1845, as a continuation of the Vermont Central north and west toRouses Point, New York, splitting atEssex Junction, Vermont (east ofBurlington) and running north viaSt. Albans andSwanton.[1] A branch split at Swanton and ran north to the border withCanada. On August 24, 1849, the Vermont Central leased the Vermont and Canada, and it was completed in 1851. However, the Vermont Central defaulted on rental payments, and the Vermont and Canada returned to its original owners on June 28, 1852.[1] The lease was later reinstated.
TheMontreal and Vermont Junction Railway was chartered in 1860 and opened in the 1860s, extending the Vermont and Canada's branch from the international border north toSt. Johns, Quebec, on theGrand Trunk Railway'sMontreal and Champlain Railroad. From opening, it was operated as an extension of the Vermont and Canada.[1]
TheSullivan County Railroad continued south fromWindsor toBellows Falls, Vermont, where it met theCheshire Railroad towardBoston. At first it was operated by the Central Vermont, but later theBoston and Maine Railroad gained control of it, givingtrackage rights to the Central Vermont. Similarly, theVermont Valley Railroad, running south from Bellows Falls to theNew London Northern Railroad inBrattleboro, was originally owned by theRutland Railroad and later by the B&M.[1]
In 1867 the Vermont Central leased theStanstead, Shefford and Chambly Railroad, running east fromSt. Johns toWaterloo, Quebec. TheWaterloo and Magog Railway was later built as an extension from Waterloo south toMagog.
The Vermont Central leased theOgdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad on March 1, 1870, extending its line fromRouses Point west toOgdensburg, New York. On January 1, 1871, the Vermont Central leased theRutland Railroad system, giving it routes fromBurlington toBellows Falls, Vermont, andChatham, New York. TheNew London Northern Railroad was leased on December 1, 1871. On November 2, 1872, the name was changed to theCentral Vermont Railroad.[1]
Though theMissisquoi Railroad was chartered as an independent entity in 1867, the Central Vermont RR gained control of it shortly thereafter. It was formally leased in July 1873, providing a branch fromSt. Albans northeast toRichford, Vermont. It was operated until November 15, 1877, when theConnecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad took it over. The company was reorganized in December 1886 as theMissisquoi Valley Railway, and was once again leased to the Central Vermont.
TheMontpelier and White River Railroad opened in 1876 and was leased to the Central Vermont, running from the end of theMontpelier Branch south to and beyondBarre.
TheConsolidated Railway was formed on June 30, 1884, to consolidate the 'Central Vermont' and 'Vermont and Canada', and to settle litigation between the two companies. A new Central Vermont Railroad was formed on July 1, 1884 to take over from the Consolidated Railway.
In 1889, theBurlington and Lamoille Railroad was reorganized as theBurlington and Lamoille Valley Railroad and leased by the Central Vermont. This provided a branch fromEssex Junction to theLamoille Valley Railroad at Cambridge Junction inCambridge, Vermont, and a quickly abandoned redundant line from Essex Junction west to Burlington. This second connection crossed theWinooski River near Essex Junction and connected to theRutland Railroad at the south end of Burlington near the present-day terminus ofI-189.
TheMontreal and Province Line Railway was formed in 1896 as a reorganization of theMontreal, Portland and Boston Railroad. Originally planned as a branch of thePortland and Ogdensburg Railroad toMontreal, and operated by theConnecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad, it was taken over by the Central Vermont upon reorganization. The main line ran from theGrand Trunk Railway'sMontreal and Champlain Railroad atSaint-Lambert, across theSt. Lawrence River from Montreal, southeast toFarnham on theStanstead, Shefford and Chambly Railroad, with an extension continuing southeast toFrelighsburg. A branch went east fromMarieville toSt. Cesaire.
In 1896, the Central Vermont enteredreceivership, and theRutland Railroad was separated. The Grand Trunk Railway bought the bankrupt company on March 20. TheOgdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad lease ended in 1898, and that company was leased by the Rutland in 1901. The Central Vermont Railroad was sold atforeclosure on March 21, 1899, and was reorganized as theCentral Vermont Railway on May 1. During this process, on April 15, 1899, it purchased theMissisquoi Valley Railroad outright.[1]
On July 12, 1920, the entire Grand Trunk system was placed under the control of a "Board of Management" by the federalDepartment of Railways and Canals inCanada after several years of financial difficulties. After several years of legal battles by Grand Trunk shareholders, intent on preventing the federal government fromnationalizing the company, the company was nationalized on January 20, 1923, and fully merged into theCrown corporationCanadian National Railway.
On December 12, 1927, in the aftermath of theGreat Vermont Flood of 1927, the Central Vermont Railway enteredreceivership again, and was reorganized January 31, 1930, to form a new company of the same name.[1]
While the Central Vermont was no longer independent, it kept much of its corporate identity and was run as a separate railroad from the rest of the CN system. As the grip of the Great Depression eased, the railroad became a relatively successful arm of the CN network until the postwar period. It moved a wide range of freight from general merchandise and furniture to milk and agricultural products.[1]
During the 1950s, diesels from CN began to appear on the Central Vermont, with the last steam locomotive ending service in 1957.[1] The 1960s were an especially-rough period due to declining traffic, rising costs, and falling revenues.
Under theGrand Trunk and later theCanadian National, the Central Vermont system saw many of its unprofitable branch lines abandoned. The CN continued to operate the CV as a modestly successful system; however, in the process leading up to theprivatization of the CN, which took place on November 28, 1995, several non-core routes were identified for sale, one of then being the CV.
On February 3, 1995, the CN sold the CV mainline fromNew London, Connecticut, toEast Alburg, Vermont, to shortline operating companyRailTex, which renamed the operation theNew England Central Railroad. RailTex was merged intoRailAmerica in 2000.Genesee & Wyoming acquired RailAmerica at the end of 2012. Operations have continued as before.[1]
This line was formed as theMissisquoi Railroad, then became theMissisquoi Valley Railroad, and then theMissisquoi Valley Division, before gaining its final name. Operations continued on the entire 27.48-mile (44.22 km) length until 1984, when a derailment on the bridge spanning theMissisquoi River nearSheldon, Vermont, forced the dismantlement of one of three spans. Operations continued on the east end, while theLamoille Valley Railroad operated on the isolated west end of the line to Richford occasionally after 1989. In 1990 the tracks from St. Albans to the bridge were pulled up.
The following stops were made on the branch from west to east:
While the CV operated local trains exclusively on its own tracks in its early years, most of its later passenger trains were operated jointly with other railroads such as theBoston and Maine Railroad, theNew Haven and the CV's owner, theCanadian National Railway.
Until 1947, the CV operated local trains between Brattleboro and New London using a Brill self-propelled car for one daily round-trip and steam-powered mixed train. After the late 1930's, the CV operated two local trains between White River Junction to St. Albans. Like the New London service, a Brill car operated one round-trip while a steam engine operated the other train. After the CV shifted its trains from East Alburgh to Canadian National's track in Cantic, the Brill cars operated a local service from St. Albans to St. Jean and after 1949, this service ran toMontreal Central Station until its 1953 termination. The CV also operated a local service between White River Junction and Springfield for several months per year with theBoston and Maine Railroad operating the service for the remaining months as mileage-equalization exercise.[9]
The demise of theMontrealer ended all passenger service on the CV. However on September 30, 1972, Amtrak restored theMontrealer as a result of a federal mandate to resume train service to Canada,[10] returning passenger service to CV tracks between the Canadian border and Windsor, VT.[11] In 1989, theMontrealer was rerouted to the CV’s main line which had not seen passenger trains operate between Northfield, MA and New London, CT since 1947. The previous route along the Connecticut River had deteriorated due to lack of maintenance. In 1995, the overnightMontrealer was replaced with day-timeVermonter, reusing the name of a previous CV-operated train, and the service was rerouted to theHartford Line, with the train reversing in Palmer to access the CV main line. In 2014, theConnecticut River Line was rebuilt and reopened to passenger trains and passenger service was dropped from the now former CV track in Massachusetts.[12][13]
Passenger trains of theCentral Vermont Railway | ||
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| Named trains |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
