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History

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McGill Street Station Railway

MCGILL STREET 1909 – 1955


M. Peter Murphy

Albert Corriveau was the secretary and principal promoter of the Montreal Park & Island Railway which by 1897 was operating surburban trolley line~ to virtually all the Montreal surburbs located on the island. Expansion to the South Shore was impossible because of the natural obstruction created by the mighty St. Lawrence River even though the original charter of the MPIR permitted it to do so. As plans were being prepared for the replacement of the original Victoria Tubular Bridge, Albert Carriveau and associates were busy applying for a Federal Charter to construct an electric railwar from Montreal to the "South Shore" and Huntingdon.



On June 25, 1897 the charter for the Montreal & Southern Counties Railway was granted but no actual work was done for several years even though the new Victoria Jubilee Bridge was opened late in 1898. In 1901 Corriveau retired from active railway promotion and the MPIR came under control of the Montreal Street Railway.

It was ten years after the charter had been granted that construction actually began on the M & S C. The Grand Trunk Railway granted permission to use the downstream lane of the Victoria Bridge for the electric railway and by a generous infusion of money to get construction started the Grand Trunk took a controlling interest in the new railway.

The Montreal Street Railway vigorously opposed the granting of running rights through any of the streets of Montreal to the M & S C and by the time the rights were obtained the M & SC had
attended no less than 145 regular and special meetings of the City Council of Montreal to plead its case.

By Spring 1909 the M & S C had laid tracks along Riverside, Mill, Common, Grey Nun and Youville Streets, the actual brick station being constructed at the south west corner of McGill and Youville Streets. Originally cars were wyed at the corner of Grey Nun and Youville Streets but as train lengths increased another means of turning the cars had to be found. By 1913 the Montreal & Southern Counties Railway had negotiated an agreement with the Montreal Tramways Company whereby M & S C trains could share a one block long length of common southbound track on McGill Street between Youville and Common Streets.



While the M S Rand M & S C were originally viewed as rivals they indeed turned out to be complementary to one another. Rapidly the McGill Street terminal of the M & S C became the
transfer point for street car passengers travelling to the south shore. Operation of electric cars on the common track consisted of southbound Montreal Tramways Cars operating on Outremont
route 29. It was on route 29 that the MTCo operated its fleet of PCC cars almost exclusively, and so it was not unusual to see trains of CNR green interurbans interspursed with a cream coloured PCC car or two during rush hours on Mc Gill Street.

While the tracks were shared the trolley overhead was not.

Two separate wires hung about 18 inches apart assured independent power supply for each railway. At the foot of McGill Street trolley contacts were installed which fed the first electric switch to be installed in Montreal. An M & S C trolley making contact threw the switch to head west along Common Street, while a MTC trolley threw the switch to head east to the "Youville Loop" and the end of route 29.

M & S C suburban cars in rush hours looped around Grey Nun, Youville & McGill Streets stopping to load in front of the M & SC station. The interurban trains looped around McGill Street and
were backed into the yard where after the express had been loaded and passengers boarded they headed out curving directly onto Common Street, Black Bridge, Mill Street and the Victoria
Bridge.


courtesy -  M. Peter Murphy

©2017 Linda Sullivan – Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

Montreal and Southern Counties Railway Company

 

 

The M&SCRC was created as a result of a law passed by the Canadian Parliament on June 29, 1897. The service was inaugurated between Montreal and Saint-Lambert via the Victoria Bridge on October 30, 1909. The service was extended to Longueuil in 1910, toward Mackayville in 1912 and to Chambly, Richelieu and Marieville in 1913, Saint-Césaire in 1914, Saint-Paul-d'Abbotsford, Quebec in 1915, and finally Granby in 1916.

Absorbed by the Grand Trunk Railway, the M&SCRC became the property of CN in 1923.

The Montreal McGill Street Terminal was situated at the southwest corner of McGill Street and Rue Marguerite-d'Youville. The building that served as the station is still standing today.

The M&SCRC was managed under two divisions. The interurban division managed the traffic on the main line between Montreal and Granby, whereas the suburban division managed the branch between Saint-Lambert and Montreal South (Longueuil).

Service declined starting in 1951, when CN replaced the electric tramways with diesel trains between Marieville and Granby. In June 1955, CN decided to remove the streetcar rails on the Victoria Bridge and service was cut back to Saint-Lambert. The streetcar made its final voyage on October 13, 1956.

…to be continued.

 

©2017 Linda Sullivan – Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

Windsor Station/Gare Windsor

 

 

 

courtesy - Massey F. Jones

Looking north on a very muddy Windsor St., corner of St-Antoine in 1904.

Windsor Street south of Dorchester (now René Levesque Blvd) was renamed Peel Street/Rue Peel in 1968.

The granite building was not only the Montreal terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway but also their Canadian headquarters, until then named CP moved its entire operation to Calgary in 1996 and changed its name back to Canadian Pacific Railway.

Behind the early Montreal Tramways streetcar, we see a faint outline of the elegant Le Windsor, then and now,  a historical nine-story structure, offering palatial splendor with a gold-embossed lobby, six restaurants,two ballrooms, concert hall and 382 luxurious guest-rooms.

 

 
courtesy – Massey F. Jones

Today  Windsor Station is not connected to any track and has been developed into a hotel and retail complex, with access the Lucien-L'Allier metro (subway) station which is below the station building and a connection to the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team.  

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

The railroad on ice

 

In 1875 the Québec, Montréal, Ottawa & Occidental (Q.M.M.&O.) was founded. This railway company built a railroad North of Montreal, which is known as ‘’le p’tit train du Nord’’. On the South Shore, the Montreal, Portland and Boston Railway Company ran from Longueuil to Newport, in Vermont, and from there it was easy to reach Boston and New York. At some point, the Montreal, Portland and Boston Railway Company was purchased by the South Eastern company.

 

‘’Railway on the ice over St. Lawrence River, Montreal, QC, 1880’’,
by William Notman, 1880, McCord Museum

The general superintendent of the Q.M.M.&O., Louis-Adélard Senécal, wanted to connect the North shore’s railway network with the one on the South shore. However, at that time there was only one bridge between Montreal and the South Shore: the Victoria bridge. It was owned by the Grand Trunk Railway, which used it for its own needs and was not willing to share it with other railway companies. The Grand Trunk charged $10 to $12 per wagon to allow other companies to use the bridge, which was expensive. As for building a new bridge over the St. Lawrence River, it was not an interesting option, since it required very big investments.

In order to solve this problem, Senécal had a very special idea: to build a railroad on the frozen water of the St. Lawrence River!

Senécal met with engineers, who assured him that the ice is at least 60 centimeters thick in the depths of winter. Such a thick ice can support heavy weights: at 45 centimeters, it can support 25 tons; at 75 centimeters, it is 70 tons.
Because Montreal is located at the foot of the Lachine rapids, the ice is not even on the St. Lawrence River. Thus, the first task for Senécal’s workers was to level the ice. Then, they installed the railroad.

The launch of Senécal’s railway took place on January 30, 1880. The railroad ran from Longueuil to the Hochelaga wharf, near the Iberville street. The new railroad was a big success! American merchants signed contracts with Senécal to convey hay to Boston. Great reviews were written in newspapers and in the scientific press.

The railroad was in use during four years. In 1880, the railway was in operation from January 30 to April 1st; in 1881, from January 5 to April 8; in 1882, only from February 4 to March 4; and finally in 1883, it was in operation from January 15 to April 3.
Only one major accident happened during these four years. At the beginning of January of 1881, a locomotive sank into the water near the Longueuil’s shore! Thankfully, no one died in the accident.

In the mid-1880s, Senécal and his partners were able to sell the East segment of the Q.M.M.&O. and the South Eastern company to the federal government. This transaction was more than enough to reimburse the funds that they invested in the railroad on ice.
 

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

The Grand Trunk’s Industrial Complex

 

In 1856, the Grand Trunk Railway opened a big complex of shops in Montreal to build and repair trains and locomotives. It was located in Point St. Charles, not far from the Victoria Bridge's construction site. An area of this industrial complex was intended to the work on the cars and coaches (metal and wood), while another area was intended to the work on locomotives (metal only).

Engineering Dept. Staff - 1896

By 1961, the Grand Trunk was the main employer in Montreal in regards to manufacturing jobs. In order to provide accommodation to all these workers, a series of houses, called "Sebastopol Row", were built in 1857.

There were a lot of different buildings at the Grand Trunk's industrial complex: foundries, factories, shops for construction and maintenance, a warehouse, etc. There was also a station for the train passengers. At the beginning of the 20th century, the company's headquarters moved to Downtown Montreal, but the shops remained in Point St. Charles.

In 1912, the Grand Trunk's President, Charles Hays, died in the sinking of the Titanic. It was a big loss for the company, which encountered financial problems and went bankrupt in 1919. The decision was made to merge with their rival, the Canadian Northern Railway, which was also in bankruptcy, and a new Crown corporation was founded in 1919, he Canadian National.

The CN managed the industrial complex over the 20th century, and then rented it to ALSTOM in the 1990s. The site served again for construction and maintenance of locomotives and other vehicles. Today, the site is still owned by the CN but is not in use anymore.

Source: http://www.memorablemontreal.com/print/batiments_menu.php?quartier=14&batiment=267 http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/M990X.371.1.2

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved