Canadian Railroads > Once a week to Grenville QC

For years, this image was misidentified by me in my slide collection so I didn't realise I had pictures of a fairly unique operation.

The first two images show the Friday only westbound Montreal to Grenville passenger train 187 at Val Royal QC.

This train operated over the former Canadian Northern from Central station in Montreal to Grenville QC to take passengers to their summer cottages along the Ottawa River. From Montreal to Deux Montagnes (17 miles), it operated as a regular commuter train, albeit diesel hauled. Passengers for points beyond Deux Montagnes rode in the combine and first coach. Once beyond the commuter district, it became like many other back country passenger trains in Canada, stopping at riverside cabins , unloading groceries and supplies, and having passengers make arrangements to be picked up heading back to town on the Monday morning return passenger train, 188. Passenger load was usually about twenty people. Grenville was 58 miles from Montreal, the train took three hours to reach there.

The schedule was amended for long weekends. Both 187 and 188 involved deadhead movements before or after the scheduled run.

The third image shows an eastbound CRHA railfan excursion at Fresniere QC in 1970. This station was on the portion of track beyond the commuter operation.

This portion of track is part of the Canadian Northern transcontinental route to Vancouver. The line crossed the Ottawa River at Grenville QC/Hawkesbury ON. and continued west to Ottawa, where the line split, with one route going to Toronto and another continuing west to Capreol and western Canada.

Following the bankruptcy of CNor and subsequent nationalisation as the Canadian National, the former CNor line from Ottawa to Hawkesbury was abandoned in the 1930's and 40's. The presence of communities along the former CNor east of Grenville ensured the survival of the line between Grenville and Deux Montagnes until 1988. I believe 187 and 188 kept operating until the mid 1970's.

The railway bridge linking Grenville QC to Hawkesbury ON. was removed in 1962 as the result of the hydro dam downstream on the Ottawa River.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/22 19:15 by eminence_grise.

Phil, do you recall whether the diesel operated on its own through the tunnel back in those days? (I know that was the norm in later eras)
Or was an electric added for the first leg out of Central Station?

- Paul

In the 1980s I worked at a location right near the Portal Heights station. At that time, outbound trains, with their diesel locomotives attached and running in idle, were pulled through the tunnel by pairs of electrics.

Inbound trains went through the tunnel under their own diesel power, also pretty much on idle, as it has a slight downhill grade from Portal Heights to Central Station.

Ray

crs1026 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Phil, do you recall whether the diesel operated on
> its own through the tunnel back in those days? (I
> know that was the norm in later eras)
> Or was an electric added for the first leg out of
> Central Station?
>
> - Paul

I honestly don't. I suspect boxcabs hauled them through the tunnel and cut off at Eastern Junction.

eminence_grise Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> crs1026 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Phil, do you recall whether the diesel operated
> on
> > its own through the tunnel back in those days?
> (I
> > know that was the norm in later eras)
> > Or was an electric added for the first leg out
> of
> > Central Station?
> >
> > - Paul
>
> I honestly don't. I suspect boxcabs hauled them
> through the tunnel and cut off at Eastern
> Junction.

That was what they did in 1989, the first time I ever went to Montreal, but Phil's shots are considerably earlier than that. In 1989, even the RDC's that went east on the CP out of Jonction de l'Est got an electric assist through the tunnel.

Sometime after those trains were abolished, VIA rerouted the northern Quebec trains "the long way around" to eliminate the electric helper.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/12 10:55 by toledopatch.

Your Eminence,
Around 1986 I was competing in the North American Rallye Cup and had occasion to travel north through Montreal to Ste. Agathe-des-Monts. We saw a bit of the electrification but further north we paralleled an abandoned rail line with many sections of rail removed. It appeared to be a very scenic route along a river. I often wondered how such a route near a major city could have been abandoned. It looked to be a usable commuter route.
In further thinking about this it may have been directly north of Ottawa and our destination would have been Maniwaki. Somehow racing cars in -28F in Feb. now seems foolish, it was rather exciting then! Probably the best Aurora Borealis seen by anyone in the last 100 years was that night.
Wow! That got off subject in a hurry.
Love your above the border posts!
Gonut