17:
525:
Government investment in the 1970s for an intermodal container terminal and various improvements at Saint John resulted in some freight traffic increases and CPR invested in infrastructure improvements over the route, however by the 1980s, it was in severe decline as changes in shipping patterns and
483:
During World War I, the CPR line became infamous for being the sabotage target of a German army officer. The United States was still a neutral country at that point and CPR was not permitted to transport war material and troops across US soil on the way to Saint John; most war goods for Canada's war
507:
when a freight train collided head on with the third of four passenger trains carrying immigrants recently arrived on a liner from Europe. The crew of the 26-car freight train became confused about the number of trains required to carry all the passengers. All were operating as sections of a single
617:
As of June 4, 2020, Canadian
Pacific has purchased the entire Central Maine and Quebec Railway and has begun the process of integrating the former CM&Q lines. This includes the former Bangor and Aroostook lines owned by the Central Maine and Quebec which had no prior ties to Canadian Pacific.
290:
The new CPR line across Maine to Saint John was the last link in creating a transcontinental railway, although the section from
Mattawamkeag to Vanceboro was operated under trackage rights. In 1955, the Maine Central purchased the E&NA shares for approximately $ 3 million USD and in 1974, CPR
567:
In 1994 it applied again for abandonment and permission was granted for the end of that year. Shippers and communities along the route were upset and urged CPR to sell the line, which it finally did in sections on
January 1, 1995. In advance of the pending abandonment and later sale of the line,
500:. The officer travelled to Vanceboro on a Maine Central passenger train and stayed several nights in the local hotel, then laid explosives which detonated but did not destroy the bridge. He was arrested and then jailed by the United States before eventually being extradited and jailed in Canada.
281:
began in 1886–1887 and proceeded in both directions from various points on the route. The new line opened in June 1889 and CPR obtained trackage rights over the Maine
Central from Mattawamkeag to Vanceboro, and purchased the New Brunswick Railway to acquire control of the route from Vanceboro to
264:
between the Quebec-Maine border and
Mattawamkeag and assumed the charter of a previous company of the same name that had been organized in 1871. It was also sold to the Atlantic and North-West in 1886. A little known 374-meter (1227-foot) long steel trestle 38 meters (124 feet) above Ship Pond
559:(CAR). The CAR experiment was short-lived as its lines were still losing money, despite abandoning many of its small rural branch lines in western New Brunswick and northern Maine. CPR applied in 1993 to abandon the mainline from Montreal to Saint John but was refused by government regulators.
350:
railroads also interchanged with the
International of Maine Division. There was an interchange at Jackman with Jackman Lumber Company's Bald Mountain Railroad from 1915 to 1926, and with the Ray Lumber Company (later Indian Lake Lumber Company) railroad at Ray Siding near Caribou Stream in
236:
The CPR acquired the
International Railway in the mid-1880s and surveyed a line running directly from Megantic to a point on the E&NA (then leased by the Maine Central) at Mattawamkeag. This portion of new railway would cross the International Boundary between Megantic, Quebec and
143:
Looking 350 miles directly east from
Montreal however, CPR surveyors saw the Canadian port of Saint John, New Brunswick, was underutilized and Saint John was accessible by a route across northern Maine which was less mountainous than other options for reaching the Atlantic coast.
613:
Fortress
Investment Group purchased the trackage owned by the Montreal Maine and Atlantic out of bankruptcy. This includes the portion of the International Railway of Maine from Brownville Junction to the west. Operations began in 2014 as the Central Maine and Quebec Railway.
543:
and service was extended east from Saint John to
Halifax. Passenger traffic increased but government cutbacks in 1981 saw the train discontinued, removing passenger service from the Montreal-Saint John route for the first time since the route opened in 1889. The
219:
before turning east across the lowlands of eastern Maine to the border at Vanceboro-St. Croix; this section having opened in 1869. Another bankruptcy at the E&NA saw the New Brunswick portion from Saint John to the border purchased by the
484:
effort were transported entirely in Canada on the government-owned Intercolonial Railway route instead. However Imperial Germany was convinced that CPR's route across Maine was being used for the war effort and sought to destroy the
172:
to service the forest industry. As suggested by the name of the company, its builders envisioned extending further east into Maine. This company was the successor to an original charter granted to the
250:
191:, west to Saint John in the late 1850s but had gone bankrupt and the colonial government had assumed its operation. The E&NA built a western extension from Saint John to the
335:
In addition to interchanging with CPR at Vanceboro and Mattawamkeag, the Maine Central had an interchange with the CPR from 1906 to 1933 west of Greenville Junction where the
302:) for many years; the International Railway of Maine existing on paper for operating purposes, however the track and all operations became seamless in the CPR system.
587:, an industrial conglomerate and major traffic source in Saint John. The section from the Maine-New Brunswick border west to Mattawamkeag (where it interchanges with
800:
805:
291:
purchased the Mattawamkeag-Vanceboro portion from the Maine Central, finally securing ownership and operation of its entire transcontinental network.
815:
233:
A roughly 100 mile / 160 km gap between Mattawamkeag and Megantic required new construction to complete the Montreal-Saint John direct route.
820:
810:
780:
522:. This daily train operated overnight from Montreal to Saint John and vice versa, with full service diner, observation and coach/sleeper cars.
313:, thus the QCR built a line from the CPR at Megantic north to Tring Junction and thence on to Vallee Junction in the Beauce River valley.
489:
478:
485:
324:, and had an earlier interchange where Bangor and Aroostook predecessor Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad reached the south end of
98:, the port of Montreal was closed from December to May, limiting any advantage that the railway might have over its competitors.
591:) and on to Brownville Junction (where it interchanges with Bangor and Aroostook Railroad) was also sold to a JDI subsidiary,
461:
The 201 mile section of railway across the state of Maine was operated directly by CPR from 1889 to 1988. The opening of the
790:
603:
458:
Until the early 1960s, traffic on the International of Maine Division was extremely heavy and the railway was well-used.
187:
with the North American rail network at Portland. Organized as separate companies, the E&NA had built a section from
180:
269:
was replaced by a viaduct in 1931. Until 6 July 1960, railway employees along this remote line were paid from the last
110:
762:
694:
278:
602:
The bankruptcy of Iron Road in the early 2000s saw the western part of the system taken over by the newly organized
24:, opened in 1889. The last passenger service using this station ended on December 17, 1994, with discontinuation of
795:
785:
299:
249:
was incorporated federally in Canada for the portion between Megantic and the border. In 1886 it was sold to the
192:
133:
309:
anticipated that the new CPR main line across Maine to its winter port of Saint John would result in traffic to
580:
317:
35:
592:
416:
117:
444:
321:
548:
was restored in 1985 and remained in daily service until 1990 and then tri-weekly service thereafter.
152:
Some sections of a direct railway route between Montreal and Saint John already existed in the 1880s:
556:
552:
336:
63:
497:
406:
196:
51:
551:
In 1988, CPR organized all its lines east of Montreal into Maine and the Maritimes (including its
165:
55:
339:
crossed at Somerset Junction en route to Kineo Station connections with steamboats serving the
306:
188:
137:
129:
448:
389:
261:
221:
588:
584:
518:
466:
91:
282:
Saint John, as well as a branch line network in western New Brunswick and northern Maine.
105:(GTR), managed to avoid the winter ice problems in Montreal by using the ice-free port of
8:
462:
212:
102:
59:
596:
576:
on December 17, 1994, and the line has not had dedicated passenger service since then.
216:
95:
465:
in 1958 and the provision of icebreaking services for the port of Montreal by the new
758:
690:
504:
329:
224:
and the Maine portion from Bangor to the border leased by the Maine Central Railroad.
21:
447:
in Montreal and Union Station in Saint John, where passengers could continue on the
539:
493:
352:
200:
83:
29:
16:
610:
protection in August 2013), while JDI continues at the eastern end of the route.
530:
394:
208:
106:
25:
579:
The section from Saint John to the Maine–New Brunswick border was purchased by
325:
238:
121:
62:, closing a key gap in the railway's transcontinental main line to the port of
39:
672:
The Calgary Group of the British Railway Modellers of North America pp.7&8
34:
service. In the distance is a trestle leading to the former junction with the
774:
204:
469:
after the 1960s saw the importance of a winter port at Saint John diminish.
266:
125:
340:
310:
607:
260:
was incorporated in the state of Maine to cross the sparsely populated
161:
87:
203:, Maine, during the 1860s, while the E&NA in Maine had built from
184:
79:
508:
regularly scheduled passenger train, but the last was 8 hours late.
569:
75:
516:
In 1955, CPR created a limited stop express passenger train named
452:
443:
The new route was served by CPR's passenger rail service between
347:
332:. Bangor and Aroostook dismantled the Greenville branch in 1961.
270:
526:
cargo logistics saw CPR make less and less return on the line.
169:
595:. West of Brownville to Montreal, the route was purchased by
555:
subsidiary in Nova Scotia) under a new subsidiary called the
421:
599:, the corporate owner of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad.
432:
formerly Bangor and Aroostook Railroad #201; purchased 1913
684:
228:
405:purchased new; sold to Appalonia Lumber Company of
709:
533:took over operation of CPR passenger services and
294:The CPR operated its new line across Maine as its
358:
241:, thus the CPR organized two separate companies:
69:
772:
724:
438:
109:, Maine, accessed by a route constructed by the
183:was constructed as part of a plan to link the
113:which the GTR had purchased in the mid-1850s.
86:, in 1885. In the decades prior to the use of
801:Former Class I railroads in the United States
739:
174:St Francis and Megantic International Railway
806:Predecessors of the Canadian Pacific Railway
653:
479:1915 Vanceboro international bridge bombing
50:was a historic railroad constructed by the
503:A year after the armistice, 23 died in an
670:CANADIAN PACIFIC in the East (Volume One)
649:
647:
645:
643:
641:
639:
637:
635:
633:
631:
273:operating in the United States or Canada.
816:Railway companies disestablished in 1886
757:by Edgar A. Haine, page 148, publ 1993,
680:
678:
572:discontinued passenger service with the
15:
742:The Shay Locomotive Titan of the Timber
727:Log and Lumber Railroads of New England
687:Bangor and Aroostook The Maine Railroad
662:
562:
120:ran a feeder route down the valleys of
101:CPR's primary Canadian competitor, the
821:Canadian companies established in 1881
773:
729:. The 470 Railroad Club. pp. 1–4.
628:
811:Railway companies established in 1881
781:Canadian Pacific Railway subsidiaries
714:. Maine Central Railroad. p. 11.
685:Angier, Jerry; Cleaves, Herb (1986).
675:
285:
604:Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
486:Saint Croix–Vanceboro Railway Bridge
147:
733:
511:
320:created an interchange with CPR at
229:Building the International of Maine
181:European and North American Railway
132:operated an arduous route over the
20:Abandoned CPR passenger station at
13:
277:Construction under Chief Engineer
111:St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad
14:
832:
74:The CPR completed its route from
160:began operating in 1875 between
744:. The World Press. p. 440.
300:Canadian Pacific Lines in Maine
296:International of Maine Division
251:Atlantic and North-West Railway
748:
718:
712:Maine Central Railroad Company
703:
581:New Brunswick Southern Railway
359:Ray Lumber Company locomotives
258:International Railway of Maine
70:Winter alternative to Montreal
48:International Railway of Maine
1:
689:. Flying Yankee Enterprises.
621:
472:
439:Passenger and freight service
318:Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
36:Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
7:
791:International railway lines
710:Peters, Bradley L. (1976).
656:The Best of Maine Railroads
417:Manchester Locomotive Works
215:at the confluence with the
118:Delaware and Hudson Railway
10:
837:
537:was changed to become the
476:
322:Brownville Junction, Maine
22:Greenville Junction, Maine
725:Rice, Douglas M. (1982).
557:Canadian Atlantic Railway
553:Dominion Atlantic Railway
316:The north-south oriented
64:Saint John, New Brunswick
498:St. Croix, New Brunswick
407:Pelahatchie, Mississippi
211:valley to the hamlet of
52:Canadian Pacific Railway
796:Maine logging railroads
786:Defunct Maine railroads
740:Koch, Michael (1971).
668:Lavallée, Omer (1984)
307:Quebec Central Railway
193:International Boundary
189:Shediac, New Brunswick
138:St. Johnsbury, Vermont
130:Maine Central Railroad
128:to New York City. The
43:
654:Johnson, Ron (1985).
593:Eastern Maine Railway
449:Intercolonial Railway
390:Lima Locomotive Works
262:Appalachian Mountains
247:International Railway
222:New Brunswick Railway
199:, New Brunswick, and
158:International Railway
19:
589:Guilford Rail System
585:J. D. Irving Limited
563:Abandonment and sale
535:The Atlantic Limited
519:The Atlantic Limited
467:Canadian Coast Guard
92:Gulf of St. Lawrence
56:Lac-MĂ©gantic, Quebec
463:St. Lawrence Seaway
355:from 1912 to 1929.
330:Greenville Junction
253:, a CPR subsidiary.
103:Grand Trunk Railway
60:Mattawamkeag, Maine
597:Iron Road Railways
583:, a subsidiary of
353:Bowerbank Township
286:Interchange points
217:Mattawamkeag River
185:Maritime provinces
96:St. Lawrence River
88:ice-breaking ships
44:
658:. Portland Litho.
606:(which filed for
505:Onawa train wreck
436:
435:
148:Existing railways
828:
765:
752:
746:
745:
737:
731:
730:
722:
716:
715:
707:
701:
700:
682:
673:
666:
660:
659:
651:
512:Traffic declines
494:Vanceboro, Maine
363:
362:
84:British Columbia
836:
835:
831:
830:
829:
827:
826:
825:
771:
770:
769:
768:
755:Railroad Wrecks
753:
749:
738:
734:
723:
719:
708:
704:
697:
683:
676:
667:
663:
652:
629:
624:
565:
531:Via Rail Canada
514:
490:St. Croix River
481:
475:
445:Windsor Station
441:
399:21 August 1912
395:Shay locomotive
361:
288:
231:
209:Penobscot River
150:
140:, to Portland.
134:White Mountains
72:
12:
11:
5:
834:
824:
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477:Main article:
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326:Moosehead Lake
287:
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275:
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239:Jackman, Maine
230:
227:
226:
225:
177:
149:
146:
122:Lake Champlain
71:
68:
54:(CPR) between
40:Moosehead Lake
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
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763:0-8453-4844-2
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696:0-9615574-2-7
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459:
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455:and Halifax.
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378:Works number
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78:, Quebec, to
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37:
33:
32:
27:
23:
18:
754:
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345:
337:Kineo branch
334:
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304:
295:
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276:
265:Stream near
257:
246:
235:
232:
213:Mattawamkeag
173:
157:
151:
142:
126:Hudson River
115:
100:
73:
47:
45:
30:
341:Mount Kineo
311:Quebec City
775:Categories
622:References
608:bankruptcy
473:World Wars
279:James Ross
162:Sherbrooke
529:In 1978,
488:over the
426:May 1884
201:Vanceboro
197:St. Croix
80:Vancouver
574:Atlantic
570:Via Rail
546:Atlantic
540:Atlantic
492:between
369:Builder
166:Megantic
124:and the
107:Portland
76:Montreal
31:Atlantic
453:Moncton
366:Number
348:logging
343:House.
271:pay car
207:up the
90:in the
761:
693:
496:, and
381:Notes
205:Bangor
170:Quebec
58:, and
429:1195
422:4-4-0
402:2560
375:Date
372:Type
267:Onawa
136:from
759:ISBN
691:ISBN
346:Two
305:The
256:The
245:The
179:The
164:and
156:The
116:The
94:and
46:The
451:to
328:at
195:at
168:in
38:at
28:'s
26:Via
777::
677:^
630:^
413:2
386:1
82:,
66:.
699:.
298:(
176:.
42:.
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