| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Reporting mark | QSR |
| Locale | Quebec |
| Dates of operation | 1900-1903– 1996-2003 |
| Predecessor | East Richelieu Valley Railway 1890-1900; Quebec, Montreal & Southern Railway 1906-1996 |
| Successor | Quebec, Montreal & Southern Railway 1906-1996; Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway 2003-2014 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
Quebec Southern Railway (reporting remark QSR) refers to two former railways operated in Quebec from 1900 to 1903 and again from 1996 to 2003. The railway was owned by American railway operators, but most of its existence was under Canadian ownership.
QSR began as East Richelieu Valley Railway in 1890 and 1895 it was acquired by United Counties Railways and in 1900 renamed as QSR when it was acquired by Rutland Railroad. [1] The QSR name was short-lived as it was acquired by Delaware & Hudson Railway and renamed Quebec, Montreal & Southern Railway in 1906. [1]
QMSR became part of Canadian National Railway's Quebec operations from 1929 to 1991 and then under rival Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) from 1991 to 1996, spun off by CP to Iron Road Railways which resurrected the QSR named in 1996. [1]
The 2002 bankruptcy of Iron Road Railways saw QSR's assets sold in 2003. The rail line and property was acquired by the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway ( reporting mark MMA) and the QSR name disappeared once more.
After the 2013 bankruptcy of MMA, the rail line and property were acquired in 2014 by the Central Maine and Quebec Railway ( reporting mark CMQR).
The Canadian Pacific Railway, also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001.
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983.
The International Railway of Maine was a historic railroad constructed by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) between Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, and Mattawamkeag, Maine, closing a key gap in the railway's transcontinental main line to the port of Saint John, New Brunswick.
The New Brunswick Southern Railway Company Limited is a 131.7 mi (212.0 km) Canadian short line railway owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company Limited, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited.
The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad was a United States railroad company that brought rail service to Aroostook County in northern Maine. Brightly-painted BAR boxcars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-generation diesel locomotives operated on BAR until they were museum pieces. The economic downturn of the 1980s, coupled with the departure of heavy industry from northern Maine, forced the railroad to seek a buyer and end operations in 2003. It was succeeded by the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway.
The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway was a Class II freight railroad that operated in the U.S. states of Maine and Vermont and the Canadian province of Quebec between 2002 and 2014. It was headquartered in Hermon, Maine.
Lac-Mégantic is a town in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on Lac Mégantic, a freshwater lake after which the town was named. Situated in the former Frontenac County in the historic Eastern Townships, Lac-Mégantic is the seat of Le Granit Regional County Municipality and of the judicial district of Mégantic.
Windsor Station is a former railway station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It used to be the city's Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) station, and served as the headquarters of CPR from 1889 to 1996. It is bordered by Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal to the north, Peel Street to the east, Saint Antoine Street to the south and the Bell Centre to the west.
Northern Vermont Railroad was a former class III railroad that operated in Vermont from 1996 to 2002. NVR was based in Newport, Vermont.
The Canadian Atlantic Railway (CAR) was a Canadian and U.S. railway that existed from 1988 to 1994.
The Washington County Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in Vermont and a sliver of New Hampshire, forming part of the Vermont Rail System. The WACR began operating in 1980 over the old Montpelier and Barre Railroad in Washington County, which the state acquired to ensure the continuance of rail service, and ceased operations in early 1999. Later that year, after interim service by other companies, operations were transferred to a new WACR subsidiary of the Vermont Rail System. In 2003, operations were greatly expanded through acquisition by the state and operation by the WACR of a former Boston and Maine Corporation and Canadian Pacific Railway line between Newport and White River Junction, which had most recently been operated by subsidiaries of the bankrupt Bangor and Aroostook Railroad.
The Eastern Maine Railway Company Limited is a 99.5 mi (160.1 km) U.S. short line railroad owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited.
The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.
The Canadian American Railroad was a railroad that operated between Brownville Junction, Maine and Lennoxville, Quebec. The railroad later expanded west to Farnham, Quebec and then St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec with running rights on Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) to Montreal, Quebec. CDAC was established in 1994 and operated as a railroad between 1995 and 2002. It was owned by transportation holding company Iron Road Railways.
Iron Road Railways Incorporated (IRR) was a railroad holding company which owned several short line railroads in the U.S. state of Maine, as well as the Canadian provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The Maine Northern Railway Company Limited is a 258 mi (415 km) U.S. and Canadian short line railroad owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited.
The lines of the Canadian Pacific Railway operated in the State of Maine were set up as a separate company to comply with Interstate Commerce Commission regulations and were considered a Class I U.S. railroad. The company operated 234 miles in Maine.
The Lac-Mégantic rail disaster occurred in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada, on July 6, 2013, at approximately 01:15 EDT, when an unattended 73-car Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA) freight train carrying Bakken Formation crude oil rolled down a 1.2% grade from Nantes and derailed downtown, resulting in the explosion and fire of multiple tank cars. Forty-seven people were killed. More than thirty buildings in Lac-Mégantic's town centre, roughly half of the downtown area, were destroyed, and all but three of the thirty-nine remaining buildings had to be demolished due to petroleum contamination of the townsite. Initial newspaper reports described a 1 km (0.6-mile) blast radius.
The Central Maine & Québec Railway was a Class II freight railroad operating in the U.S. states of Maine and Vermont and the Canadian province of Quebec with headquarters in Bangor, Maine. It was owned by Railroad Acquisition Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group, LLC. It is now a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway since June 2020.