map]]
The was a railroad that operated in the
New England states of
Connecticut ,
Massachusetts ,
Vermont ,
New York , as well as the
Canadian province of
Quebec . It connected
Montreal, Quebec with
New London, Connecticut using a route along the shores of
Lake Champlain , through the
Green Mountains and along the
Connecticut River valley, as well as Montreal to
Boston, Massachusetts , through a connection with the
Boston And Maine Railroad at White River Junction Vermont.
The was chartered
October 31 ,
1843 to build a line across the center of
Vermont , running from
Burlington on
Lake Champlain east to a point west of
Montpelier and then southeast and south to
Windsor on the
Connecticut River . Construction began immediately, and the first section, from
Hartford (just west of
White River Junction ) west to
Bethel , opened on
June 26 ,
1848 . Subsequent sections opened to
Roxbury September 17 ,
1848 ,
Northfield October 10 ,
1848 ,
Montpelier (including the branch from
Montpelier Junction )
June 20 ,
1849 ,
Middlesex August 30 ,
1849 ,
Waterbury September 29 ,
1849 , and the full distance to
Burlington December 31 ,
1849 . The part along the
Connecticut River from
Hartford south to
Windsor opened on
February 13 ,
1849 .
The was chartered
October 31 ,
1845 as a continuation of the Vermont Central north and west to
Rouses Point, New York , splitting at
Essex Junction (east of
Burlington ) and running north via
St. Albans and
Swanton . A branch split at Swanton and ran north to the border with
Canada . 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 . The lease was later reinstated.
The was chartered in
1860 and opened in the
1860s , extending the Vermont and Canada's branch from the national border north to
St. Johns, Quebec on the
Grand Trunk Railway 's
Montreal And Champlain Railroad . From opening it was operated as an extension of the Vermont and Canada.
The
Sullivan County Railroad continued south from
Windsor to
Bellows Falls , where it met the
Cheshire Railroad towards
Boston . At first it was operated by the Central Vermont, but later the
Boston And Maine Railroad gained control of it, giving
Trackage Rights to the Central Vermont. Similarly, the
Vermont Valley Railroad , running south from Bellows Falls to the
New London Northern Railroad in
Brattleboro , was originally owned by the
Rutland Railroad and later by the B&M.
In
1867 the Vermont Central leased the
Stanstead, Shefford And Chambly Railroad , running east from
St. Johns to
Waterloo . The
Waterloo And Magog Railway was later built as an extension from Waterloo south to
Magog .
The Vermont Central leased the
Ogdensburgh And Lake Champlain Railroad on
March 1 ,
1870 , extending its line from
Rouses Point west to
Ogdensburg . On
January 1 ,
1871 , the Vermont Central leased the
Rutland Railroad system, giving it routes from
Burlington to
Bellows Falls and
Chatham, New York . The
New London Northern Railroad was leased on
December 1 ,
1871 . On
November 2 ,
1872 the name was changed to the .
The
Missisquoi Railroad was leased in July
1873 , providing a branch from
St. Albans northeast to
Richford . It was operated until
November 15 ,
1877 , when the
Connecticut And Passumpsic Rivers Railroad took it over. The company was reorganized in December
1886 as the
Missisquoi Valley Railway , and was once again leased to the Central Vermont.
The
Montpelier And White River Railroad opened in
1876 and was leased to the Central Vermont, running from the end of the
Montpelier Branch south to and beyond
Barre .
The 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.
map with connections]]
In
1889 the
Burlington And Lamoille Railroad was reorganized as the
Burlington And Lamoille Valley Railroad and leased by the Central Vermont. This provided a branch from
Essex Junction to
Cambridge Junction on the
Lamoille Valley Railroad , and a quickly-abandoned redundant line from Essex Junction west to
Burlington .
The
Montreal And Province Line Railway was formed in
1896 as a reorganization of the
Montreal, Portland And Boston Railroad . Originally planned as a branch of the
Portland And Ogdensburg Railroad to
Montreal , and operated by the
Connecticut And Passumpsic Rivers Railroad , it was taken over by the Central Vermont upon reorganization. The main line ran from the
Grand Trunk Railway 's
Montreal And Champlain Railroad at
St. Lambert , across the
St. Lawrence River from Montreal, southeast to
Farnham on the
Stanstead, Shefford And Chambly Railroad , with an extension continuing southeast to
Frelighsburg . A branch went east from
Mariesville to
St. Cesarie .
In
1896 the Central Vermont entered
Receivership , and the
Rutland Railroad was separated. The
Grand Trunk Railway bought the bankrupt company on
March 20 . The
Ogdensburgh And Lake Champlain Railroad lease ended in
1898 , and that company was leased by the Rutland in
1901 . The Central Vermont Railroad was sold at
Foreclosure on
March 21 ,
1899 , and was reorganized as the on
May 1 .
On
July 12 ,
1920 , the entire Grand Trunk system was placed under the control of a "Board of Management" by the federal
Department Of Railways And Canals in
Canada after several years of financial difficulties. After several years of legal battles by Grand Trunk shareholders, intent on preventing the federal government from
Nationalizing the company, the company was nationalized on
January 20 ,
1923 and fully merged into the
Crown Corporation Canadian National Railway .
On
December 12 ,
1927 the Central Vermont Railway entered
Receivership again, and was reorganized
January 31 ,
1930 to form a new company of the same name.
Under the Grand Trunk and later the Canadian 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 the
Privatization of the CN, which took place on
November 28 ,
1995 , several non-core routes were identified for sale - one of these being the CV.
On
February 3 ,
1995 the CN sold the CV mainline from
New London, Connecticut to
East Alburg, Vermont to shortline operating company
RailTex , which renamed the property
New England Central Railroad and continues to operate the line much as before.
