Rouses Point Subdivision

The Rouses Point Subdivision is a railway line in southwestern Quebec. It runs north–south from the northern end of Canadian Subdivision, on the border with New York, to the St-Hyacinthe Subdivision, in the vicinity of Montreal. The oldest part of the line was the original main line of the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad, completed in 1836. Today, the Canadian National Railway owns the line. Amtrak's Adirondack operates over the full length, providing daily service between New York City and Montreal.

Rouses Point Subdivision
Overview
Owner	Canadian National Railway
Termini	Saint-Lambert Rouses Point
Service
Services	Adirondack
History
Opened	21 July 1836 (1836-07-21)
Technical
Line length	42.7 mi (68.7 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map Legend mi St-Hyacinthe Subdivision Saint-Lambert 1852–1960 routing 42.7 St-Hyacinthe Subdivision Granby Subdivision REM 1852–1960 routing 36.3 Massena Spur 28.5 Lacadie Adirondack Subdivision 23.1 Adirondack Subdivision St. Armand Subdivision 22.3 Saint-Jean-d'Iberville 15.8 Grand Ligne 13.4 Girard 9.7 St. Valentin Lacolle Subdivision 5.3 Swanton Subdivision 5.2 Cantic Quebec New York Rouses Point Junction O&LC 0.0 Rouses Point Canadian Subdivision This diagram: view talk edit

Route

The Rouses Point Subdivision begins north of the Amtrak station at Rouses Point, at a junction with the Canadian Subdivision. At Cantic, 5 miles (8.0 km) from Rouses Point, it connects with the Swanton Subdivision. It crosses the Adirondack Subdivision west of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. It joins the St-Hyacinthe Subdivision near Saint-Lambert.^[1]

Amtrak's Adirondack uses the entirety of the line, providing daily service between New York City and Montreal. Poor track conditions on the line caused multiple service suspensions in the 2020s.^[2][3][4]

History

Main article: Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad

The original main line of the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad ran from St. Johns (now Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu) west to La Prairie, on the Saint Lawrence River. This line opened on July 21, 1836.^[5] The company operated its own ferry service between La Prairie and Montreal.^[6] From Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, on the Richelieu River, the Champlain Transportation Company provided service over Lake Champlain to points south.^[7]

In 1851, the Champlain and St. Lawrence built south from St. Johns to Rouses Point, New York. There, it connected with the Northern Railroad and the Vermont and Canada Railroad. This extension opened on August 16, 1851.^[8][9] In the north, the company extended its line to Saint-Lambert and abandoned the original line to La Prairie. The new northern line opened on January 14, 1852.^[10]

The Champlain and St. Lawrence merged with the Montreal and New York Railroad in 1857 to form the Montreal and Champlain Railroad. The Grand Trunk Railway leased that company in 1863 and acquired it outright in 1873.^[11] The Canadian government nationalized the Grand Trunk in 1923, and it became part of the Canadian National Railways (later shortened to Canadian National Railway).^[12]

In 1960, construction of the Champlain Bridge prompted the Canadian National to abandon the northern 5 miles (8.0 km) of the original extension to Saint-Lambert. It constructed a new 4-mile (6.4 km) line to connect with the Granby Subdivision in Longueuil.^[13][14]

Notes

1. Roberts & Stremes (2023), p. 14-48.
2. Johnston, Bob (March 22, 2023). "'Adirondack' tickets now on sale for service beginning April 3". Trains. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
3. Johnston, Bob (June 27, 2023). "Amtrak abruptly suspends 'Adirondack' after CN imposes heat restriction". Trains. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
4. Johnston, Bob (May 9, 2024). "Adirondack to be cancelled in northern New York State, Canada for more than a month: News and analysis". Trains News Wire. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
5. Mills et al. (1936), p. 26.
6. Mills et al. (1936), p. 22.
7. Mills et al. (1936), p. 35.
8. Mills et al. (1936), p. 39.
9. Shaughnessy (1964), p. 58.
10. Mills et al. (1936), p. 40.
11. Mills et al. (1936), p. 9.
12. Glazebrook (1964), p. 175.
13. "Observations" (PDF). Canadian rail. No. 115. October 1960. p. S36.
14. Clowes (1994), p. 6.

References

• Clowes, Art (January 1994). "The changing railway scene in Southwestern Québec" (PDF). Rail and Transit. No. 530. pp. 6–8.</ref>
• Glazebrook, G. P. de T. (1964). A History of Transportation in Canada. Vol. 2. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7710-9712-6.
• Mills, John E.; Castle, C. H.; Casey, William R.; Lindsay, W. D.; McGill, Peter; Anderson, Chas. E. (1936). "The Champlain and St Lawrence Railroad". The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin (39): 6–62. JSTOR 43517097.
• Roberts, Earl; Stremes, David, eds. (2023). Canadian Trackside Guide. Ottawa, Ontario: Bytown Railroad Society. ISSN 0829-3023.
• Shaughnessy, Jim (1964). The Rutland Road. Berkeley, California: Howell-North Books. OCLC 870944.