The Central Vermont Railway
Delivering the Goods
Crossing the Border
In 1799, the United States Congress passed an Act to ensure that freight imported
into the United States, for prompt delivery outside the country (and vice versa),
could be transported by unbroken passage and remain under seal from entry to exit
(i.e., across borders) without payment of duties. In 1845, this provision was
reaffirmed and extended to include Canada. A “non-collection”
arrangement was replaced by the drawback of duty fees.
When the Champlain & St Lawrence Railway to Rouses Point was completed, the
Canadian government was asked to permit the use of foreign (i.e., U.S.) rolling
stock on Canadian lines, subject to certain restrictions. This policy had been approved in the 1852 Amending Act, an Act of the Parliament of the Union of Upper and Lower Canada, which functioned from 1841 to 1867. The U.S. Congress enacted similar
legislation and established an international agreement—quite possibly the
first of its kind at that time.
CSTM/CN005375
Both the Ambassador and the
Washingtonian/Montrealer were international trains. In this photo from 1947,
customs and immigration formalities are carried out on the train—in this case,
by U.S. officials.
CSTM/CN005376
Livestock was also subject to inspection by U.S. Customs officials, in this case an important bovine being shipped in a baggage car by passenger train.
Passengers and baggage have always been subject to inspection at border
crossings, for both customs and immigration control purposes. Freight inspections
and customs administration are generally carried out at a classification yard near
the border (for example, the CVR’s Italy Yard in St Albans,
Vermont).
Passenger and Mail Services
Early passenger services on the Central Vermont Railway were
designed to connect Montreal with Boston. As the CVR’s connections grew,
the route was extended to include New York City, a route which would ultimately
become more important. As travel to New York City increased, the route was extended
to include Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
CSTM/CN002084
The principal daytime passenger service on the CVR was the Ambassador, which
originally travelled between Montreal and Boston. Later, at White River Junction, the
train divided into two sections: one bound for New York City, the other bound for
Boston. By the 1960s, service to Boston had been reduced to a diesel rail car from White
River Junction. Here, the southbound train leaving St Albans in 1941 is pulled by U-1a
4-8-2 601. The station and the adjacent headquarters building show the results of
various architectural changes.
CSTM/CN002610
CVR K-3b 4-6-2 230 hauls the southbound Ambassador across the White River, between Royalton and South Royalton Vermont, in 1936. This locomotive was built by Baldwin in 1912.
CSTM/CN005401
The Washingtonian offered overnight
service between Montreal and New York City, with through-sleeping cars to Philadelphia,
Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Here, in 1951, passengers are checking in at
Montreal.
The CVR’s principal daytime passenger train, the
Ambassador, provided services to Boston and New York City. When bound for
New York, the
Ambassador headed south to White River Junction, Vermont,
then followed the Boston & Maine Railroad to Springfield, Massachusetts, and
ended the trip in New York, via the New Haven Railroad. The original
Ambassador, built in 1926, was the first train in North America to offer a
radio-equipped observation car. From 1924 until 1966, the
Montrealer and
the
Washingtonian provided an international sleeping-car service for
passengers travelling between these two destinations. These popular overnight trains
used equipment from contributing railroads: the Pennsylvania, the New Haven, and the
Canadian National. In the 1950s, locomotive power for the
Montrealer and the
Washingtonian on the
CVR line was usually provided by a CNR 4-8-4 or 4-8-2. The numbers refer to a wheel
arrangement of four “leading wheels,” eight
“drivers,” and four or two “trailing
wheels.”
The Central Vermont Railway offered local passenger services on both the Northern and
Southern Divisions of the line, on connecting branch lines, and on the St Armand
line to Montreal. In the 1920s and 1930s, some passenger services were offered using
Brill railcars (light gasoline-powered railcars) and trailers (to carry passengers
as required). The CVR also operated a local passenger service between St Albans and
White River Junction, Vermont. Called the Vermonter, this service ran ahead
of the Washingtonian and behind the Montrealer and included a
sleeping car that was added to or removed from the through train at White River Junction to accommodate
passengers from the area.
Canadians and Americans loved to vacation across the border. This shared passion
became a great source of passengers for both the Montrealer and the
Washingtonian. During the winter, the Washingtonian included
two through-sleeping cars which ferried passengers from Quebec City to Miami and
St Petersburg, Florida. In the summer months, the Montrealer provided sleeping
cars for American passengers travelling to Murray Bay, Quebec. Through sleeping cars
were also provided for travel between Ottawa and Washington, D.C.
Passenger services on the CVR were terminated in 1966. Six years later, however, an
overnight Washington, D.C.–Montreal service (called the Montrealer
in both directions) was established by Amtrak, a new U.S. passenger train
corporation. By the 1980s however, a short stretch along a connecting line (owned by
the Connecticut River Railway) had deteriorated, and the
Montrealer’s route was shortened to finish in Springfield,
Massachusetts. In 1988, Amtrak purchased the former connecting line and turned it
over to the Central Vermont Railway for rehabilitation and future operations. The
Montrealer resumed operations in July 1989 and provided a new service
(by way of New London, Connecticut, and the Southern Division) between Washington,
D.C., and Montreal.
When the CVR was sold to RailTex Corporation in 1995, the Montrealer became
the Vermonter and the service was reduced to daytime travel between
Washington, D.C., and St Albans, Vermont.
CSTM/1971-0388
CN Railways Post Office Car 9694, lettered for service in the United States. This car was built in 1920 by Canadian Car and Foundry in Montreal for the Grand Trunk Railway, as No. 47. It was renumbered for CN Railways in 1924 and brought within U.S. Postal Code Regulations in October 1962. The car was retired and donated to the Canada Science and Technology Museum in January 1972 (artifact accession number 1971.0388).
In addition to moving travellers, CVR passenger trains offered mail and
express delivery services between Montreal and various U.S. destinations. Mail was
delivered in cars belonging to the Central Vermont Railway, as well as the Boston
& Maine Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad and Canadian National Railways.
The CNR mail cars were unusual in that they carried mail between U.S. cities, were
subject to U.S. Postal Service regulations, and bore the words “United
States Mail” and “Railway Post Office” on the side.
One of these original cars is in the collection of the Canada Science and
Technology Museum in Ottawa.
When the United States Post Office switched to mail transport by truck in 1965, the
Central Vermont Railway was obliged to terminate its local passenger service.
Lumber
The Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 allowed for the free trade of lumber products between
Canada and the United States, including “timber and lumber of all kinds,
round, hewn and sawn, manufactured in whole or in part.” This treaty
opened borders between Canada and British North America and contributed, in some
part, to a revitalized economy. It also fostered a growing movement, north and south
of the border, to build railways to facilitate trade and travel between the two
growing nations.
Among other commodities, the United States required huge quantities of lumber to
build cities for an expanding population. Much of this lumber came from Canada.
CSTM/CN002092
This interesting photograph (unfortunately the negative is damaged)
shows CVR 0-4-0 switcher 20 beside Canada Atlantic Railway boxcar 2644. Branded the
“Ottawa & Boston Lumber Line,” it carried processed lumber
from J. R. Booth’s Ottawa mills to New England. No. 20 was built by the
Schenectady Locomotive Works in 1891, renumbered as 49 in 1900, and later scrapped in
1924.
It is not surprising that the primary commodity carried by the Central
Vermont Railway was lumber. This lumber came in large part from the great pine
forests of Ontario, stretching from Ottawa to Georgian Bay. Ottawa lumber baron J.
R. Booth recognized this potential market when he built the Canada Atlantic Railway
(known as the “Ottawa & Boston Lumber Line”) and the
Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway. These two lines offered Booth access
to Boston and New York City markets, by way of the Central Vermont Railway.
CSTM/CN000207
The Ottawa River was still full of log rafts in 1926. Here, the surface of the river below the Canadian Pacific Railway bridge is almost entirely covered with timber.
CSTM/CN005440
This photograph, from 1925, shows one of the last shipments of squared white pine logs being loaded onto flatcars for J. R. Booth.
In 1896, Booth’s sawmill at the Chaudière Falls on the
Ottawa River was the largest in North America, producing 120 million board feet (230
thousand cubic metres) of lumber per year.
Some of this lumber was processed at a planing mill and sorting yard in Burlington,
Vermont, established by Booth in 1875.
By 1900, the great stands of white pine in the region were nearly depleted, and
loggers turned instead to spruce, balsam, jack pine and hemlock. In tune with the
changing market, Booth (then seventy-seven years old) began operations to produce
pulp in 1904, followed by paper in 1906, and cardboard in 1908.
During the First World War, exports of lumber from Canada to the United States
increased by fifty percent. By 1932, however, exports had dropped back to 1890s
levels, due primarily to the Great Depression. Lumber exports have continued at
varying levels since that time, and fluctuate according to demand and import
restrictions in the United States.
CSTM/CN005443
In 1975, the automobile unloading facility at Sharon, Vermont, was converted
into a lumber distribution centre. Most of the lumber came from Canadian
sources.
In the late 1900s, changes made to facilities and services along the CVR
indicate that the lumber trade remained important. In 1975, an automobile and truck
unloading facility at Sharon, Vermont, was converted to a lumber distribution
centre. And between 1985 and 1988, a dedicated train service for lumber products
operated between St Albans, Vermont, and Palmer, Massachusetts, for the Quaboag
Transfer company. Most of this lumber originated from Canadian sources, and some of
the lumber traffic continued after the dedicated trains were cancelled.
General Freight
CSTM/CN005316
This
building, the “Servocentre” at St Albans, was one of several
facilities built by Canadian National Railways to house staff dedicated to providing a
high level of customer service to shippers. A series of photographs shows the exterior
as well as offices and equipment inside.
In the 1970s, services on the CVR were improved in an effort to maintain or
increase general freight traffic. These efforts were hampered by the formation, in
1969, of the Penn Central Railroad (which included the former New Haven Railroad).
This new amalgamated line diverted traffic from the CVR and moved the
railway’s interchange (with the Penn Central) from New London,
Connecticut, to Palmer, Massachusetts. Ultimately, this change reduced the
CVR’s costs, but did not bring about new growth or increased revenues.
CSTM/CN005325
This facility, built in 1969, housed equipment for unloading automobiles,
vans and trucks from railway cars, with special bi- and tri-level racks designed
specifically for this type of freight. This is one of several photographs that depicts
this facility.
In 1969, an automobile and truck unloading facility was constructed at
Sharon, Vermont, to encourage rail shipment of new vehicles to New England. This
service lasted until 1975, when the facility was converted to a lumber distribution
centre. In 1978, a fast-freight service, borrowing the “Rocket”
name from the 1930s, was introduced to carry trailers on flatcars (TOFCs) between
Montreal and Palmer, Massachusetts. Montreal truckers, however, threatened to picket
Canadian National Railways and the service was reduced to a single line between St
Albans, Vermont, and Palmer, Massachusetts. In the early 1980s, it was briefly
extended to link Boston and New Haven, Connecticut, but was suspended in 1984 due to
insufficient revenues.
By the end of the 1980s, the Central Vermont Railway’s role as a bridge
line was diminishing. In 1989, the railway carried only 32 000 carloads. Sixty
percent of traffic originating from Canadian National Railway lines terminated on
the CVR, and only twenty percent of northbound traffic continued on to CNR
lines.
Meat and Vegetables
It is difficult to imagine a time when fresh meat and produce were not readily
available year-round. Before the development of the refrigerated rail car (known as
a “reefer”), the diet of Americans and Canadians was restricted
to food items that could be obtained in summer and preserved over winter. Farmers
and merchants realized early on that railroads could transport livestock and
perishable goods to distant markets. By 1842, railway owners were developing a
means of refrigerating rail cars to extend these distances even further.
In 1851, the Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain Railroad experimented with a reefer
(invented by Jonas Wilder) to ship butter to Boston. The venture was successful, and
Wilder later went to the Rutland Railroad to produce reefers for butter, cheese and
meat. He also developed cars which could be heated in the winter to transport
potatoes. In general, however, railroads were reluctant to invest in reefers, and
the business concept was slow to develop. Refrigerator cars cost nearly twice as
much as contemporary boxcars, and carried traffic in just one direction —
the cars returned empty. In general, reefers could not be used for other merchandise
as they were smaller in capacity (space was consumed by ice compartments and
insulation), and were often damp and musty. Also, from a business perspective,
railroads had a large investment in stock cars and were shareholders in
Chicago’s Union Stockyards. Both of these businesses were threatened by
the development of the reefer.
CSTM/CN000381
Part
of the Canadian Northern Railway fleet, this refrigerator car 16272 is similar to cars
used to ship perishables from the midwestern and southern United States to New England
and Canada. This car was fitted with interior rails to carry dressed meat on hooks.
Initially, railroads demanded double rates for reefers (in comparison with
stock cars). Merchants, however, still found it economically feasible to ship
perishables this way. Eventually, this rate structure was changed by the Grand Trunk
Railway and the large meatpacking companies. Firms such as Armour purchased company
refrigerator cars and negotiated lower rates for their transport. The Grand Trunk
Railway seized the opportunity and offered lower rates and faster service between
Chicago, Boston and New York City, by way of Canadian rail lines. The
introduction of reefers also fostered growth in the California fruit and
vegetable industry. Fruits and vegetables that were worthless on the coast could be
sold at a profit in eastern Canada and New England, even after shipment across the
continent. California fruit growers also purchased their own rail cars. Using the
same Grand Trunk route, they found they could use refrigerator cars as storage and
redirect these cars, en route from the West Coast, as required by markets. Fresh
fruit was also shipped to Canada from the southern United States.
In the late 1860s, the Vermont Central Railway, the Grand Trunk Railway, and the Michigan
Central Railroad established the National Despatch Line: a fast-freight service
between New England and the American Midwest. Though longer than competing routes,
there was less traffic and the Grand Trunk was able to offer lower rates, faster
service and improved handling. The company also gained a reputation among shippers
for courtesy and a willingness to accommodate.
By 1880, the National Despatch Line had one hundred reefers (using a model invented
by Joel Tiffany) in service, with another one hundred on order. By the fall of 1881,
the line had three hundred “Tiffany” style cars in service to
transport dressed beef between Chicago and Boston within six days. The service was
later extended to include citrus fruits, and the travel time was reduced to four
days. Tiffany cars had overhead, V-shaped ice tanks, and melt-water and condensation
were collected at the end of the car. In comparison with other reefers, Tiffany cars
used relatively small amounts of ice.
Express reefers, for premium products such as lobster, game and out-of-season fruit,
were in service from about 1890. These cars were built to passenger train standards
and numbered about 3 200 at the peak of service in 1930. Gradually, the use of
express reefers declined and, in the 1950s, they were replaced by refrigerated
trucks and, later, by air transport.
CSTM/CN000535
This Canadian National Railways refrigerator car 210067 was manufactured in 1947. One of a series, it was built with eight roof hatches to fill overhead ice-bunkers.
In 1937, Canadian National Railways built two experimental reefer cars with
overhead bunkers. Unlike traditional reefers, this model could be filled with ice by
way of eight separate roof hatches. The cars proved successful, and the CNR built an
additional one hundred between 1939 and 1940. By 1950, Canadian railways operated 3
000 of these refrigerator cars, while U.S. railroads opted for more conventional
refrigerator cars with end bunkers. Like Tiffany cars, the CNR reefers offered more
usable space, required less ice and cooling time, and provided a more even cooling
process.
By the mid-1970s, about one quarter of the reefers in service used
mechanical refrigeration and carried the majority of products requiring
refrigeration. Remaining reefers were used, without ice, as ventilated
boxcars.
Dairy Products
CSTM/CN005397
The CVR
purchased fifty-four refrigerator cars from the Grand Trunk Western Railway. Built to
carry milk, they were also equipped for service on passenger trains. Part of a batch
built for the CVR at Port Huron, Michigan, between 1923 and 1924, these milk cars 534
and 538 were designed to carry milk in cans (most dairy-owned cars contained large tanks
for bulk milk).
Vermont is famous for cows, milk and dairy products. Delivery of these
products to Boston was an important part of early traffic on the Central Vermont
Railway. Most of the towns along the railway owned at least one creamery, and their
dairy products were picked up daily. Milk was transported in either shipper-owned
milk cars with refrigerated tanks or in the railway’s own reefers, built
to carry milk in cans. The CVR cars were well built and some eventually made their
way to the parent Canadian National Railways system for later use as through-baggage
cars.
In the 1930s, trucks began to play a role in the delivery of milk products from
Vermont to Boston. By 1939, the trucking industry’s share of the delivery
market for dairy products had grown to thirty-one percent. In the 1940s, as trucking
grew in importance, the CVR eventually retired its milk cars.
Air Services
CSTM/CN005346
This
Boston & Maine Airways Stinson SM6000A Trimotor airplane was photographed at
Boston Airport in 1936.
Commercial air travel began to develop in the 1930s, and railway companies
often partnered in these early ventures. The Central Vermont Railway began a
passenger and mail service between Boston, Burlington and Montreal, in co-operation
with the Boston & Maine Railroad and National Airways Inc. Early services
were offered on board a Stinson SM-6000A Trimotor aircraft and, after 1936, the
company used Lockheed 10A Electra twins.
A 1934 timetable shows one daily flight each way, leaving Montreal (St Hubert) at
08:00 hours; stopping in at Burlington, Montpelier/Barre, White River Junction,
Concord and Manchester; and arriving at Boston at 11:00 hours. The return flight
left Boston at 15:00 hrs and reached Montreal at 16:15 hours. The fare was $16.50
one way, and $30 for a round trip.
The association with National Airways ended in 1937, when the airline moved
away from its railroad roots and, in 1941, became Northeast Airlines.
Newsprint
Between 1880 and 1900, the population in America grew significantly. An interest in
reading newspapers grew exponentially when mechanized production made them cheaper
and more accessible.
CSTM/CN005446
Canadian National Railways recorded all aspects of handling the
valuable commodity of newsprint. Here in 1978, rolls of newsprint, produced by the QNS
Paper Co. Ltd, are loaded into CVR boxcars at Baie-Comeau, Quebec.
This expanded interest led to a greater demand for newsprint. When it came
to the production of pulp for newsprint, spruce was the tree of choice, and Canada
offered the largest supply. Initially, the United States imported pulpwood from
Canada. However, great demand led to the removal of paper tariffs in 1913. Canadian
producers built mills in Ontario and Quebec to handle the growing demand. Production
of newsprint in Canada more than tripled between 1913 and 1920, and most of this
supply was exported to the United States. When prices peaked in 1920, Canada was
producing about 3 000 tonnes of newsprint per day.
CSTM/CN005451
Some photographs were evidently used for training staff, this one showing
the correct way to pack and secure rolls of newsprint.
By 1925, the United States was importing more newsprint than it produced,
and by 1934, Canadian-owned capacity was sixty percent greater than production by
American plants. Growth continued through the 1950s but no new mills were
constructed. Instead, existing facilities were enlarged and upgraded and, by 1960,
Canada was manufacturing seventy percent of the newsprint consumed in the United
States. This proved to be the peak for Canadian export of newsprint. Changing
technologies allowed manufacturers to produce pulp from hardwoods, and new mills
were built in the southern United States to capitalize on this advancement. By 1990,
the United States was able to produce fifty percent of the newsprint it
consumed.
CSTM/CN005327
The
CVR’s 70-tonne boxcar 402552 has a yellow door to indicate that it is
dedicated to newsprint service. It was built by the National Steel Car Corporation in
1970.
The Canadian product, however, remained competitive — partly due
to a weakness in the Canadian dollar, and partly due to a reputation for quality and
care in delivery. Newsprint was typically shipped (in regular boxcars) on huge,
heavy rolls that could be damaged in transit. In the 1970s, Canadian National
Railways invested $140 million in new boxcars for the CVR, primarily to ship
newsprint from Quebec mills to the eastern United States. Special handling
techniques were developed for the transport of these loads (worth up to $28,000 per
car) to minimize damage and to preserve quality.