Canadian Pacific Lines in Vermont

Canadian Pacific Lines in Vermont

Reporting mark	CP
Locale	Richford, Vermont, Newport, Vermont, Wells River, Vermont
Successor	Canadian Pacific Railway
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Headquarters	Calgary, Alberta

The lines of the Canadian Pacific Railway operated in the State of Vermont were set up as a separate company to comply with Interstate Commerce Commission regulations and were considered a Class I U.S. railroad (in 1950, railroads with operating revenues over $1 million). The company operated 90 miles of railway in Vermont.

History

The CP's lines in Vermont were composed of the former Newport and Richford Railroad, leased to the Canadian Pacific in 1881, along with 64 miles of former Boston and Maine trackage from Newport to Wells River. A portion of the route between Newport and Richford enters the Canadian province of Quebec. The Newport-Wells River, in conjunction with the Boston and Maine, served as a through route between Montreal, Quebec, and Boston, Massachusetts. The CP, together with the B&M, operated a day passenger train, the Alouette, and a night passenger train, the Red Wing, over this route. The Vermont lines did not connect with another CP subsidiary in the United States, the Canadian Pacific Lines in Maine.

In 1950, the freight revenue from this line was $1.9 million, with an additional $162,000 in passenger receipts, qualifying it as a Class I railroad in the United States.

References

• Lewis, Robert G. Handbook of American Railroads. New York: Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation, 1951, p. 35.