The Railway from Lachute to St. Andrew's: The Ottawa Valley Railway Company
"Information contained in BRANCHLINE may be copied or used for other publications on the understanding that the author and BRANCHLINE are credited. BRANCHLINE is published by the Bytown Railway Society, a non-profit organization incorporated under Federal Government statute to promote an interest in railways and railway history, with particular emphasis upon the National Capital Region."
Transcribed by David Gagnon, for Geneva PQ The following article appeared in the October 1987 edition of the periodical.
The late Omer Lavallee was corporate archivist for Canadian Pacific Limited, and an advisor for the CBC/NFB joint production of The National Dream. He was one of the founders of book publisher Railfare Enterprises Limited and was the author of several books about Canadian railroading. A street was named after him near the intersection of Rachel and Saint-Michel in Montreal - the former area of CPR Angus Shops.
The Ottawa Valley Railway Company by Omer Lavallee
One of the forgotten short lines in the Ottawa valley was the appropriately-named Ottawa Valley Railway Company, which was chartered in 1892 under Dominion Act 55-56 Victoria, chapter 54, to build a railway from St. Andrews to Carillon, Quebec, and from Grenville to Calumet, Quebec, connecting at the latter place with the Canadian Pacific Railway. The object of this exercise seems to have been to accommodate the aspirations of St. Andrews East, Quebec, (now St-Andre-d'Argenteuil) to be situated on a railway. Under this plan, the existing Carillon & Grenville (broad-gauge, opened in 1854) would be standard-gauged to form part of the line.
In the event, the desired rail connection for St. Andrews was constructed to the nearest point on the CPR, Lachute, a distance of 10.7 km (6.7 miles). Charles Newhouse Armstrong, a colourful railway promoter with "fingers in many pies", was given the construction contract. It was completed and the line was opened for service on 1 November 1892. Including sidings, the OVR had a total length of 11.2 km (7.2 miles).
The railway's directors and officers were as follows between 1893 and 1895:
- J.R. Thibaudeau, director and president;
- Archibald Campbell, director and vice-president;
- C.N. Armstrong, director and managing director;
- A.C. Wurtele, director;
- Robert Watson, director; and
- M.C.E. Phillips, director, all of Montreal.
A. Dewar of St. Andrews East was the superintendent.
The general office was situated at 17 St. James Street, Montreal.
The route is depicted on the adjacent sketch map, traced from Department of National Defence one-inch scale (1:63,360) topographical map sheet 31 G9, "Lachute", published in 1943 and showing the area as resurveyed in 1942, the OVR's abandoned roadbed is shown in its entirety on that map. The profile of the line was generally level, descending gently from an altitude of 70 m (229 feet) at Lachute to 31 m (103 feet) at St. Andrews East, with no noteworthy engineering nor geographical features.
Early in the 1890s, Thibaudeau, Armstrong and others were involved also in an ambitious scheme, known as the Atlantic & Lake Superior Railway Company, to build a railway from an ocean port in the Gaspe peninsula of Quebec to a point on Lake Superior, to compete with existing lines. It included a provision to bridge the St. Lawrence River at Montreal, proceeding thence through Deux-Montagnes and Argenteuil Counties of Quebec to a crossing of the Ottawa River at Hawkesbury. To implement its strategy, the A&StL began by buying up small existing lines, whose charters could play a role in its plans; among the latter was the Ottawa Valley Railway. This sale was authorized by Dominion Act 57-58, chapter 63, passed in 1894. However, the OVR company retained its separate identity until 1895 or 1896 at which time it was absorbed corporately into the A&StL company, whose other lines were located in the Gaspe peninsula area.
According to the information contained in Railway Statistics of the Dominion of Canada, the OVR was in operation from the date of opening (1 November 1892) until some time in the spring of 1893. It was then closed down, reopening on 9 April 1894. The resumed operations were continued until approximately the end of March 1895. The line does not seem to have been operated after 1895, by which time the A&StL was on the verge of insolvency. The track was lifted in or after 1900, when the Great Northern Railway of Canada (later Canadian Northern, then Canadian National Railways) opened its line between St-Jerome and Hawkesbury via Lachute and Cushing Junction.
The author knows of only one photograph showing an Ottawa Valley Ry. train. This reveals a 4-4-0 type steam locomotive and a passenger car surrounded by a group of people. Reportedly, this was taken in 1892 when the line was opened. The locomotive has not been identified thus far.
The venerable Carillon & Grenville was abandoned at the end of 1910. Part of its roadbed was taken over by the Canadian Northern Railway which opened its line in 1916 between Lazard (Val Royal) and Cushing Junctions via St-Eustache (Deux-Montagnes) and St. Andrews East. At this time, the latter community was at last given its place on Canada's railway network. Two years later, the opening of the Mount Royal Tunnel brought the line into the heart of Montreal at Tunnel Terminal, now Central Station.
* end of Branchline article *
The Lachute and St Andrew Railway is mentioned below:
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| from: Canadian Pacific Railway annotated time table; July 19 1892; reprint by Railfare Enterprises Ltd |
This timetable shows the westbound journey on the CPR transcontinental route as it then existed. Mileages (left column) are calculated from the Montreal departure point: the Dalhousie Square Station of the CPR - at the intersection of Notre-Dame and Berri. (Note that the Grenville mileage is transposed and should read '57').
The main line route continues west through Lachute, Hull, Ottawa, Pembroke, North Bay and Sudbury. The two columns at the right show the mileage from Vancouver and any associated schedule times (reading 'up').
"The Lachute and St. Andrew Railway" reference refers to the "Ottawa Valley Railway".
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The Exact Location of the Ottawa Valley Railway
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| from: Lachute, sheet 31 G/9 west half; 1907-1942; aerial photography by RCAF 1940. Contour interval 25 feet (my collection) |
The abandoned roadbed of the Ottawa Valley Railway comes south though the words "Lachute Mills" to the "R" in Argenteuil. The line connected through a track switch with the CPR railway yard at Lachute.
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| from: Lachute, sheet 31 G/9 west half; 1907-1942; aerial photography by RCAF 1940. Contour interval 25 feet (my collection) |
The abandoned Ottawa Valley Railway roadbed passes the "a" in Geneva as it crosses Beech Ridge Road.
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| from: Lachute, sheet 31 G/9 west half; 1907-1942; aerial photography by RCAF 1940. Contour interval 25 feet (my collection) |
The abandoned Ottawa Valley Railway roadbed ends at St. Andrews East - but does not connect with the line of the Canadian Northern Railway/Canadian National Railways line shown on the map.
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| from: Fire insurance plan dated "Nov 1897" St. Andrew's Quebec; Charles E Goad, civil engineer; (screen capture) Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. |
Location of southern terminal of the Ottawa Valley Railway at St. Andrews - this is the best possible resolution. From top: "Station" - yellow; "engine hse" - grey. ("Model School" - pink)
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| from: Fire insurance plan dated "Nov 1897" St. Andrew's Quebec; Charles E Goad, civil engineer; (screen capture) Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. |
Location of southern terminal of the Ottawa Valley Railway at St. Andrews - best possible resolution. From top: "Station" - yellow; "engine hse" - grey. ("Model School" - pink) Shown within larger view of St. Andrews - but details are not legible.
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The Ottawa Valley Railway in North America
First year: 1893. Second year: 1894. Last mention: 1895. The Ottawa Valley Railway between Lachute and St. Andrew's as it appeared in a standard American financial reference.
Henry V Poor (1812-1905) was a railroad financial analyst. Eventually his original firm developed into Standard and Poor's. During the late 1800s, this railroad industry reference manual was about 2000 pages thick.
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| from: Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States; 1893 1894 1895; Henry V Poor; American Banknote Company, New York (pdf copy from archive.org) |
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| from: Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States; 1893 1894 1895; Henry V Poor; American Banknote Company, New York (pdf copy from archive.org) |
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| from: Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States; 1893 1894 1895; Henry V Poor; American Banknote Company, New York (pdf copy from archive.org) |
Gone, but not forgotten. The Ottawa Valley Railway right of way was preserved as a Bell Canada right of way and during winter as a snowmobile route. This is how the line appeared in the spring of 1994. Heading north from St Andrew's it has crossed a stream and is climbing over the 150 foot map contour line on its ascent to Beech Ridge Road and Geneva. photo:DJGagnon
