Canadian Subdivision

Canadian Subdivision
Overview
Owner	Canadian Pacific Kansas City
Service
Services	Adirondack Ethan Allen Express
History
Opened	1875 (1875)
Technical
Line length	170.4 mi (274.2 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map mi Lacolle Subdivision Rouses Point Subdivision Quebec New York Rouses Point Junction Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad 191.0 Rouses Point Mooers Branch Canada Junction 167.6 Plattsburgh South Junction Ausable Branch Lake Placid Branch to Keesville 154.5 Port Kent 144.9 Willsboro Tunnel Willsboro Elizabethtown Terminal Railroad 127.8 Westport Lake Champlain and Moriah Railroad 116.7 Port Henry Crown Point Iron Company's Railroad 101.6 Ticonderoga 101.2 Fort Ticonderoga Tunnel Addison Branch Baldwin Branch 77.9 Whitehall Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad Lake George Branch 55.5 Fort Edward Hudson River South Glens Falls Branch 38.2 Adirondack branch 37.1 Saratoga Springs Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad 24.3 Freight Subdivision 21.7 Freight Subdivision

The Canadian Subdivision is a railway line in the state of New York. It runs north–south along the west side of Lake Champlain from the vicinity of Schenectady, New York, to Rouses Point, New York, on the border with Quebec. While the oldest part of the line was built in 1832–1833, the majority was constructed between 1869 and 1876. Once part of the Delaware and Hudson Railway main line, today Canadian Pacific Kansas City owns the line. Amtrak's Adirondack operates over the full length, providing daily service between New York City and Montreal.

History

Schenectady–Saratoga Springs

Main article: Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad

The oldest part of the Canadian Subdivision is the line south from Saratoga Springs, New York, towards Schenectady, New York. The Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad was incorporated in 1831, making it one of the oldest railroads in North America. The 21-mile (34 km) line between Schenectady and Saratoga Springs via Ballston Spa, New York, was completed in 1833. The Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad leased the Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad on January 1, 1851; the Delaware and Hudson Railway leased both companies on May 1, 1871.

Saratoga Springs–Whitehall

Main article: Saratoga and Washington Railroad

The Saratoga and Washington Railroad was chartered in 1834 to build north from Saratoga Springs to Whitehall, New York. The Panic of 1837 interrupted the development of the property, and original line was not completed until August 15, 1848. The company was reorganized as the Saratoga and Whitehall Railroad on June 8, 1855, which was in turn leased by the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad on March 14, 1865.

Whitehall–Plattsburgh

Main articles: Whitehall and Plattsburgh Railroad and New York and Canada Railroad

The first serious attempt to build a railroad along the west coast of Lake Champlain was made by the Whitehall and Plattsburgh Railroad, incorporated in 1868. That company planned a route via the Ausable River, most of which was never built. The D&H-backed New York and Canada Railroad, incorporated in 1873, completed the line between Whitehall and Plattsburgh on November 29, 1875.

Plattsburgh–Canada Junction

Main article: Plattsburgh and Montreal Railroad

The Plattsburgh and Montreal Railroad was incorporated in 1850 to construct, with two Canadian companies, a new route between Plattsburgh, New York, and Montreal. The company opened a line between Plattsburgh and Mooers on July 26, 1852. The line passed to the New York and Canada Railroad in 1873 and the D&H in 1908. The southern part of the line, between Plattsburgh and Canada Junction, is now part of the Canadian Subdivision. The D&H abandoned the northern part of the line in 1925.

Canada Junction–Rouses Point

Main article: New York and Canada Railroad

On the completion of the line to Plattsburgh in 1875, D&H trains used the original Plattsburgh and Montreal Railroad line to Mooers, and then the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad to Rouses Point, New York. The New York and Canada constructed a 13-mile (21 km) cutoff from Chazy, New York, to Rouses Point, which opened on September 18, 1876.

Rouses Point–Canadian border

Main article: Napierville Junction Railway

From Rouses Point, trains reached Canada over the tracks of the Grand Trunk Railway. In 1906 the D&H established a Canadian subsidiary, the Napierville Junction Railway, to construct a new, shorter route that would connect with the Canadian Pacific Railway at Delson. The Napierville Junction Railway built up to the Canadian border, while the New York and Canada built a connecting track up from Rouses Point. This new line opened on May 20, 1907.

Operations

The D&H's New York–Montreal passenger trains (such as the Laurentian) operated via Albany, New York, and Mechanicville, New York, joining the Lake Champlain line at Ballston Spa. In 1964, the D&H built a connection between its freight bypass and the Lake Champlain line further south, enabling the abandonment of the original Rensselaer and Saratoga line.

Amtrak's Adirondack operates over the full length, providing daily service between New York City and Montreal. The Ethan Allen Express, which serves Burlington, Vermont, leaves the line just short of Whitehall. When introduced in 1974, the Adirondack used the same route as the Laurentian, with flag stops in Watervliet and Mechanicville. With the January 29, 1979 timetable change, the Adirondack was re-routed to serve Schenectady instead.

References

• Interstate Commerce Commission (1927). Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports. Vol. 116. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Roberts, Earl; Stremes, David, eds. (2023). Canadian Trackside Guide. Ottawa, Ontario: Bytown Railroad Society. ISSN 0829-3023.
• Shaughnessy, Jim (1997) [1982]. Delaware & Hudson. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-0455-6. OCLC 36008594.

External links

• Media related to Canadian Subdivision at Wikimedia Commons