Quickest trip to Montreal from North Station?

Durring the first half of the 20th century there were a few different routes to Montreal from Boston. Anyone know which route/trains to Montreal made the best time? And are any of these routes still applicable for future Boston-Montreal service when and if "happy days are here again? (economy wise)?

I just randomly pulled the 2/11/45 public timetable to give an answer.

B&M/CP fastest time: 10h55 running time

B&M/CV/CN: fastest time: 9h15 running time

B&M/Rut/CN: fastest time: 10h45 running time

I believe that in long-heralded High Speed Rail Corridor map, the route chosen was Boston - Portland, then on to Montreal from there.

However a study was also done that examines the old B&M Northern Mainline via Concord, NH & White River Jct, heading north from there.

Rockingham Racer wrote:I just randomly pulled the 2/11/45 public timetable to give an answer.

B&M/CP fastest time: 10h55 running time

B&M/CV/CN: fastest time: 9h15 running time

B&M/Rut/CN: fastest time: 10h45 running time

I believe that in long-heralded High Speed Rail Corridor map, the route chosen was Boston - Portland, then on to Montreal from there.

However a study was also done that examines the old B&M Northern Mainline via Concord, NH & White River Jct, heading north from there.

Thanks Mr Rockingham for the info. Did the 9h15 running time on the B&M/CV/CN go off the Fitchburg via the Cheshire or in Greenfield and what was the name of the train? Or perhaps it was a totally different route?

8 hr 40 min via the CV routing, 8 hr 50 min via the CP routing, 4/28/1957. This was using RDCs running through on the CP route. It required a change at White River Jct. to the CV train. The Rutland route was always quite a bit slower than the other two.

The B&M/CV/CN routing was Boston - Concord - White River Jct. - St. Albans - Montreal until the end.

The B&M/CP routing was Boston - Concord - Plymouth NH - St. Johnsbury - Montreal until the 1950s. First the overnight train was re-routed via White River Jct, and up through Wells River to the CP. Then the day train got the same routing in 1954 when the B&M abandoned Plymouth - Woodsville NH.

The B&M/RUT/CN routing was Boston - Fitchburg - Keene - Rutland - Burlington - Alburgh - Montreal, quite a few miles longer than the other two.

In another thread a while back, I analyzed old employees' timetables and came to the conclusion that 6 hr. trip times between North Station and Montreal are achievable with equipment that can perform like RDCs running on a reconstructed B&M/CV/CN route. It wouldn't even need double track, just conventional automatic block signals the whole way and 60-79 MPH speeds wherever the RoW alignment allows it. I'm not holding my breath for funding, though.

If you'll pardon me for resurrecting this thread to ask a couple of quick questions:

Which routing did the B&M/CV/CN train take north of St. Albans? That is, what towns did it go through in northen VT, where did it cross into PQ, and what towns did it traverse in PQ? And what, if any, stops did it make between St. Albans and Montréal?

Also, what bridge did the train usually use to cross the St. Lawrence on approach to and departure from Montréal, and which station did the train use in that city?

Merci beaucoup in advance for any info.

You might find this interesting

http://www.aot.state.vt.us/Planning/BostonRail.htm

I haven't read it in a long time. If I remember correctly it comes to a similar conclusion as jbvb, 6 hours with higher speed service.

To answer Mr. A320's questions above, in later years (1950-1960s), the B&M-CV-CN Montreal trains used the same route as Amtrak's Montrealer, following the CV mainline through Swanton to the border at East Alburgh and then running north on the CN via Cantic. The original Montrealer made no stops north of the border, but the day train (the Ambassador in the 1960s) stopped at Cantic, St. Jean, and St. Lambert on the CN portion of the route. The trains used CN's Central Station/Gare Centrale in Montreal and crossed the St. Lawrence on Pont Victoria, as did Amtrak.

Prior to the 1950s, trains used CV's now-abandoned St. Armand subdivision that left the mainline at Fonda Junction and ran up to the CN at St. Jean via St. Armand.

Thanks very much, guys.

Great stuff.

I wanted to "fly" the route on Google Earth, and maybe on my next auto trip to Montréal take the time to follow the old rail route, instead of just taking the Interstates and Autoroutes.