Whither the Quebec Central Railway?

It's been a few years since I was last in the Eastern Townships, and I'm wondering what has become of the Quebec Central. I recall the days when it lay dormant in the St.-Georges area, only to be purchased and rehabbed by a local entrepreneur who managed to operate it successfully (more or less) during the first decade of the current century. The last time I was up that way, however (2007, I think) it once again looked weed-covered, as though it hadn't seen some action in a while. What's the latest? I understand the ROW, at least, is owned by the Transport Ministry. Is the track still there?

As far as I know the provincial government owns the Tracks. From valley jct to sherbrooke there is supposed to be 15 km of track missing or in need of fixing (paved over crossings). There is a new short line railroad that runs from Charny to scot. I believe the are called Chemin de fer Sartigan. They began operations last year and serve a few clients.

Just wondering if there have been any further developments since I inquired about this two and a half years ago. I haven't been to the Beauce area in quite some time; is the railroad active through there at all?

When I was up there 5 years ago, most of the track between Vallee-Jonction and Sherbrooke was still there and in decent condition, although not used and several miles in the middle missing around Thedford Mines. The track from Valle-Jonction SE toward Saint-Georges was there but washed out. Since then this track has been ripped out, but I believe most of the track still remains to Sherbrooke, as does the track north to Scot. No trains since then as far as I know.

For those who aren't aware, Sartigan is still alive and well. They are working to reopen from Scott-Thetford Mines which will eventually be 115LBS CWR from Thetford to Joffre. They have 30 something companies plus a large mineral company (extracting high demand metals from the asbestos tailings) which will be shipping by rail. To accommodate the additional traffic, the railroad has purchased a M630 last year and 4 M420W's back in 2021. They might have bought 3 more, however thats still unclear. There was a post on Railfan Depot's Facebook page a few weeks ago that mentioned three on a railroad in western Canada had been sold to a buyer in Quebec. Which it seems logical that CFS might be that buyer.
As for the other lines, from Valle-Jonction to Saint-Georges is a trail now. From there to Lac-Frontière is mostly in place, but heavily overgrown and dilapidated.

The long term goal is for CFS to reopen all the way to Sherbrooke, but with a large section of track and the adjacent highway sitting in the bottom of a asbestos mine at Black Lake, it will probably be a long time before any progress happens on that front.

CFS is getting loads of new 115LBS rail, some of which will be installed on curves in the next few months. Work is progressing with the trestle replacements at Black Lake and Vallee-Jonction. They are trucking new rail to Thetford Mines as well for installation next year.
A new yard and engine facility are in the process of being built at Tring-Jonction as well.
Finally since my last post a new customer at Tring-Jonction has got a $2 million dollar grant to build a new spur, which will serve the KSM fertilizer plant.
M420W 2047 is undergoing a repaint currently as well.

CFS 2047 is nearing completion. Down at Valle-Jonction the bridge abutments are taking shape. I am told the steel is being fabricated and the whole bridge will be completed on schedule next spring. Just in time for heavy track work to ramp up from there to Black Lake.

MaineRailfan,
That is amazing. I never thought we would see the day when the Quebec Central would be revived beyond Vallee Jonction or even Scott. Kudos to the Sartigan and Province of Quebec. By the way, where is the current enginehouse located?
Best,
Fritz

For sure and there are long term plans to reopen all the way to Sherbrooke, however thats a ways off with all the work from Vallee-Thetford.
Currently the engine house is in Scott, but its just in the form of a pole barn off the main line. They will be moving into the new facility in Tring hopefully next year or early 2026.

The contractors building the bridges are making good progress at Valle-Jonction. This week pier 3 for the bridge there was stripped of its form work. Crews are currently working to build #3 in the middle of the river and I think they poured the footers for the abutment on the station side of the river this week as well.
Moving to Thetford Mines, another contractor is close to completing a total bridge replacement in Robertsonville. I believe this is the same fabrication company which is welding up the bridge at Black Lake and fabricating the steel for the one at Valle-Jonction.

CFS 2047 is back in service after its paint job and some mechanical and electrical upgrades.

I didn't get around to posting an update last week but the land for the shop at Tring has been cleared of trees. Soil testing crews are drilling test holes to get soil samples to see what type of excavation will be needed and work continues on the several smaller bridges around Thetford which should be finished in the next month.

Jumping down to Vallee-Jonction, the last pier in the river is being poured and on the east bank crews are working to form up what should be the final one. Notice how they have to use two concrete pumpers to get the concrete to the middle pier. With winter on its way they are pushing to get the concrete work wrapped up soon, since temporary heating and blankets to keep the concrete from freezing is expensive and labor intensive.
East side of the river abutment.

For anyone interested in the Sartigan, check out this documentary a friend of mine has been working on over the summer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHbBeClgbJs

The first beam of the Vallee-Jonction trestle arrived today from Canam in Quebec City.

https://www.facebook.com/valleejonction ... 953794985/