Montrealer (train)

{{Short description|Passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Montreal, Canada}}

{{Infobox rail service

| box_width =

| name = Montrealer

| logo =

| logo_width =

| image = Special train for resumed Montrealer at Amherst, July 17, 1989.jpg

| image_width = 300px

| caption = A special train celebrating the return of the Montrealer poses at Amherst station on July 17, 1989, the day before regular service began.

| type = Inter-city rail

| status = Discontinued

| locale = {{Plainlist|

}}

| predecessor =

| first = June 15, 1924

| last = March 31, 1995

| successor = Vermonter

| operator =

| formeroperator = {{Plainlist|

}}

| ridership =

| ridership2 =

| website =

| start = Washington, D.C.

| stops = 27

| end = Montreal, Quebec

| distance = {{convert|666.2|mi|km}}

| journeytime =

| frequency = Daily

| trainnumber =

| line_used =

| class =

| access =

| seating = Reclining seat coaches

| sleeping = Sleeping car (1975)

| autorack =

| catering = Dining car (1975)

| observation =

| entertainment =

| baggage = Baggage car

| otherfacilities =

| stock =

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| el =

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| owners =

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}}

The Montrealer was an overnight passenger train between Washington, D.C., United States, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The train was operated from 1924 to 1966, and again under Amtrak from 1972 to 1995, excepting two years in the 1980s. The train was discontinued in 1995 and replaced by the Vermonter, which provides daytime service as far north as St. Albans, Vermont. Current Amtrak service to Montreal is provided by the daytime Adirondack from New York City via Albany.

History

=Previous service=

The original Montrealer entered service on June 15, 1924. The train provided overnight service from Washington, D.C., to New York City and Montreal on a route that passed through New England. The Washingtonian operated over the same route in the southbound direction.{{cite journal |last1=Waite |first1=Thornton |date=Winter 2017 |title=The Montrealer/ The Washingtonian |journal=The Keystone |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=31–77 |issn=0744-4036}}

Both trains ran over five railroads: the Pennsylvania Railroad, the New Haven Railroad, the Boston & Maine Railroad, the Central Vermont Railway, and the Canadian National Railway, which worked together to provide the equipment and crews to operate the train.

File:GTW 4924 with the northbound Montrealer at St. Albans, September 1965.jpg

When it was inaugurated, the Montrealer also provided through service to Ottawa and Quebec City. During the summer months the Quebec car originated a few days a week in Murray Bay, a resort area {{convert|86|mi}} northeast of Quebec City.

North of the U.S.-Canadian border, in early years the train traveled east of Missisquoi Bay and through Iberville on the route north to Montreal.Official Guide of the Railways, August 1936, Central Vermont section, Table 3 By the 1950s the route was rerouted through Alburg, Vermont, and in Quebec made stops at Cantic, St. Johns and St. Lambert before reaching Montreal.Official Guide of the Railways, December 1954, Central Vermont section, Table 5

The Montrealer and the Washingtonian first ran during the days of Prohibition in the United States. The Washingtonian became known unofficially as "The Bootlegger" or simply "The Boot" because passengers often carried well-hidden bottles of liquor on the southbound train. During the Prohibition years the Washingtonian was a favorite target of U.S. federal agents who would board in St. Albans and search the train looking for illegal liquor.{{cite news |last=Borders |first=William |url=http://nyti.ms/1ycGKOz |title=New York to Montreal Trains Are Running Again After 18 Months |work=The New York Times |date=October 1, 1972}} During the 1940s extra sections of the train were added for skiers on weekends in the winter months from New York to Waterbury, Vermont.

By the 1960s, service consisted of two daily round trips: the Washington–Montreal Montrealer/Washingtonian, and the New York City–Montrealer section of the Ambassador. On September 6, 1966, the trains were unceremoniously discontinued between Montreal and Springfield, Massachusetts.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71706839/the-gazette/ |title=Passenger Service Ended |newspaper=The Gazette |date=September 6, 1966 |page=33 |via=Newspapers.com}} Previously, the Ambassador had been an entirely separate day train counterpart to the Montrealer. The New Haven Railroad continued to operate its portion of the train between Springfield and New York City until December 31, 1968, when most passenger service on the New Haven–Springfield Line was discontinued, upon the implementation of the merger of the New Haven Railroad into the Penn Central.

=Amtrak era=

Amtrak began operation of a New York train, called the Montrealer northbound and Washingtonian southbound, on September 30, 1972. St. Lambert was the only intermediate station in Quebec retained from the previous iteration.Amtrak timetable, October 29, 1972, p. 42 It was the first train for which Amtrak hired its own staff, rather than contracting with the host railroad.{{All Aboard Amtrak}}{{rp|27}} The train was named Montrealer in both directions on May 19, 1974. The Washingtonian was also Train 185, which came from New York and later, along with most other regular trains on the Northeast Corridor, folded into one NortheastDirect in 1995. The Montrealer acquired a reputation as a party train due to the large numbers of skiers who would take the train, staying up late into the night or not sleeping at all.{{Citation needed|date=July 2017}} Amtrak equipped the train with its own dedicated lounge car, outfitted with an electric piano, dubbed Le Pub.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.exporail.org/can_rail/Canadian%20Rail_no452_1996.pdf |magazine=Canadian Rail |date=May–June 1996 |issue=452 |first=Fred F. |last=Angus |title=Twenty-Five Years of Amtrak in Canada |pages=63–73 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622080923/http://exporail.org/can_rail/Canadian%20Rail_no452_1996.pdf |archive-date=June 22, 2013 |url-status=dead}}

=Derailments=

Amtrak's Montrealer suffered numerous derailments during its years of operation:

On January 5, 1973, the train derailed in Randolph, Vermont, due to a wrongly set switch.{{cite news |title=Montrealer has history of Accidents on River Route |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=July 8, 1984 |page=1}}
On September 5, 1981, nine cars of the southbound train derailed in Hatfield, Massachusetts. No serious injuries were reported among the 328 passengers.{{cite news |last=Tilove |first=Jonathan |date=September 6, 1981 |title=Amtrak Wreckage Cleared |newspaper=The Sunday Republican |location=Springfield, Massachusetts}}
On February 14, 1982, the train derailed in Holyoke, Massachusetts, near the Smith's Ferry section of the city. Four people were treated for minor injuries. An investigation found that the cause of the derailment was a spreading of the tracks.{{cite news |last=Hamilton |first=Walter |date=February 15, 1982 |title=Montrealer Jumps Track in Holyoke |newspaper=The Morning Union |location=Springfield, Massachusetts}}
On February 14, 1984, the train derailed in Vernon, Vermont.
On June 29, 1990, the train derailed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on a curve just west of the Philadelphia Zoo. Two passengers were injured.{{cite news |date=June 30, 1990 |title=Amtrak Train Derails on Bend Near the Zoo; Two Are Slightly Hurt |work=The Inquirer |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania}}

==1984 wreck==

On the morning of July 7, 1984, the northbound Montrealer (carrying 262 passengers and 16 crew) was derailed by a washed-out culvert between Williston and Essex, Vermont. Heavy rains over the previous night had broken beaver dams upstream, resulting in a {{convert|50|ft|adj=on}} washout in the {{convert|20|ft|m|adj=mid|-high|0}} embankment.{{cite book |url=https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/44831 |title=Derailment of Amtrak Passenger Train No. 60, the Montrealer, on the Central Vermont Railway, near Essex Junction, Vermont, July 7, 1984 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=December 10, 1985}}{{cite news |url=http://www.yankeemagazine.com/article/weather-disasters/flood-derails-train-williston-vt |title=Flood Derails Train outside Williston, Vermont |newspaper=Yankee Magazine |year=1985 |author=McCutcheon, Shaw |access-date=February 18, 2014}} Five of the train's thirteen cars fell into the stream, with one sleeper car buried under several other cars.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/08/us/3-killed-as-train-falls-into-ravine-in-vermont-hills.html |title=3 Killed as Train Falls into Ravine in Vermont Hills |newspaper=New York Times |date=July 8, 1984 |author=Fein, Esther B. |access-date=February 18, 2014}} Three passengers, one Amtrak attendant, and one Central Vermont Railway crew member were killed; 29 others were seriously injured.{{cite web |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/recletters/1985/R85_125_128.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007213726/https://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/recletters/1985/R85_125_128.pdf |archivedate=October 7, 2012 |title=Safety Recommendation(s) R-85-125 through -128 |author=Burnett, Jim |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=January 15, 1986}} The train included four private chartered passenger cars, doubling the usual passenger load and increasing the number of injured; the resulting rescue operation involved extricating dozens of trapped passengers and was then the largest in Vermont history.

Despite the severity of the wreck, the death toll was low due to circumstances permitting quick rescue: area hospitals were at shift changes with doubled staff levels, a 2,400-person Vermont National Guard detachment with helicopters and a tank retriever was nearby preparing for training, and a large mobile crane was at a construction site in nearby Georgia, Vermont. The National Transportation Safety Board investigation faulted Amtrak for the lack of a proper cab radio and recommended changes in locomotive battery placement, improvements in baggage rack and seat cushion retention, and the use of shatterproof mirrors in passenger cars.

=Suspension and return=

File:Former Amtrak platform, Willimantic, CT.JPG, used from 1991 to 1995]]

The Montrealer was suspended north of Springfield, Massachusetts, on April 6, 1987, because of deteriorating track conditions between Brattleboro and Windsor, Vermont.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/07/us/amtrak-suspends-a-montreal-train.html |title=Amtrak Suspends a Montreal Train |work=The New York Times |date=May 7, 1987}} During the suspension, Amtrak offered bus service (operated by Peter Pan Bus Lines) between Burlington, Vermont, and Springfield, with connecting Amtrak service in Springfield.{{cite web |url=http://www.timetables.org/browse/?group=19880515&item=0029 |title=Amtrak National Train Timetables |via=Museum of Railway Timetables |date=May 15, 1988 |publisher=Amtrak |page=29}}{{cite news |last=Lavin |first=Carl |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/24/us/amtrak-journal-in-new-england-an-old-friend-is-back-on-track.html |title=Amtrak Journal; In New England, an Old Friend Is Back on Track |work=The New York Times |date=July 24, 1989}}

This situation precipitated the only instance of Amtrak seizing another railroad by eminent domain, followed by the re-sale of the track by Amtrak to the Central Vermont Railway. The matter went all the way to the Supreme Court in National Railroad Passenger Corp. v. Boston & Maine Corp., which upheld Amtrak's action. Led by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Representative Silvio Conte of Massachusetts, Congress appropriated $5 million to rebuild the track.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZpFKAAAAIBAJ&pg=6855%2C2435999 |title=Ruling sidetracks Amtrak victory |via=Google News |date=August 10, 1990 |newspaper=The Telegraph |first=David |last=Gram}} Only the section between Windsor and Brattleboro, Vermont, was transferred, however, leaving the Connecticut River Line between East Northfield and Springfield, Massachusetts, as an obstacle.

The Montrealer was reinstated in July 1989 with a longer routing to avoid the Connecticut River Line. The train used the Central Vermont Railway between East Northfield and New London, Connecticut (with a stop at {{amtk|Amherst}} to replace the former {{amtk|Northampton}} stop) and the Northeast Corridor between New London and New Haven. Although slightly slower than the old route, this allowed for safe and reliable service. A special daytime train was run on July 17, 1989; regular service began with the northbound train on the 18th and the southbound on the 19th.{{rp|47}} On November 1, 1991, an intermediate stop was added at Willimantic, Connecticut.{{cite news |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1991-11-02-0000210062-story.html |title=Amtrak Returns to Willimantic |date=November 2, 1991 |newspaper=Hartford Courant |first=Scott |last=Wenger}}

Montrealer service ended on March 31, 1995, amid a budget crisis. It was replaced with the Vermonter, a daytime train sponsored by the state of Vermont, the next day. The Vermonter terminated at St. Albans rather than Montreal; it was routed over the New Haven-Springfield Line plus a section of the Boston Subdivision to reach the Central Vermont at Palmer.{{rp|74}}

=Planned extension of the ''Vermonter'' to Montreal=

Efforts have been underway for many years to extend the Vermonter to Montreal. In 2012 the Federal Railroad Administration awarded $7.9 million to allow for the upgrade of the existing freight rail line between St. Albans and the Canada–US border.{{cite news |last=Bowen |first=Douglas John |url=http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/passenger/intercity/vermont-advocates-grant-aids-montrealers-return.html |title=Grant aids Montrealer's return, advocates say |work=Railway Age |date= June 21, 2012 |access-date=March 16, 2015 }} Work on this project was completed in late 2014.

On March 16, 2015, the United States and Canada signed an agreement that would allow for the establishment of a pre-clearance customs and immigration facility within Central Station in Montreal. Before the Vermonter can be extended to Montreal the agreement must first be approved by Congress and the Parliament of Canada, and a preclearance facility must be constructed within Central Station.{{cite news |last=Bowen |first=Douglas John |url=http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/passenger/intercity/agreement-bodes-well-for-restored-amtrak-montrealer.html |title=Pact bodes well for restored Amtrak Montrealer |work=Railway Age |date=March 16, 2015}}{{cite press release |url=https://www.dhs.gov/news/2015/03/16/united-states-and-canada-sign-preclearance-agreement |title=United States and Canada Sign Preclearance Agreement |location=Washington |publisher=Department of Homeland Security |date=March 16, 2015}}

On December 8, 2016, US President Barack Obama signed bipartisan legislation enabling US-Canada preclearance. On December 12, 2017, Canada's Governor General gave a royal assent to Bill C-23 enacted by Canada's House and Senate. The remaining hurdles to implementing the preclearance regime are an Order in Council in Canada, and a joint agreement between the two countries on construction of the facilities in Montreal and the service operating procedures.{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/New-pact-seen-speeding-cross-border-train-service-14367713.php|title=New pact seen speeding cross-border train service|first=Eric|last=Anderson|date=August 21, 2019|website=Times Union}}