Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway

The Canadian province of Quebec formed the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway (QMO&OR) in 1874 to link those cities since private companies, without the usual subsidies from the Federal Government of Canada, could not get financing, mainly because the Grand Trunk Railway was lobbying against it. It was the first major railway along the north shore of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers. The promoters of its predecessor companies had hoped to be part of the Canadian transcontinental railway project, a goal which was finally achieved when the QMO&OR was sold to the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).

In 1853, the Quebec City bourgeoisie initiated the Quebec North Shore Railway project between Quebec and Montreal; the project was reactivated around 1870 when Quebec City promised a million-dollar subsidy. In 1869, Curé (parson) Antoine Labelle initiated the Montréal Colonization Railway project between Montreal and St-Jérôme to promote colonization and facilitate the delivery of firewood; in 1872, Montreal businessmen became interested with the project, planning to reach Ottawa. The Grand Trunk Railway lobbied secretly against the projects.

In 1872, the North Shore Railway started the construction . The Palais station was built in Quebec City around this period (photo 1907, source BANQ, on far left: corner of CPR station, formerly North Shore Railway Quebec Station) (photo 1894, source BANQ). From Quebec, the railway ran a few miles north of the St-Lawrence river: Lorette, St-Augustin, Pont-Rouge (bridge constructed in 1874), St-Basile, Portneuf, Deschambault, La Chevrottière and Grondines (1902 Map of Great Northern Raiway of Canada and CPR formerly QMO&OR or North Shore Railway). On December 24, 1875 the North Shore Railway transferred its properties to the QMO&OR. The Quebec-Montreal section (with Piles branch; Cap-de-la-Madeleine, east of Trois-Rivières, to les Piles), and the Montreal-Aylmer section (with St-Jerome branch which was completed in 1876) were completed at the end of 1877.

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