Series consists of records created and/or maintained by companies that formed the Central Vermont system. The Central Vermont Railway, Inc is a company wholly owned by Canadian National Railways and operating a railway from the Vermont/ Canada border through the states of Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut to the port of New London. While the Central Vermont system was owned largely by the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada (RG30-I) from 1899 and passed into Canadian National ownership with the Grand Trunk, in view of its long previous independent existence and its continued operation under its own name by Canadian National, its records form a separate series within this fonds.
The corporate history of the Central Vermont system is extremely complicated and many leased lines, operations under receivership and nominal changes of ownership have been omitted from the historical portion of the inventory when this information is not directly related to the companies whose records are held by the National Archives of Canada.
The two main corporate predecessors of the Central Vermont system were the Vermont and Canada Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-1) and the Vermont Central Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-2). From the 1840s these two lines operated (sometimes as rivals, sometimes as joint owners) a line from Windsor, Vermont to the Canadian border. The major involvement and ownership in these companies and the entire system was that of the Smith family of Vermont. The Central Vermont Railroad Company (RG30-II-A-1) operated the Vermont Central under lease or receivership from 1873 to 1891 and, in the latter year absorbed the Vermont and Canada (through the medium of Consolidated Railroad Company of Vermont (RG30-II-B-4) and the short Montpelier and White River Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-3) along with the Vermont Central under its own name.
One of the major leased lines (and one of the few that remained with the Central Vermont system into the twentieth century) was the New London Northern Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-7) which had evolved from the New London, Willimantic and Springfield Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-5), the New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-6) and the Amherst and Belchertown Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-8) to provide a line from the Central Vermont to the port of New London, Connecticut.
The Central Vermont system also owned or operated other short lines within the state of Vermont. They included the Burlington and Lamoille Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-9), The Saratoga and St. Lawrence Railroad (RG30-II-B-10) leased from 1889 to 1896, The Missisquoi Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-16) and its successor The Missisquoi Valley Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-17) and The West River Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-24). The Province Line Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-19) was incorporated to build a junction with the Canada Atlantic system, but remained inactive.
In addition to the New England lines, the Central Vermont system owned several Quebec rail lines in order to tap the traffic area south of Montreal. These included The Stanstead, Shefford and Chambly Railroad Company (RG30-II-B-11), The Missisquoi and Black Rivers Valley Railway Company (RG30-II-b-12), The Waterloo and Magog Railway Company (RG30-II-B-13) which was operated under contract until its acquisition by the Canadian Pacific system, The Montreal, Chambly and Sorel Railway Company - later The Montreal, Portland and Boston Line Railway Company (RG30-II-B-14), The Montreal and Province Line Railway Company (RG30-II-B-15) and The Montreal and Vermont Junction Railway Company (RG30-II-B-18). The Central Vermont properties in Quebec were transferred to the Canadian National in 1923.
The Central Vermont Railway, following the acquisition of the majority of the stock by the Grand Trunk was reorganized in 1899 under the name of Central Vermont Railway Company (RG30-II-A-2). In an attempt to expand the Grand Trunk/Central Vermont system into southern New England, four companies were incorporated in 1911/12. They were The Southern New England Railroad Corporation (RG30-II-B-20), The Southern New England Railway Company (RG30-II-B-21), The Southern New England Railroad Corporation of New Hampshire (RG30-II-B-22) and The Southern Vermont Railway Company (RG30-II-B-23). Although some construction was undertaken, the scheme never materialized.
Two rail lines from rock quarries were also owned by the Central Vermont, The Bethel Granite Railway Company (RG30-II-B-25) and The Barre Granite Railway Company (RG30-II-B-26). The system was also involved with inland shipping. Two such companies were the Ogdensburg Transit Company (RG30-II-B-27) and The Grand Isle Steamboat Company (RG30-II-B-28).
The Central Vermont system passed with the Grand Trunk to the Canadian National in 1923. In 1929 the Central Vermont Railway Company was reorganized as the Central Vermont Railway, Inc.
