Ontario and Quebec Railway

The Ontario and Quebec Railway (O&Q) was a railway located in southern and eastern Ontario, Canada.[1] It was initially chartered in March 1881 by managers of the Canadian Pacific Railway to run between Toronto and Perth, where it would connect, via a short branch line, to the CPR-controlled Brockville and Ottawa Railway. Construction began in 1882, and the line was completed in August 1884.

Starting in 1883, CPR began using the O&Q to build a network in southern Ontario to compete with the Grand Trunk Railway. The O&Q leased the Credit Valley Railway, Toronto Grey & Bruce, London Junction Railway and some sections of the Canada Southern Railway, building an extensive portfolio of routes. In August 1888 they provided a direct through route to Montreal by leasing the Atlantic and North-west Railway and connecting it to the O&Q via an extension from Smiths Falls to the Quebec border. A final major extension was the West Ontario Pacific Railway (WORP), which connected the Credit Valley in Woodstock

History

The railway had received a charter in 1881,[2] authorizing it to building a railway line between Perth and Toronto. It was effectively controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), as 95% of the shares issued were held by persons connected with the CPR.

Through the O&Q, the CPR created its railway network in southern and eastern Ontario:[3]

1) it amalgamated with the Credit Valley Railway,[4] which had also acquired a 999-year lease to a railway line from London Junction Railway.

2) CP sold to O&Q its line from Perth to Smiths Falls

3) O&Q leased from Toronto Grey & Bruce Railway for a term of 999 years its rail line running from Toronto northwest to Owen Sound and other points

4) O&Q purchased from Atlantic and North-west Railway a part of its railway system in Quebec thereby providing a connection to the province's railways

5) O&Q received authorization to amalgamate with the CVR, TG&B, A&NW or Canada Southern Railway, or acquire or lease any of their lines, in order to provide a through service between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal[5]

6) Parliament approved a preliminary agreement between the CPR and CVR, O&Q and A&NW to provide for the leasing of lines in order to provide for a through route between Montreal and St Thomas.[6]

Lease of operations to CPR

The CPR formalized its association with the O&Q by obtaining a 999-year lease on it in 1884,[7] expiring in 2883. By 1890, this lease gave the CPR an extensive network in Ontario and Quebec, with lines reaching between Quebec City and Windsor, Ontario, as well as a line running from near Ottawa to a connection with the CPR at Mattawa, Ontario.

The CPR never owned all of O&Q, a fact that caused legal problems when it attempted to sell off some O&Q real estate in Toronto that had become quite lucrative. However, the CPR won the court battle, which went to the Supreme Court of Canada.[8]

While O&Q and the TG&B had always been operated as part of the CPR network, they were finally amalgamated to form the St. Lawrence and Hudson Railway in 1998,[9][10]

railroad name	Ontario and Quebec Railway
locale	Ontario, Canada
start year	1881
end year	1998
successor line	St. Lawrence and Hudson Railway
marks	O&Q