Talk: The Canadian Pacific Railway and Mile End 1

Bridge across the quarries, Montreal, April 1880 [BAnQ]

For the past 140 years, the Canadian Pacific railway tracks have formed a boundary in the midst of the city. A major project driven forward by Louis Beaubien and supported by Curé Antoine Labelle (P’tit train du nord), this line was later purchased by CP to form part of its initial transcontinental route. It provided access to the Provincial Exhibition Grounds in Mile End before contributing to the growth of an industrial landscape starting in the 1890s: dairies, piano factories, streetcar shops, clothing manufacturers, to mention only a few exemples. Today, the railway serves the Port of Montreal, and its surroundings are in the midst of significant transformation…

This talk will repeat to a large extent the content of a similar talk given on 18 February 2016 for the Société d’histoire du Plateau-Mont-Royal.

Justin Bur, Mile End Memories board member and urban history researcher, has a particular interest in railway and transportation history.

Sunday 18 December 2016, 2 pm to 4 pm
Mordecai-Richler Library, Mile End
5434 avenue du Parc – in the upstairs meeting room
Free admission, no reservation
Talk in French. Question period in French and English.