RAILS AT THE WATER'S EDGE

The first large grain elevators in Montreal, steel-clad wooden structures, were built for Canadian Pacific between 1885 and 1887. Twenty years later, the Grand Trunk railway (later merged into Canadian National), built its own. These initiatives by the railway companies were a central part of a traditional and vitally important activity at the port of Montreal.

The tracks of these great railway companies were laid right next to the elevators, sometimes even passing underneath. Mechanisms in elevator No. 2 made it possible to tilt the railcars to empty them.

Railway infrastructures became an omnipresent feature on the piers in the port and alongside the canal. The tracks and their related equipment—bridges, stops, switches, etc.—although not remarkable in themselves, are an integral part of the urban landscape and the port handling "machine."

Today, the unused tracks and archaeological remains are reminders of all this bustling activity. But it is important to note that operating tracks run right through the old port and alongside elevator No. 5, abandoned now. This major line passes beneath the conveyors and connects the main CN transcontinental line or the Victoria Bridge, at the western end of the port, with the original CP transcontinental line at the eastern end.

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