The ''Green Mountain Flyer'' was an international day train between

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and the

Northeast United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the South ...

, with

sections Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. It was operated in cooperation between the

Rutland Railroad The Rutland Railroad was a railroad in the northeastern United States, located primarily in the state of Vermont but extending into the state of New York at both its northernmost and southernmost ends. After its closure in 1961, parts of the ...

, the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

and the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

. The train carried the number 65 running north, and number 64 running south. The ''Mount Royal'' (#51 north, #52 south) was the night train counterpart to the ''Green Mountain Flyer.'' Following years of cutbacks, both trains were discontinued in 1953 when the Rutland Railway ended all passenger service.

History

Route

The trains' route, running south, began in Canadian National Railway territory from

Montreal Central Station Montreal Central Station (french: Gare centrale de Montréal) is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Nearly 11 million rail passengers use the station every year, making it the second-bu ...

to the Canada–US border at

Rouses Point, New York Rouses Point is a village in Clinton County, New York, United States, along the 45th parallel. The population was 2,209 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Jacques Rouse, a French Canadian soldier who fought alongside the Americans du ...

. After traversing the islands of

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

and the Colchester Causeway, the trains served

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

, at its

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

. Both trains had second-sections that split at

Rutland, Vermont Rutland, Vermont may refer to: *Rutland (city), Vermont * Rutland (town), Vermont *Rutland County, Vermont *West Rutland, Vermont West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The t ...

, and continued through on Rutland Railroad trackage to

Bellows Falls, Vermont Bellows Falls is an incorporated village located in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,747 at the 2020 census. Bellows Falls is home to the Green Mountain Railroad, a heritage railroad; the ...

, where they followed

Boston & Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970 ...

trackage through

Keene, New Hampshire Keene is a city in, and the County seat, seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Keene is ho ...

and

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private e ...

to Boston, Massachusetts'

North Station North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtrak ...

. The main route continued from Rutland to

North Bennington North Bennington is an incorporated village in the town of Bennington in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,716 at the 2020 census. The North Bennington Historic District was added to the National Register of Histori ...

, to

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

; then along the New York Central Hudson Division and Electric Division into

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

in New York City.

Demise

On September 29, 1951, the ''Green Mountain Flyer'' was cut back to Burlington, leaving only the ''Mount Royal'' serving Montreal. On April 27, 1952, the northbound New York section of the ''Green Mountain Flyer'' was moved four hours later. The northbound Boston section was combined with a local train north of Rutland and operated separately from the New York section. Southbound, the New York and Boston sections continued to run combined from Burlington to Rutland. A strike on June 26, 1953, ended all Rutland Railway passenger service, including the ''Green Mountain Flyer'' and the ''Mount Royal''. With the discontinuation of these trains, direct train service into Burlington ended.

Later service

Since 1974, Montreal–New York train service has been provided by Amtrak's ''Adirondack'', the successor to a one-time ''Green Mountain Flyer'' competitor: the ''Laurentian''. The ''Adirondack'' takes a more westerly route between and that bypasses Vermont. In 2022 the

Vermont Agency of Transportation The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is a government agency of the state of Vermont that is responsible for planning, constructing, and maintaining a variety of transportation infrastructure in the state. This includes roads, bridges, sta ...

(VTrans) and Amtrak extended the ''

Ethan Allen Express The ''Ethan Allen Express'' is a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak in the United States between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, via Albany, New York. One daily round trip is operated on a north-south route with a 7 hour 35 minu ...

'' from Rutland to Burlington over the line formerly used by the ''Green Mountain Flyer'', restoring Burlington–New York service. VTrans has also proposed adding a second Burlington–New York train via

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

that would more-closely match the former route of the ''Green Mountain Flyer''. there remains no direct passenger rail service between Montreal and Boston.

External links

Rutland Railroad brochure covers and map of Rutland Railroad route

References

{{RUT named trains Named passenger trains of Canada International named passenger trains Passenger rail transportation in New York (state) Passenger rail transport in Quebec Passenger rail transportation in Vermont Railway services discontinued in 1953 Named passenger trains of the United States