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Map
1 November 2003

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As shown on this map, the building of the South Eastern Counties Junction Railway was to take place in three phases. The first phase (green) linked East Farnham to Richford. The second phase (blue) came back over the border, followed the Missisquoi River and once again crossed into the states to end on the shore of the Memphremagog Lake in Newport. This of course would insure that citizens of Knowlton having invested in the South Eastern Counties Junction Railway could also use it.

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Men building the railroad track
1871
Sutton, Québec, Canada

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Work on the railway started in September of 1870. Comments on the work's progress could be found in local papers. On October 14th 1870, the "The Observer" of Cowansville claimed that: "... the line of the railroad from Sutton to 45 is all let and the work is progressing rapidly, by the end of the year it will be nearly completed". Teams of workers are constantly monitoring the work's progress.

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Water tower
1902
East Richford, Vermont, U.S.A

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Contracts for the construction of the railway were signed with local businessmen. Once again, according to the ‘The Observer' (Dec.16, 1870) Mr. Alfred Hunt of Sutton received the contract for building a 150' x 20' train depot, a garage for the locomotives, and a water tower. The water for the tower would be taken from Mr. Abraham Tupper's property and would be used to fill the steam engine of the locomotive. The original tower built in 1870 was destroyed in the 1898 fire.

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First train station in Sutton
1880
Sutton, Québec, Canada

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On October 31st 1871, the first train from Montreal rolled through Sutton on its way to Richford for the inaugural celebrations planned for the official opening of the first section of the line. According to a journalist from the Montreal paper ‘The Gazette' who was traveling on the inaugural train, all but one of the railway stations along the South Eastern Counties Junction Railway track were made of brick. This helped give the impression of uniformity to the new railway.

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Cowansville station
1902
Cowansville, Québec, Canada

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The Cowansville station gives us a good idea of the architectural design described by the journalist from ‘The Gazette'. This particular station was built in 1871 by the South Eastern Counties Junction Railway. This photograph, dated 1902, was taken by CPR's Mr. M. J. W. Heckman (CP Archives, A12503).

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‘Col. Foster' locomotive
1880

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According to this same journalist, the inaugural train was pulled by the ‘Col. Foster', which was a brand new locomotive built in Rhode Island in1871 and named after the promoter of the new line. This photograph of it was taken a few years later after it was sold to the "Connecticut & Passumsic Rivers Railroad".

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Abercorn station
1902
Abercorn, Québec, Canada

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The Abercorn station was the last one before the American border. This photograph is date Aug. 29, 1902 and was taken by the CPR photographer J.W. Heckman.