Builder: Ottawa Car Co.
Description: Wood interurban coach
Secondary Use: None
Type: Interurban Cars
Year: 1922
Retired from Service: 1956
Acquired by the Museum: 1956
Fund: None
Sponsor/Manager: None

Montreal & Southern Counties 610

From Montreal, Quebec

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History

The Montreal and Southern Counties was an interurban electric line built by the Grand Trunk Railway and operating 47 miles between Montreal and Granby, Quebec. In Montreal, the M&SC shared tracks with streetcars of the Montreal Tramways Co. M&SC also had a short, suburban branch to Longueuil. The M&SC began operation in 1909. The interurban came under the control of the Canadian National Railway when the Grand Trunk became part of CNR in 1923. Single end cars were the rule, coupled back to back in trains using a minimum of 2 cars. The M&SC usually headed a train with a freight motor car to carry milk, farm produce and other freight. Ottawa Car Co. built No. 610 in 1922. It is a classic interurban with wooden sash and a coal stove to provide heat. The M&SC shut down in 1956 after its tracks on the St. Lawrence River bridge at Montreal were converted to highway traffic. See also: “Memories of the Montreal & Southern Counties,” The Dispatch, Mar. 1996. When the M&SC ended service in 1956, the CNR donated No. 610, along with M&SC freight motor No. 504, to Seashore. The year before, Seashore had also acquired M&SC steel interurban No. 621. The museum intended to operate Nos. 610 and 504 as a multiple unit mixed train. For many years No. 610 and its running mate No. 504, were the site of Seashore’s New Year’s Eve celebration, with the two loud horns sounded at midnight in the cold Maine woods. In recent years the train has experienced various problems, keeping it out of service.

Technical Information

Seats: 60
Control: HL (15B)
Compressor: DH-20

Trucks

Number: 2
Manufacturer: Taylor
Model: MCB

Motor

Number: 4
Manufacturer: Westinghouse
Model: 306CVD4

Weight and Dimensions

Length: 55’
Width: 8’ 4.00"
Height: 13’ 3.00"
Weight: 61700 lbs.

Additional Images

Russell Monroe in March 1961

Olive Interurban Trolley 610 historic photo

On the Montreal South Line - STM Curatorial File