No. 454 at St. Paul St. Terminal September 04, 1951; STM collection
Operating History: The QRL&P operated the local service in Quebec City and an interurban operation to the shrine at Ste. Anne de Beaupré. The line to Ste. Anne de Beapre opened in 1889 using steam power and converted to electric in 1904. This service was popular with tourists and pilgrims, and carried huge crowds spring, summer and fall. The winter was the line’s quiet season, but there were always a few customers. Facing substantial snowfalls, the cars were equipped with huge plow blades to keep the line open. The Canadian National Railway acquired control of the QRL&P in 1951. Passenger service ended in 1959. The company’s last new interurbans were six cars, Nos. 450 – 455, built by Ottawa Car Co. in 1930. Until service ended in 1959, these cars carried tourists to the Montmorency Falls and pilgrims to Ste. Anne de Beaupre.
Museum Ownership: By 1959, Seashore had acquired some older wooden interurban cars and newer lightweight interurbans. Seashore sought No. 454 to represent a standard, steel interurban. The museum bargained with Canadian National over a price for the car and settled on C$1,500 – slightly less than scrap value. In 1960, No. 454 moved to Kennebunk by rail on its own wheels and then on the Highway Monster (Seashore’s custom built car moving semi-trailer with rails built in) to the museum. Car 454 is by far the largest interurban car in the Seashore collection, both in length and width. No. 454 suffered damage while stored in Canada, at Kennebunk and outdoors at Seashore. So, the museum did extensive repairs, including installing new windows, doors and seats. Seashore replaced the roof canvass several times. No. 454 is in fairly good condition, having been painted frequently during its years as Seashore’s designated snow plow. In 1985, Seashore restored the exterior maroon paint using a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum Services.
Current Condition: No. 454 is currently stored inside Fairview Carhouse.
N. 454 at Seashore, date unknown; STM collection.
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