science · 18 July 1853 · 172 years ago
In 1853, trains begin running over the first North American international railroad between Portland, Maine and Montreal, Quebec. St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad/ Canadian National Railroad was first proposed in 1843, when John A. Poor of Portland advocated building a railway from Montreal to Portland in conjunction with a railroad through Maine east to Saint John, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia. This resulted in the formation of the Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad in Maine which is today known as the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad. The railroad was opened for ttraffic on Jul 18, 1853 and was taken over by the Grand Trunk the same year.