Shortline Success Story: An Inside Look at the Sartigan Railway

The Quebec Central Railway from Quebec City and Charny to Sherbrooke, Thetford, Vallee Junction, St-Georges, and Lac-Frontiere played an important role in the settling and development of the Chaudiere-Appalaches and Eastern Township regions of Quebec, Canada.

After a shaky, failed restart in the early 2000s, the Quebec Central was at risk of abandonment, or worse, rail-trail conversion. Fortunately, former Chaudiere-Appalaches tourist train operators took a leap of faith and started the Chemin de fer Sartigan Railway, which started with one engine and one customer. The Sartigan has seen huge success, adding customers along their current Scott-Joffre/Charny operation and hauling thousands of carloads per year, with Logibel in St-Lambert-de-Lauzon being a key source of growth.

The Sartigan is expanding, more than tripling their mileage and traffic, and they've acquired bigger locomotives including ex-BCOL M420W units and a unique CAT-powered MLW M636 from Minnesota Commercial.

This video was produced in close collaboration with the Sartigan Railway in Scott, QC.

Credits:

Andre St-Amant ‪@bikerdude3r‬

Bernard Babin ‪@BernardBabin‬

Jean-François Dumont

Shawn Duren https://www.flickr.com/photos/3600337...

Tim Wakeman ‪@DH7409‬



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