The ''Green Mountain Flyer'' was an international day train between

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and the Northeast United States, with

sections Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. It was operated in cooperation between the Rutland Railroad, the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

and the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

. The train carried the number 65 running north, and number 64 running south. The ''Mount Royal'' (#51 north, #52 south) was the night train counterpart to the ''Green Mountain Flyer.'' Following years of cutbacks, both trains were discontinued in 1953 when the Rutland Railway ended all passenger service.

History

Route

The trains' route, running south, began in Canadian National Railway territory from Montreal Central Station to the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

Rouses Point, New York Rouses Point is a village (New York), village in Clinton County, New York, Clinton County, New York (state), New York, United States, along the 45th parallel north, 45th parallel. The population was 2,209 at the 2010 census. The village is named ...

. After traversing the islands of

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

and the Colchester Causeway, the trains served

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

, at its

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

. Both trains had second-sections that split at Rutland, Vermont, and continued through on Rutland Railroad trackage to Bellows Falls, Vermont, where they followed Boston & Maine Railroad trackage through

Keene, New Hampshire Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat and the only city in ...

and

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Fitchburg State University is located here. History ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

' North Station. The main route continued from Rutland to North Bennington, to

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

; then along the New York Central Hudson Division and Electric Division into

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...

in New York City.

Demise

On September 29, 1951, the ''Green Mountain Flyer'' was cut back to Burlington, leaving only the ''Mount Royal'' serving Montreal. On April 27, 1952, the northbound New York section of the ''Green Mountain Flyer'' was moved four hours later. The northbound Boston section was combined with a local train north of Rutland and operated separately from the New York section. Southbound, the New York and Boston sections continued to run combined from Burlington to Rutland. A strike on June 26, 1953, ended all Rutland Railway passenger service, including the ''Green Mountain Flyer'' and the ''Mount Royal''. With the discontinuation of these trains, direct train service into Burlington ended.

Later service

Since 1974, Montreal–New York train service has been provided by Amtrak's ''Adirondack'', the successor to a one-time ''Green Mountain Flyer'' competitor: the ''Laurentian''. The ''Adirondack'' takes a more westerly route between and that bypasses Vermont. In 2022 the

Vermont Agency of Transportation The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is a government agency of the U.S. state of Vermont that is responsible for planning, constructing, and maintaining a variety of transportation infrastructure in the state. This includes roads, bridge ...

(VTrans) and Amtrak extended the ''

Ethan Allen Express The ''Ethan Allen Express'' is a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak in the United States between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, via Albany, New York. One daily round trip is operated on a north–south route with a 7-hour 35 mi ...

'' from Rutland to Burlington over the line formerly used by the ''Green Mountain Flyer'', restoring Burlington–New York service. VTrans has also proposed adding a second Burlington–New York train via North Bennington and

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

that would more-closely match the former route of the ''Green Mountain Flyer''. there remains no direct passenger rail service between Montreal and Boston.

References

External links

Rutland Railroad brochure covers and map of Rutland Railroad route
{{RUT named trains Named passenger trains of Canada International named passenger trains Passenger rail transportation in New York (state) Passenger rail transport in Quebec Passenger rail transportation in Vermont Railway services discontinued in 1953 Named passenger trains of the United States