From Stadacona to the REM · Drawing 12 of 36
The early railway
1836
In 1836, Canada’s first steam railway links La Prairie and Saint-Jean. Its locomotive pulls the cars. The train follows the rails to carry passengers and goods.
Look together
What is the locomotive pulling?
An idea to try
Use two long, parallel paper strips to make a track between two drawings of towns. Your child moves a small object representing a train along the route.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
The Champlain and St. Lawrence Railway opened in 1836 between La Prairie and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Parks Canada identifies it as Canada’s first steam railway. The roughly 23-kilometre line helped transport between Montréal and New York by linking the St. Lawrence and Richelieu rivers. Its first rails were wooden, topped with iron strips; iron rails replaced them in 1847.
For a young child, rails and coupled cars are concrete things. Compare the train’s path with a cart’s: the train follows its track instead of choosing each turn. The locomotive in the drawing is inspired by early engines without being an exact portrait of the Dorchester.
Sources and context (2)
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. Source titles appear in their original language; some linked pages are in French.
- Parcs Canada — First Railroad in Canada National Historic Event
- Association canadienne d’histoire ferroviaire — Canadian Rail, no 581, 2017, p. 269
Source review: 2026-09-15. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.