Dorchester

The Champlain and Saint Lawrence Railroad, incorporated in 1832, was Canada's first railway. It ran between La Prairie on the Saint Lawrence river and Saint Johns (now Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu) on the Richelieu river. It was an alternate route on the journey from Montréal to New York, which then continued by steamer via Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. Construction began in 1835 with financing from Montreal entrepreneur and brewery owner, John Molson. The 16-mile (26 km) line was built to a 4 ft 8 1⁄2 guage, dictated by the equipment purchased in England. The rails consisted of 6 inch squared pine timbers, joined by iron plates and bolts, with iron rails spiked to the upper surface and laid across wooden ties.
The railway officially opened July 21st, 1836, and began regular operations on July 25th. In 1851, the railway was extended to Rouses Point, New York, and then in 1852 to St Lambert, Québec. In 1857 it was amalgamated into the Montréal and New York Railroad (formerly the Montreal and Lachine Railroad) under the name Montreal and Champlain Railroad Company. It was leased to the Grand Trunk Railway in 1864, and purchased by GTR in 1872.
This is a picture of my son with a functional reproduction (a 1:1 scale model ) of Canada’s very first locomotive, the wood-burning "Dorchester".  The Dorchester was built in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, by Robert Stephenson, son of George Stephenson who designed and built "The Rocket". A wood burning 0-4-0 design, it was the 127th locomotive built by Stephenson and was nicknamed "Kitten" by those who observed its uneven "skittish" ride – a result of the short wheelbase. Trial runs took place at night to avoid frightening the public; maximum speed was approximately 30 mph (48 km/h). 13 feet long and weighing 12,563 lb, the smokestack was 11 feet high to prevent burning embers from setting the tall grass growing along the track on fire. The Champlain and Saint Lawrence eventually rebuilt her as a 2-4-0 with 48" driving wheels, resulting in better tracking and a smoother ride, particularly on uneven track, and the ability to actually go around curves without derailing. In 1849, the Dorchester was sold to la Compagnie du chemin à Rails du Saint-Laurent et du village de l’Industrie, where the valiant engine was to work diligently until her boiler exploded in 1864, ending her illustrious career as the first locomotive in Canada.
This model of the as-built Dorchester, built in 1936 for the 100th anniversary, is exhibited at Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, located next to the right-of-way of the original Champlain & St. Lawrence Rail Road.
Trivia: Before the CZRR, my current fictitious model railroad, I built the C&StL, a fictitious model railroad based on the Champlain and Saint Lawrence Railroad having survived intact into the late 20th Century as a subdivision of the Canadian National (GT).