The Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway company
The Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway company

The Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway company

The Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway company

Bankruptcy and other disasters

Eastern Townships (Quebec), Canada

Well, to be honest, the railway Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway site we visited is not a real urbex site. At least not yet. But between you and me, it should not take long.

A story that everybody hear about

Whether you live in Quebec or not, you've probably heard of this tragedy in Lac-Megantic where a railway convoy of the Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) has literally destroyed the city in an explosion that  killed more than 47 people. Since then, the company faces prosecution, had to be placed itself under the bankruptcy protection law and its poor crisis management has enrages all the country.

In short, the company is in big trouble and, after fired most of its employees, it is unclear how the company will get out of this situation. The many sites owned by the company are now deserted and many of them were vandalized by an angry population that holds the company responsible for the tragedy.

There was therefore no one during our visit in this Saturday afternoon, and even if we found few buildings (which will surely be abandoned in the coming weeks), we rather focused on trains and different rusted structures we could find on the site. I will have the chance to come back for the buildings by the end of summer when the activity of the company will be completely stopped.

This choice was the good one, because several trains could be visited. While some structures had no interest, others against, were very informative. So here is some pictures of this little trip where I will, for sure, be back in the coming weeks.

Related content

The Coal mine of Hasard de Cheratte
Cheratte, (Belgium)

The Coal mine of Hasard de Cheratte is the main colliery of Société anonyme des Charbonnages du Hasard, composed of four mine shafts. It is located in Cheratte, a section of the Belgian town of Visé located in the Walloon Region in the province...

The abandoned paper mill
Outaouais, Quebec (Canada)

This is one of the oldest stationery in Quebec. Founded in 1851 by a american businessman, the company is composed of a half-dozen buildings on a fifteen hectares site. Saying that the site is large is an understatement, not only because it has a...

Geo W. Reed plant - Photo by Pierre Bourgault
Montréal, Quebec (Canada)

No doubt, this is a mysterious building. There is no reliable information about this abandoned building on the Internet. Impossible to corroborate the details found here and there. Indeed, even the name of the building can’t be confirmed. While...

The old superstructures plant
Montréal, Quebec (Canada)

More than a century of expertise in the construction of mega steel structure that represents hundreds of projects from coast to coast. The company's story began in 1879 in Toronto, where a group of businessmen sniff a bargain following the...