Maritime Transportation Makes Waves
Packet boat linking Coteau-Landing and Clark Island (Île-aux-Chats), near Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, before the railway bridge was built, c. 1885. Jean-Marie Léger Collection.
Complementary to railways, waterways were part of the attraction for industries and workers. In some cases packet boats were used to transfer freight cars to steamships, and then across the river in areas where there were no rails for the trains.
The arrival of railroads caused marine transportation to decline somewhat; it did however continue to provide services for businesses and local communities. Also, to improve correlations with the rail service, new harbours were built, or existing ones were expanded with new wharves, warehouses, terminals, as well as merchandise handling and transhipping infrastructures.
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