The Grand Trunk Railway and OOB
Direct passenger rail from Montréal to Old Orchard Beach started in 1873 on the Grand Trunk Railway, and that single piece of infrastructure is the reason OOB is what it is today, a Québecois summer capital instead of a sleepy fishing village.
The route
Montréal → Sherbrooke → Norton, VT → Berlin, NH → Lewiston → Yarmouth → Portland → Old Orchard Beach. About 12 hours one way at the line's peak.
Service era
Heaviest service 1880s through 1950s. Multiple daily summer trains. The Grand Trunk depot in OOB stood near the present-day Square; the Amtrak Downeaster station today serves the same general site (different track).
End of the line
Direct Montréal, OOB service ended in the 1960s as automobile travel dominated. Passenger service to OOB returned in 2001 with the Amtrak Downeaster (Boston ↔ Brunswick), but the direct Canadian connection has not been restored.
Compiled from Town of Old Orchard Beach, RSU 23, FEMA, Maine Revenue Service, US Census, and MLS. Deemed reliable but not guaranteed; verify before any transaction.