Creaking cables and ghostly whispers. That’s what some say you’ll hear near the Ancien Téléphérique. This isn’t just any old landmark. It’s the site of Montreal’s forgotten funicular railway. A thrilling ride up Mount Royal it once was.
The Ancien Téléphérique’s story begins in 1884. A steam-powered marvel it was. It whisked Montrealers up Mount Royal in minutes. This was much faster than Olmsted’s leisurely stroll. Olmsted the park’s designer disliked it. He envisioned a slow climb. A chance to enjoy the mountain’s beauty. But the funicular was built anyway.
Five cents for adults three for children. That’s all it cost for a ride. A steep incline. A breathtaking view. Passengers were enclosed in iron mesh carriages. They climbed on two 45-degree tracks. Imagine the thrill the fear. The cables creaked. Tree branches brushed against the carriages. The ride was over in minutes. But some said their lives were at the mercy of those cables.
At the top a wooden pavilion awaited. A splendid view of the city below. Protection from the elements even. A stark contrast to the precarious journey up. The Ancien Téléphérique wasn’t just a mode of transport. It was an experience.
But the Ancien Téléphérique’s reign was short-lived. By 1918 it was deemed unsafe. Structurally unsound. It was dismantled in 1920. Only its foundations remain a testament to its existence. Yet the tales of the Ancien Téléphérique persist. Whispers of a ghostly man named John Jack McLean. A suicide near the funicular. His spirit some say still haunts the area. The creaking cables his lament. The ghostly apparition a chilling reminder. A ghostly ride long past.
So next time you are in Montreal’s Mount Royal Park. Remember the Ancien Téléphérique. Its legacy lives on. In the whispers of the wind. In the stories told under the stars. A chilling reminder of Montreal’s past. Of a mountain once conquered by a marvel of engineering. And maybe by something else. Something more spectral.