Le Train des Neiges

Yvon Lemieux has been painting since he was 17 years old. He founded his own painting school in 1988. The controlled, naive tone of his creations touch, surprise and even bring a smile to the viewer’s face. He has an uncanny knack in creating an atmosphere that moves the viewer.

The first excursion trains started to run in 1927. It was a joyful and colourful period for the Laurentians. In 1927, as many as 170,000 skiers rode these trains to get up north. In 1938-39, 14 trains of 10 wagons with 84 seats each operated on the weekend, with eight running on Sunday. In 1950, a record of 11,000 skiers traveled during a single weekend. Station chiefs directed traffic and a train arrived every 20 minutes. The fare for a round trip from Montréal was $1.50 on the weekend instead of $2.10. During the Depression, young boys offered to tie skiers’ boots for a penny.