Since 1825, Molson had followed reports of the first railways being built in England.
Molson had told the head of this project, Jason Pierce, that he was interested.
Pierce did not forget about Molson's interest and in 1832 Molson's request for a railroad was accepted by the Assembly.
The Champlain and St Lawrence Railroad was to connect the St Lawrence to the Hudson River, making the trip from Montreal to New York much quicker.
This was the first railway ever constructed in Canada.
 Molson became the Railroad's largest shareholder, when a cholera epidemic that struck Canada in 1832 and 1834 added to echoes of the economic depression caused by the crisis closure of the Second Bank of the United States.
This all caused the railroad project to lose much of its momentum.
Many businesses closed in Montreal but the Molsons continued work as usual.
Construction of the railroad was begun in 1835, and was completed on Thursday 21 July 1836 with great pomp and ceremony, but without the senior Molson.

After his multiple successful proposals, John Molson was appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada.
He was considered part of the "Chateau Clique" as he was a rich English businessman.
The people were losing their faith in English businessmen like Molson and were turning to men like Papineau and Robert Nelson, both members of the Patriote movement.
In 1833 Molson's hotel burned down again.
This time though, Molson decided not to rebuild it.
Since 1825, Molson had followed reports of the first railways being built in England. Molson had told the head of this project, Jason Pierce, that he was interested. Pierce did not forget about Molson's interest and in 1832 Molson's request for a railroad was accepted by the Assembly. The Champlain and St Lawrence Railroad was to connect the St Lawrence to the Hudson River, making the trip from Montreal to New York much quicker. This was the first railway ever constructed in Canada.  Molson became the Railroad's largest shareholder, when a cholera epidemic that struck Canada in 1832 and 1834 added to echoes of the economic depression caused by the crisis closure of the Second Bank of the United States. This all caused the railroad project to lose much of its momentum. Many businesses closed in Montreal but the Molsons continued work as usual. Construction of the railroad was begun in 1835, and was completed on Thursday 21 July 1836 with great pomp and ceremony, but without the senior Molson.
After his multiple successful proposals, John Molson was appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada. He was considered part of the "Chateau Clique" as he was a rich English businessman. The people were losing their faith in English businessmen like Molson and were turning to men like Papineau and Robert Nelson, both members of the Patriote movement. In 1833 Molson's hotel burned down again. This time though, Molson decided not to rebuild it.
John Molson