[2] It was intended as a portage road to connect the St. Lawrence River valley with Lake Champlain, cutting time from the trip between Montreal and New York.

A wood-burning 0-4-0 design, it was the 127th locomotive built by Stephenson and was nicknamed "Kitten" by those who observed its uneven "skittish" ride – a result of the short wheelbase.

The C&SL opened to great fanfare on July 21, 1836, with several distinguished guests in attendance besides Molson, including Lord Gosford, the Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada, as well as Louis-Joseph Papineau, the rebel politician.

Due to its unique status as the first locomotive used in Canada, it was recognized for its contribution to the railway industry as "Rolling Stock" in the "National" category.

The approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) between Rouses Point and the New York/Quebec border were owned by a separate company, also called the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad, incorporated in New York on February 26, 1851.

[7] C&SL Railroad was immortalized by Canadian country music artist Orval Prophet[8] on his "Judgement Day Express" album (1973) with the song "Champlain and St. Lawrence Line"[9] In 1986, for the World's Fair Exhibition in Vancouver called Expo 86, the Molsons donated a functional replica of the steam engine used to ferry travellers and goods on the C&SL Railway.