Cummings – Portland Railway

Cummings ME – Portland ME, as of 1999
Route length:	69.4 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Dual track :	-
Society:	PAR
Legend Stretch of Wilmington MA 115.1 Cummings ME (formerly South Berwick, Berwick Junction) former route to Agamenticus former route from Portsmouth NH 124.8 North Berwick ME former route to Portland approx. 131 Merriland ME 136.6 Wells ME (formerly Wells Beach, Ogunquit) 139.1 Elms ME (formerly The Elms) former route from Kennebunkport 144.8 Kennebunk ME 148.4 Arundel ME approx. 155 West Biddeford ME Connecting track to Saco East 159.5 Biddeford ME Saco River 160.2 Saco / Biddeford ME (formerly Saco) 164.7 Old Orchard Beach ME Temple Avenue former route from Camp Ellis 165.8 Old Orchard Beach ME Camp Ground 166.8 Old Orchard Beach ME 168.6 Surfside ME 169.5 Grand Beach ME 170.8 Pine Point ME (formerly Pine Point Beach, Blue Point) 174.9 Scarboro Beach ME (formerly Scarboro) 178.3 Scarboro Crossing (formerly Rigby, Pleasant Hill) Link to South Portland former Portland – Portsmouth line Connections to South Portland and Portsmouth approx. 179 Rigby ME Yard (freight yard) approx. 182 Rolling Mills ME approx. 183 Ligonia ME Fore River Link to Rockland approx. 184 Boston & Maine Junction (until 1888) Stretch of rockland Portsmouth stretch 184.5 Portland ME Commercial Street Connecting track to the GTR

The railway Cummings-Portland is a railway line in Maine ( United States ). It is 69.4 kilometers long and connects Boston with the city of Portland . The standard gauge line is still fully operational. Freight traffic is carried out by Pan Am Railways , which also owns the route. Amtrak operates the passenger traffic .

history

The Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad (PSPR) had operated a railroad line from the main line of the Boston and Maine Railroad to Portland since 1842 . Boston & Maine had leased this route together with the Eastern Railroad . However, since they could not agree on payments, the lease was terminated in 1870, and Boston & Maine planned to build a separate line parallel to the existing one, which should, however, better develop the up-and-coming coastal towns. The new line branched off the existing line at South Berwick (until 1879 Berwick Junction , now Cummings) and leads via Kennebunk , Biddeford and Old Orchard Beach to Portland, where it enters the terminus Commercial Street, which the old line also used. In 1873 the new line was initially opened as a single track. The section of the old main line east of South Berwick to the PSPR was closed a few years later.

From 1888 the passenger trains of Boston & Maine drove into the new main station of Portland , the station Commercial Street served only a few local trains on the old main line as terminus and was completely closed as passenger station in 1894. From this point on, the passenger trains that ran over the old main line also used the Cummings – Portland route between Rigby and Portland. When the old route between South Portland and Commercial Street was interrupted in 1916, freight trains were eventually also routed over the route. A large freight yard was opened in 1913 north of the Rigby crossing station and is still in operation today. It largely replaced the facilities on Commercial Street, which were now only used as a parking area.

During this time, seven pairs of passenger trains ran on the route on workdays and five on Sundays, including well-known express trains such as the Gull ( Boston - Halifax ) and the State of Maine ( New York City - Portland).

In the 1910s, the line was largely double-tracked, only the North Berwick – Kennebunk section remained single-track until 1944. This year the old parallel main line was closed and all trains now ran between North Berwick and Portland on the Cummings – Portland route. This led to an increase in the number of trains, so that in 1945, for example, nine pairs of passenger trains traveled the route on weekdays and six pairs of trains on Sundays. However, the number of passengers fell very quickly after the end of the Second World War and in 1965 the Boston & Maine finally stopped passenger services on the entire route.

With the sharp decline in the number of passengers transported and the development of new safety technology, it was soon possible to do without the second track and the line is now almost entirely single-track again. There are encounter sections at Wells and between Saco and Old Orchard Beach . The second track remained in operation between Scarboro Beach and Portland. After the bankruptcy of Boston & Maine, Guilford Transportation took over the operation of the route in 1983, which has operated under the name Pan Am Railways since 2006 .

Since December 15, 2001 there is again scheduled passenger traffic on the Cummings – Portland route. The Amtrak is running on the track with their express Downeaster currently five times a day.

Route description

The line branches off directly east of the state line to New Hampshire in Berwick from the Wilmington – Agamenticus railway line and runs northeast, while the old main line turns east. Although this connection was closed in 1879, the route is still easy to see. After almost ten kilometers, the line meets the old main line of the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad (PSPR), which was crossed here at the same level. Until the Eastern Railroad was taken over by Boston & Maine in 1883, there was no track connection between the lines.

Here the route turns to the east and leads back to the northeast from Wells . After the former Arundel station , the route bends north and returns to the old PSPR main line in Biddeford . In sight of this, the route now runs further northeast. At some point a connecting track was built that branches off at Alford Road and is still used today as an entrance to the Saco Industry Park . Shortly before crossing the Saco River , the route turns east again and leads through Saco to Old Orchard Beach , where it meets the Atlantic coast. The route runs along this north-east until it turns north again at Scarboro and shortly afterwards again crosses the old PSPR route at the same level.

The wide layout of the Rigby freight yard begins directly north of the intersection, which is now just a triangle. Shortly thereafter, the route turns northeast and crosses the Fore River , which marks the city limits of Portland. Along the river, the line now runs to Commercial Street Station, where it meets the Portland – Rockland railway and again the old mainline of the PSPR.

literature

• Robert M. Lindsell: The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press, Pepperell MA 2000, ISBN 0-942147-06-5 .

Web links

• Pan Am Railways
• History of the Maine Railroad

Individual evidence

1. ^ Mike Walker: SPV's comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England & Maritime Canada. Steam Powered Publishing, Faversham 1999, ISBN 1-874745-12-9 .
2. ↑ Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Issued June 1916. Boston & Maine Railroad, Table 44. page 207.
3. ↑ Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Issued May 1945. Boston & Maine Railroad, Table 8. Page 84.
4. ^ Official timetable of the Downeaster