Portland – Island Pond railway line
The railway Portland Iceland Pond is a main railway line in Maine , New Hampshire and Vermont ( United States ). It is part of the rail link from Portland (Maine) to Montreal . Passenger traffic was discontinued in 1967, freight traffic still exists between New Gloucester and Island Pond and is carried out by the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad . A short section in the urban area from Portland to East Deering has been closed and is now partially used by the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum as a route for their museum railway. The section from East Deering to behind New Gloucester is out of service, but not yet officially closed.
history
In 1845, John Alfred Poor founded the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad in Portland with the aim of building a railway line from Portland towards Montreal. In Canada, a businessman friend founded the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway , which was to build the line from Montreal. In Island Falls (Vermont) the two routes should meet. Since large parts of the then existing railway network in Canada had the colonial gauge, i.e. 5½ feet (1676 mm), it was agreed on this gauge. At the same time, the aim was to make it more difficult for Canadian customers to have their goods transported to Boston, from where a route to Montreal was also being planned, but in standard gauge (1435 mm). On August 20, 1846, construction began in Portland. The route was opened in sections as follows:
| date | Route section |
|---|---|
| July 20, 1848 | Portland ME India Street - Yarmouth ME |
| November 25, 1848 | Yarmouth ME - Danville ME |
| February 4, 1849 | Danville ME - Mechanic Falls ME |
| September 1849 | Mechanic Falls ME - Oxford ME |
| June 8, 1850 | Oxford ME - South Paris ME |
| March 1851 | South Paris ME - Bethel ME |
| June 10, 1851 | Bethel ME - West Bethel ME |
| Early July 1851 | West Bethel ME - Gilead ME |
| July 23, 1851 | Gilead ME - Gorham NH |
| July 12, 1852 | Gorham NH - Groveton NH |
| Fall 1852 | Groveton NH - North Stratford NH |
| April 4, 1853 | North Stratford NH- Island Pond VT |
In October 1846, the Canadian company of Longueuil on the St. Lawrence River across from Montreal had started building the railway. The connection at Island Pond went into operation on July 11, 1853. On July 1st of that year, the Grand Trunk Railway acquired the Canadian company, which from August 5th also acquired Atlantic & St. Lawrence leased.
After many Canadian routes were soon converted to standard gauge, the colonial gauge on the Portland – Montreal route also proved to be out of date. From 1871 the line had no connection to other railways. In just 12 hours on the night of September 25th to 26th, 1874, the entire route from Portland to Montreal was nailed to a track gauge of 1,435 millimeters. As a result, connections to the other railway companies were built in the Portland area. As the line enjoyed brisk traffic, the old terminal station in Portland soon became too small. Nevertheless, it took until November 4, 1903, before a new, larger reception building could be opened. Designed by the architectural office Spier & Rohns, the building had a high clock tower and a facade decorated with red granite. Two smaller round towers flanked the main entrance.
After 1916, the volume of transport decreased increasingly because on the one hand the economy was weakened by the war and on the other hand other means of transport were available in the form of airplanes and road vehicles. In 1923 the Grand Trunk Railway was part of the Canadian National Railways . The new railway administration decided to transport their goods to be shipped more to Canadian ports in Halifax and St. John than to US ports in order to save export costs. This also resulted in a significant decrease in the number of transports.
After the Second World War , the number of passengers continued to drop dramatically. After the tower of the station building in Portland was demolished in 1948, the rest of the building also fell victim to the wrecking ball in March 1966. After an express train ran between Portland and Montreal only once a week in the summer season from 1960 onwards, passenger traffic on the route ended entirely on August 12, 1967.
In January 1984 the Back Cove Bridge in Portland burned down and has not been rebuilt afterwards. The line from the northern bridgehead at East Deering and Portland India Street as well as the connecting track to the freight yard on Commercial Street were closed. On the route between India Street and the southern bridgehead of the Back Cove Bridge, the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum , which opened in 1993, built a museum railway in the narrow gauge of 610 millimeters that was previously common in Maine. On May 22, 1989, the Canadian National sold the entire route to the Emons Transportation Group for $ 12 million. This founded the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad , based in Island Pond, and has operated freight traffic on the route ever since.
From December 1993 to the beginning of 1997, the Sunday River Silver Bullet Ski Express ran between East Deering and the ski resort of Bethel during the winter season , sometimes even daily. However, the operation was not profitable and was not resumed in autumn 1997. On November 27, 2013 the St. Lawrence & Atlantic stopped the freight traffic between East Deering and the route point New Glouster (km 41.79) and applied for the closure of this section.
Route description
The line's departure station was in Portland, directly on the beach east of the India Street / Commercial Street intersection. The narrow-gauge railway museum is located here today. The route initially ran along the beach promenade to the Back Cove Bridge. The track of the museum lies on this section today with a gauge of 610 millimeters. The swing bridge is still standing, but has not been accessible since the fire in 1984. The tracks begin directly at the northern bridgehead. The stretch from here to the East Deering freight yard was last used as a siding. Since 2013, the section from here to just before Danville Junction has been out of service and is about to be closed. Shortly after the East Deering station, the train crosses the Presumpscot River and leaves the city of Portland. Parallel to the coast, the route continues northeast to Yarmouth , where it turns north and crosses the southern main line of Pan Am Railways at the same level. The route continues along the Royal River to Danville , where the northern Pan-Am main line is also crossed at the same level. There are connecting tracks at both crossings.
After Danville the railway turns to the northwest and after a few kilometers reaches Lewiston Junction , where the branch line to Lewiston branches off via a track triangle . At Mechanic Falls , the route crosses the Little Androscoggin River . The Portland and Rumford Falls Railway used to cross here . The route continues parallel to the river and crosses it again in South Paris , where the short branch to Norway branches off. In West Paris, right in front of the former train station, there is another river bridge. Here the route leaves the river and continues north along several lakes to Locke Mills . To the east of the city, the train crosses the Round Pond on a dam and runs westwards from here. In Bethel , the route meets the Androscoggin River , which it accompanies to Berlin on its south bank.
In Berlin there are various industrial connections that formerly belonged to the Berlin Mills Railway , but have now been owned by St. Lawrence & Atlantic. The route now leaves the river valley and runs over a ridge to Groveton . In Groveton, the route turns into the valley of the Connecticut River , which it crosses at North Stratford . Then the route runs again over a ridge and finally reaches Island Pond on the lake of the same name. The railroad merges here with the route to Montreal .
passenger traffic
In May 1869, an express train from Portland to Montreal, an express train between Portland and South Paris, and a passenger train from Portland to Island Pond drove. Although these trains stopped at all stations, the express took eight hours and 50 minutes to get to Island Pond and the passenger train took 15 hours and 20 minutes.
The timetable of September 28, 1913 provided for two express trains Portland – Montreal and one passenger train Portland – Island Pond on working days. On Sundays there was only one express train from Portland to Montreal. The travel time between Portland and Island Pond was five hours and 35 minutes for the express trains and six hours for the passenger train.
According to the schedule of January 7, 1934, there was only one daily Portland – Montreal express train, which took five hours and ten minutes to get to Island Pond and only four hours and 45 minutes to get to Portland.
literature
- Ronald D. Karr: Lost Railroads of New England. Branch Line Press, Pepperell MA 1996, ISBN 0-942147-04-9 .
- Robert M. Lindsell: The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press, Pepperell, MA 2000, ISBN 0-942147-06-5 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Mike Walker: SPV's comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England & Maritime Canada. Steam Powered Publishing, Faversham 1999, ISBN 1-874745-12-9 .
- ^ A b Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Issued November 1913. Grand Trunk Railway, Table 9. Page 88.
- ↑ Trains Magazine February 2014, p. 14.
- ^ Travelers Official Railway Guide of the United States and Canada. Issued June 1869. Grand Trunk Railway of Canada. KBS 5.
- ↑ Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Issued February 1934. Canadian National Railways, Table 59. Page 1055.