Washington Junction – St. Croix Junction

Washington Junction ME – St. Croix Junction ME, status 1999
Route length:	158.2 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Dual track :	%
Society:	most recently Guilford
Legend from Brewer Junction 0.0 Washington Junction ME to Mount Desert Ferry approx. 13 Eastbrook ME 15.0 Franklin ME approx. 21 Hannas ME approx. 24 Schoodic ME 26.9 Tunk Lake ME (formerly Tunk Pond) 31.5 Goodwins ME approx 35 Stovers ME 39.1 Unionville ME approx 45 Lynchs ME Narraguagus River 46.2 Cherryfield ME approx. 48 Fryes ME 52.8 Dorman ME (formerly West Harrington) 55.5 Harrington ME approx. 60 Plummers ME 61.6 Columbia ME (formerly Addison) about 64 Wards ME Pleasant River 66.6 Columbia Falls ME approx. 68 Matthews ME approx. 70 Indian River ME 73.4 Jonesboro ME Chandler River approx. 82 Watts ME 85.6 Whitneyville ME Machias River approx. 90 Hilltop ME 91.9 Machias ME Port connections Middle River 95.8 Machiasport ME 99.0 East Machias ME approx 101 Gardner's ME 101.2 Jacksonville ME East Machias River approx. 111 Ellis ME 120.2 Marion ME 127.1 Dennysville ME 138.1 Ayer's Junction ME (formerly Eastport Junction) to Eastport 142.9 Charlotte ME from Princeton 158.2 St. Croix Junction ME to Calais

The Washington Junction – St. Croix Junction is a railway line in Maine ( United States ). It is 158.2 kilometers long. The standard gauge line was last operated by Guilford Transportation and has been closed.

history

The history of the railway line goes back to 1842. It was then that the Franklin Railroad was founded, later renamed the Whitneyville and Machiasport Railroad . They built a forest railway in unknown gauge from the woods west of Whitneyville to Machiasport Harbor , which was used from 1843 to 1892. The Bangor and Calais Railroad was founded in the early 1870s and wanted to connect the eponymous cities with a railway line. However, the project failed.

It was not until March 7, 1893, that the State of Maine issued a concession to build a link between the Brewer Junction – Mount Desert Ferry railway and the Calais – Princeton railway , which should make the Bangor – Calais connection. The new route should also use the route of the recently closed forest railway. In 1894 the Washington County Railroad was founded for this purpose. Construction began two years later on both sides and on July 15, 1898, the first section from St. Croix Junction to Eastport Junction and the branch to Eastport went into operation. It was not until October 8th that year that the railway company officially received permission to operate the line. On November 22, 1898, the Washington Junction – Cherryfield and Marion – Eastport Junction sections were opened. The Machias – Marion section went into operation on December 6th and the gap between Cherryfield and Machias was finally closed on December 17, 1898. From 1911, the Maine Central Railroad ran the line after it had bought Washington County.

The passenger trains usually ran on the Bangor – Calais route. Several express trains from Boston, New York City and Washington, DC carried through cars to Calais, which were attached to these passenger trains. On November 25, 1957, passenger traffic was stopped. Freight traffic ended in the summer of 1985. Guilford Transportation , which had taken over the Maine Central Railroad and thus the railway line in 1981, then applied for the line to be closed, which was approved on August 19, 1985. Since there have always been plans to reactivate it and still exist today, the tracks are largely intact. Only the level crossings were removed and a short stretch at Harrington was dismantled.

Route description

The overall very winding route does not run in river valleys, but parallel to the coast and Highway 1 and crosses numerous rivers and streams. It branches off from the Brewer Junction – Mount Desert Ferry railway line at Washington Junction station in a triangular track and initially heads east to Machiasport. From Machiasport the main direction of travel changes and the route now leads north to the valley of the St. Croix River , the border river to Canada.

literature

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

Web links

• 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 .