Bangor, Old Town and Milford Railroad
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The Bangor, Old Town and Milford Railroad (BOT & M) is a former railway company in Maine ( United States ). It existed as an independent company from 1832 to 1869.
history
The company was already on 8 March 1832 as Bangor and Piscataquis Canal and Railroad Co. founded. She applied for the concession to build and operate a railway from Bangor to Old Town via Stillwater , and later an extension line to Milford , which should cross the Penobscot River . Construction began in 1835. The opening of the single - track standard - gauge line took place on November 6, 1836 to Old Town (22.5 km). This line was the first and until 1842 only locomotive-operated railroad in the state of Maine. The section from the terminus in Bangor to the port lay in the road surface and was operated as a horse-drawn tram. The passenger trains did not use this section. The port railway was shut down around 1848.
On August 2, 1847, the Bangor and Orono Railroad was founded as a competing company and renamed Penobscot Railroad in 1850 . This received on August 21, 1850 the concession to build a railway from Bangor to Old Town. For financial reasons, however, only track preparation work was carried out.
The company was sold to General Samuel Veazie in 1854 and reorganized on March 14, 1855 in Bangor, Old Town and Milford Railroad . The main cargo, besides passengers, was wood and oil. The new owner financed the renewal of the track system as well as the 2.4 kilometer long route extension over the Penobscot River to Milford, which went into operation in 1855. The railway was popularly known as the Veazie Railroad after its owner .
The European and North American Railway (E&NA) planned to build a 1676 mm gauge line from Bangor to Halifax that would run through the valley of the Penobscot River. It therefore took over the Penobscot Railroad in 1863, including its concession and the route it had commenced, and completed it by the spring of 1869. After Veazie died in 1868, E&NA was able to acquire BOT & M cheaply. Since some parts of the route were to be used for their own route in both Milford and Bangor at the harbor, traffic was stopped in 1869 and the route was completely dismantled by June 1870. Since Stillwater no longer had a rail link, E&NA built a branch from Orono there in 1871, which was only used for freight traffic.
Part of the route is still visible today, as it was partially converted into a cycling and hiking trail.
passenger traffic
The 1867 timetable provided for three daily train pairs to run between Bangor and Milford. The fare was 40 cents.
attachment
credentials
literature
- Robert M. Lindsell: The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press, Pepperell, MA 2000, ISBN 0-942147-06-5 .