European and North American Railway
The European and North American Railway (E & NA) is a former railway company in Maine ( United States ) and New Brunswick ( Canada ). The name came about because the company was originally supposed to connect the existing US railroad network from Portland (Maine) to the ice-free overseas port of Halifax . The project was presented by John A. Poor in 1850, whereupon on August 20, 1850 the "European and North American Railway of Maine" and the following year the "European and North American Railway of New Brunswick" was founded.
The line from Portland to Waterville had already been opened in 1849 with a gauge of 5 feet 6 inches (1676 mm) by the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad , the connection to Bangor (Maine) was established by the Penobscot and Kennebec Railroad until 1855 . The route from Bangor to Halifax remained for E&NA. Since the initial line from Portland to Bangor was also built with a gauge of 1676 mm, it was also decided to use this gauge.
In 1863, E&NA took over the Penobscot Railroad , which had planned a route from Bangor to Milford (22.5 km). This line was founded on August 2, 1847 initially as "Bangor and Orono Railroad", but from August 21, 1850 it was known as "Penobscot Railroad". Construction had already begun, but preparatory work on the route remained for financial reasons.
Initially, only the 500-kilometer stretch from Bangor to the port in Point du Chene (NB) was built. On December 1, 1872, the two companies in Maine and New Brunswick merged to form the "European and North American Railroad". The main line was opened in sections as follows:
| "Eastern Extension" | ||
| August 20, 1857 | 27.0 km | Moncton NB - Shediac NB |
| Late 1857 | 3.3 km | Shediac NB - Point du Chene NB |
| 1859 | 143.2 km | St. John NB - Hampton NB |
| August 1, 1860 | Hampton NB – Moncton NB | |
| "Western Extension" | ||
| August 14, 1869 | 145.3 km | Hartts Mills NB (later Fredericton Junction) –St. John NB |
| November 17, 1869 | State border at St. Croix NB –Hartts Mills NB | |
| " Maine Section " | ||
| Spring 1869 | 42.3 km | Bangor ME - Olamon ME |
| Late 1869 | 50.6 km | Olamon ME - Mattawamkeag ME |
| October 18, 1871 | 90.1 km | Mattawamkeag ME – State border at Vanceboro ME |
On December 21, 1867, the Eastern Extension (St. John – Point du Chene) was sold to the Intercolonial Railway , which later built the Moncton – Truro line , where there was a connection to Halifax. On November 11, 1872, it switched the route from St. John to Point du Chene to standard gauge . Since the Portland – Bangor route was already re-gauged by the Maine Central Railroad in 1871, E&NA also decided to extend its remaining Bangor – St. John to convert to the standard gauge, which was completed in 1877.
Later branches were established from Fairville to Carleton (in New Brunswick, 6 km), from Enfield to Howland (6.1 km) and from Orono to Stillwater (4.8 km).
In 1868 E&NA took over the Bangor, Old Town and Milford Railroad , which had operated a railway parallel to its own line between Bangor and Milford since 1836, and closed the line when its own broad-gauge line opened in 1869. In addition, it led operations on the Fredericton Railway , which was also opened in 1869, but which remained formally independent. E&NA leased the Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad in 1873 and the Bucksport and Bangor Railroad in December 1874 , but was unable to meet its payment obligations, so that the two leases were terminated on December 1, 1876. The Canadian part of the company, the "New Brunswick Division", was spun off on March 29, 1878 as the St. John and Maine Railway . After a company bankruptcy, a new "European and North American Railway" was founded on September 1st, 1880, which the old E&NA took over on October 4th of the same year.
The company was leased on April 1, 1882 by the Maine Central Railroad for 999 years and lost its independence. The main Bangor – St. John is still in operation, as is the former Eastern Extension to Scoudouc (east of Moncton). The branch lines are closed. The Bangor – Mattawamkeag section belongs to Pan Am Railways , the following route to the Canadian border was handed over to the Eastern Maine Railway on January 1, 1995 , after the Canadian Pacific Railway had requested closure.
literature
- George H. Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads 2nd Ed. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI 2000, ISBN 0-89024-356-5
- Poor's Manual of Railroads, 44th Annual Number. Poor's Railroad Manual Co., 1911.
