Portland and Kennebec Railroad
The Portland and Kennebec Railroad is a former railway company in Maine ( United States ). It was founded on April 1, 1846 as "Kennebec and Portland Railroad". The company built a 60.8 km line from Portland to Bath and a branch line from Brunswick to Augusta (33.8 km). Since the line in Portland was to connect to the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad (PSPR) network, it was built in standard gauge (1435 mm) and opened as follows:
| 4th July 1849 | Yarmouth- Brunswick-Bath |
| 1851 | Deering Junction – Yarmouth |
| December 1851 | Brunswick - Gardiner |
| January 1852 | Gardiner-Augusta |
In Portland, the terminus of the York and Cumberland Railroad of Maine on Preble Street was initially used. A connecting track led from there to South Portland on the PSPR main line, which was only used for freight traffic. In addition, the company leased the Somerset and Kennebec Railroad , founded in 1848 , which had built the subsequent route from Augusta to Skowhegan , and operated on the route completed in 1857. In 1861 Kennebec & Portland built their own line to Portland, shut down the old connecting line and from then on the passenger and freight trains ended at Commercial Street station, where a direct transition to the trains in the direction of Boston was possible.
The reorganization of the company in "Portland and Kennebec Railroad" took place on New Year's Day 1864. On May 12, 1870, the P&K in turn was leased by the Maine Central Railroad and finally bought on November 16, 1874. The Portland – Brunswick section as well as the former Somerset & Kennebec is now owned by Pan Am Railways , the remaining routes since 2003 by the Morristown and Erie Railway , which it operates as the "Maine Coast Railroad".
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.