Old Orchard Junction Railroad

Old Orchard Junction RR

Route length:

4 km

Tracks:

1


		from Portsmouth NH
	0	PS&P Junction
		to Portland

	4th	Old Orchard Beach ME

The Old Orchard Junction Railroad was a railway company in Maine ( United States ).

Old Orchard Beach on the Maine coast, popular as early as the 19th century , had been connected to the Cummings – Portland line of the Boston and Maine Railroad since 1873 . The Eastern Railroad , which was the largest competitor to Boston & Maine in this area, had leased the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad (PS&P), the route of which passed a few kilometers north of the city. Local investors founded the Old Orchard Junction Railroad in early 1881 to give Eastern access to the city and thus create a competitive situation. It was hoped that PS&P or Eastern would lease the route.

The approximately four-kilometer standard-gauge branch line was opened in mid-1881 and only operated in summer for passenger traffic. It branched off on the open line from the PS&P main line, where a PS&P Junction transfer station was created. The terminus in Old Orchard Beach was north of the city. There was no rail connection to the Boston & Maine main line. The required vehicles were rented from the Eastern Railroad.

Also in 1882 the trains ran again in summer. However, the transport numbers were apparently so low that the company did not resume operations the following year. In addition, the Boston & Maine leased their competitor, the Eastern Railroad, at the end of 1883, so that the competitive situation was no longer given. The line was therefore finally shut down and dismantled around 1885. At the same time the railway company was dissolved.

literature

Robert M. Lindsell: The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press, Pepperell, MA 2000, ISBN 0-942147-06-5 . Page 167.