Portland and Ogdensburg Railway
The Portland and Ogdensburg Railway (P&O, officially also "The Portland and Ogdensburg Railway") is a former railway company in the northeastern United States . It was founded on February 11, 1867 as the "Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad" in Maine and New Hampshire and was supposed to connect the cities of Portland (Maine) and Ogdensburg (New York) . There were already three railway companies in Vermont , which P&O took over on August 7, 1875.
The Essex County Railroad was founded in 1864 and opened the St. Johnsbury - West Concord route until 1871 . The section to the New Hampshire border near Lunenburg was not opened until the mid-1870s. Overall, the route was about 34 kilometers long.
The Montpelier and St. Johnsbury Railroad was founded in 1866 and was originally intended to connect St. Johnsbury with the city of Montpelier . In 1872 there was a 24-kilometer section to West Danville . The rest of the planned route was never built.
In West Danville, the Lamoille Valley Railroad , founded in 1867, was built to build the route to Swanton . By 1872 the company opened the line to South Hardwich . The remaining section of the 135-kilometer route was not put into operation until 1877 by Portland & Ogdensburg.
The Portland – Lunenburg railway line was opened in sections. The White Mountains had to be crossed on the 594 m high Crawford Notch with a maximum gradient of up to 3.5 percent. A contract was signed with the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad on the right to use the Wing Road – Fabyan route, which they had opened in July 1874. The gap to Lunenburg was put into operation at the end of 1875. Thus from 1877 the entire 370 km long Portland ME – Swanton VT route was navigable. The standard gauge (1435 mm) was chosen as the gauge .
After financial difficulties, the "Vermont Division" (section Lunenburg NH - Swanton VT) was spun off as " St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad " (StJ & LC) on January 31, 1880 . The rest of the company operated from June 8, 1886 as the "Portland and Ogdensburg Railway". The Maine Central Railroad initially leased this company on August 20, 1888, but also the St. Johnsbury - Lunenburg section of the StJ & LC from July 1912. On August 1, 1927, this lease was canceled and the Canadian Pacific Railway now leased this section of the route. In 1943, the Maine Central Railroad finally acquired the leased routes and incorporated them into their network.
From June 1984, the Twin State Railroad operated the Whitefield NH – St. Johnsbury VT, from October 1999 only occasionally the section lying in Vermont. The line is largely closed today, only the Portland ME – Cumberland Mills ME ( Pan Am Railways ) and Whitefield NH – Lunenburg NH ( New Hampshire Central Railroad ) sections are still operated regularly. On the Intervale Junction NH – Fabyan NH section over the White Mountains and Crawford Notch, tourist trains of the Conway Scenic Railroad run .
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.