Portland and Rumford Falls Railway
The Portland and Rumford Falls Railway is a former railway company in Maine ( United States ).
It was founded on June 22, 1847 as the "Buckfield Branch Railroad". The aim of the company was to connect the small town of Buckfield to the railway network. Mechanic Falls on the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad (A&SL) was chosen as the connection point . Construction of the 20.9-kilometer line began in 1848 and the line was opened in early 1850. Since the subsequent A&SL had been built in the gauge of 5½ feet (1676 mm), the Buckfield Branch Railroad decided on this gauge.
After bankruptcy and the resulting cessation of operations in 1856, the railway operated as the "Portland and Oxford Central Railroad" from April 15, 1857. The new company was finally able to complete the line to Sumner and put it into operation. The plans to extend the line south to Portland were initially abandoned. Hartford was reached in 1868 , and finally Canton in 1870 . In 1873 traffic on the route had to be stopped again. After the main Portland – Montréal line was converted to standard gauge in 1874 , the line to Canton was also re-tracked and reopened in 1879. In 1884 the extension to Gilbertville went into operation.
On March 3, 1874, the newly founded "Rumford Falls and Buckfield Railroad" took over the railway. They built a 2.4 kilometer branch to the Steam Mills in Canton . On November 8, 1890, the "Portland and Rumford Falls Railway", which was founded on the same day, leased the still deficit railway. The route has been extended in both directions, 18.8 kilometers south to Rumford Junction and 23.6 kilometers north to Rumford Falls . The extensions went into operation in 1894. For the 6.8 kilometer section from Rumford Junction to Lewiston , the railway company had negotiated a right of use with the Maine Central Railroad (MEC). A 17.7 kilometer long link was built between Canton and Livermore Falls , where there was a connection to the MEC. It was opened in 1897.
The Portland and Rumford Falls Railroad leased the company on April 1, 1907 for 1,000 years. The route from Livermore Falls to Rumford (formerly Rumford Falls) still exists today and is used by Pan Am Railways , the rest of the Rumford Junction – Canton route was closed in the 1950s.
See also
literature
- George H. Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads 2nd Ed. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI 2000, ISBN 0-89024-356-5