Portsmouth, Dover and York Street Railway
The Portsmouth, Dover and York Street Railway is a former railway company in the US states of Maine and New Hampshire . They operated electric tram lines between their eponymous cities.
history
Portsmouth, Kittery and York Street Railway
On March 27, 1893, the Kittery and York Electric Railway received a concession to build and operate a horse-powered or electric tram between Kittery and York . The company was renamed on February 1, 1897 in Portsmouth, Kittery and York Street Railway (PK&Y). On May 1, 1897, construction work began on the 24.3-kilometer single - track standard gaugeRoute. The electric tram opened from Kittery, on August 12th to Kittery Point Depot, on August 20th to Sea Point (Cutt's Island), on August 25th to Seabury, on August 26th to York Beach and finally on August 27, 1897 to the provisional endpoint York Beach Square. At the same time as the tram, the ferry from Kittery to Portsmouth went into operation on August 12th , which followed the trams. In summer the trains ran every half hour over the entire route. In the spring and fall, every second car ended up at Sea Point. In winter, cars only drove to York Beach every 90 minutes, all others also ended at Sea Point.
On June 28, 1900, the route in York Beach was extended to St. Aspinquid Park after the railway company bought this park. The section from York Beach Square to St. Aspinquid Park was only operated from May to October. During the rest of the year, all trips continued to end in York Beach Square. On November 1, 1903, the railway was taken over by the Portsmouth, Dover and York Street Railway (PD&Y).
Kittery and Eliot Street Railway
On March 20, 1897, the Kittery and Eliot Street Railway was founded to build a tram line from Government Street in Kittery, where connection to the PK&Y should exist, to Eliot station. Construction work did not begin until the beginning of July 1902 and the first section from Kittery to Spinney in South Eliot was opened on July 24th. Two days later, the preliminary endpoint of Greenacre was reached. All journeys started at the PK&Y ferry station. The route was initially only served every hour. PK&Y provided vehicles, personnel and electricity. The railway company was taken over by PD&Y on July 1, 1903.
Portsmouth, Dover and York Street Railway
First founded on August 31, 1901 as Berwick, Eliot and York Street Railway , the company planned to build a tram from Dover via Eliot to York Beach. In New Hampshire, the Dover and Eliot Street Railway was also founded on October 2, 1901 , which was to administer the section of the line in this state. On May 20, 1903, the BE & Y was renamed Portsmouth, Dover and York Street Railway and from June 1, this company leased Dover & Eliot. She bought the Kittery & Eliot on July 1, 1903 and the Portsmouth, Kittery and York Street Railway on November 1 of the same year. The entire route from Dover to York Corner and a branch to South Berwick went into operation on July 1, while the gap to the former Kittery & Eliot between Eliot and Greenacre only opened on July 14.
The following lines operated during the summer:
- Kittery – Kittery Point – Sea Point – York Village – York Harbor – York Beach – St. Aspinquid Park (every 30 minutes)
- Kittery – South Eliot – Rosemary Junction (–South Berwick Junction – Dover) (every 30 min. To Rosemary Junction, every 60 min. To Dover)
- Dover – South Berwick Junction – Rosemary Junction – East Eliot – York Village – York Harbor – York Beach – St. Aspinquid Park (every 60 min.)
- Dover – South Berwick Junction – South Berwick (every 60 mins)
Fewer trips were enough in winter:
- Kittery – Kittery Point – Sea Point (–York Village – York Harbor – York Beach) (every 30 min. To Sea Point, every 120 min. To York Beach)
- Kittery – South Eliot – Rosemary Junction – South Berwick Junction – Dover (every 60 min.)
- Rosemary Junction – East Eliot – York Village – York Harbor – York Beach (every 120 min.)
- Dover – South Berwick Junction – South Berwick (every 60 mins)
In addition to passengers, the railroad also carried mail with a specially developed post railcar that ran according to a regular timetable. All routes were single-track, and some were laid out on their own track. Dodges were on the Kittery – York Beach route in Emery's, Champernoune, Sea Point, Hazen's, York Corner, York Village, Goodwin's, Long Beach and Breakers; on the Kittery – Dover route in South Eliot, Marsh Wood, Rosemary Junction, South Berwick Junction and Duck Farm; on the Rosemary Junction – York Corner route at Langleys Crossing and Beech Ridge and on the branch route to South Berwick in Parson's. There were depots in Kittery Point, York Beach and South Berwick Junction.
On February 1, 1906, the Atlantic Shore Line Railway acquired the railway company and ran the business. On July 20, 1907, this railway company connected its network with that of PD&Y and opened a tram route from Kennebunk to York Beach. The section from the York Beach terminal to St. Aspinquid Park was also used. In the summer, too, the cars from Kittery and Dover ended up in York Beach. In the summer, continuous cars were set up from Kittery to Kennebunk and in some cases even to Biddeford . In winter the line ran from Rosemary Junction to York Beach through to Kennebunk. After the railway company had to go bankrupt on November 1, 1915, the merger was dissolved again and from May 1, 1917 PD&Y ran its own business again under a bankruptcy administration.
On January 12, 1918, the mail service ended after the mail railcar derailed on a bridge and crashed. The summer schedule now only provided for an hourly service from Kittery to York Beach and Dover, with half-hourly service between Kittery and Sea Point. There were no more passing cars from Dover to York Beach, instead a car ran every hour between Rosemary Junction and York Beach, which had a connection to Dover in Rosemary Junction. The branch line to South Berwick continued to be served hourly from Dover. In winter, the timetable was initially left unchanged, but from the winter of 1919/20, operations between Sea Point and York Corner were discontinued during this time of year.
On March 17, 1923, all operations were stopped due to lack of funds. Only the trains to Kennebunk of the York Utilities Corporation (formerly Atlantic Shore Line) ran until March 31, 1924 on the leased section from York Beach Square to St. Aspinquid Park. In the course of 1924, all tracks except the section from Kennard Corner in Eliot via Kittery to Sea Point were dismantled and sold. However, there was no resumption of operation for this section either and it was also dismantled in 1925. Only two railcars could be sold to other companies, the rest were scrapped.
literature
- OR Cummings: Trolleys to York Beach. The Portsmouth Dover & York Street Railway. New England Electric Railway Historical Society, Manchester NH 1964.