Somerset Railway
The Somerset Railway is a former railway company in Maine ( United States ). It was founded on March 19, 1860 initially as Somerset Railroad and built a 150-kilometer-long, standard-gauge route network starting from Oakland, where connection to the main line of the Maine Central Railroad existed. In 1874 the Oakland – North Anson railway and a branch to a quarry at Norridgewock were completed.
After the company had to file for bankruptcy on January 3, 1879, it was re-established on August 15, 1883 as Somerset Railway . By 1890 the railway line was extended to Bingham . At the beginning of the 20th century, the company was again insolvent and was sold to the Kennebec Valley Railroad in August 1904 , which, however, changed its name to Somerset Railway at the same time . By 1907 the railway company built a branch line to Kineo on Moosehead Lake .
On July 1, 1911, it merged with the Maine Central Railroad. Today only the main line from Oakland to North Anson remains, which is used by the Pan Am Railways . The line to Kineo was closed in 1933, the section from North Anson to Bingham in 1979. Operations between Madison and North Anson have ceased.