Benton – Fairfield Tram

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The tram Benton - Fairfield was a tram service in Maine ( United States ). On June 21, 1898, the Benton and Fairfield Railway Company was founded in Fairfield .

They first built an approximately 3.6 kilometer long single-track line from Benton on the Sebasticook River to the local station on the Cumberland Center – Bangor railway , which opened on December 7 of the same year. From January 19, 1899, the trains drove beyond Benton station to the bridge over the Kennebec River . On July 20, 1899, the extension went over this bridge to the northern bridgehead in Fairfield in operation. In 1900 the line in Fairfield was extended from Bridge Street over Island Street to Fairfield Station on the Brunswick – Skowhegan railway , and in Benton over the Sebasticook River to the paper mill in Benton Falls. The final state of development was reached in 1901 with the extension from Fairfield station through Main Street to the terminus of the Waterville tram and the Fairfield – Shawmut tram .

The total length of the single-track line was 7.72 kilometers. The depot was located in Benton Falls at the end of the first section opened. The traction power plant was in Fairfield, but was closed in 1911. From this time on, the railway company obtained power from the Waterville tram.

In 1910 the railway company had one passenger car, eight freight cars and a snow plow at its disposal. The passenger railcar ran every hour in each direction, the railroad was mainly used for freight traffic, which made up over 80% of the revenue. The original depot burned down in April 1914 and was then rebuilt and enlarged somewhat.

In 1929 passenger traffic was stopped and in 1936 the railway was finally shut down and the facilities dismantled and scrapped. The depot was only demolished in the early 1940s.

Sources and further information

Individual proof
  1. ↑ Cummings 1955, p. 24.
literature
  • OR Cummings. Toonervilles of Maine. The Pine Tree State. Newburyport MA, 1955. pp. 23-25.
  • OR Cummings. Waterville, Fairfield & Oakland Railway Company. (Transportation Bulletin 72) Warehouse Point CT, 1965.
  • Poor's Manual of Railroads, 44th Annual Number. Poor's Railroad Manual Co., New York NY, 1911. Page 2064.
  • First Annual Report, Public Utilities Commission, State of Maine. Sentinel Publishing Co., Waterville ME, 1915. Pages 178-9, 290-2.