Brunswick Tramway (Maine)
| Brunswick Tramway (Maine) | |
|---|---|
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
The city of Brunswick in the US state of Maine had a streetcar operation from 1896 to 1937 .
history
Brunswick Electric Railroad
On February 4, 1889, the Brunswick Electric Railroad Company was founded and was granted a concession to build and operate a horse , steam or electricity powered tram from Brunswick to Topsham and Harpswell . It was only after entrepreneurs from Fairfield and Waterville bought the company in 1895 that the route was established. The initially planned and licensed route to Harpswell was not built. The route should now begin at the Sagadahoc County's Fairgrounds in Topsham. The route was to reach Bowdoin College through Elm Street and Main Street, across the Androscoggin River and through Maine Street in Brunswick . A loop was planned around the campus through Maine Street, Longfellow Avenue, Harpswell Road, Sills Drive and Bath Street. The length of the route was three and a half miles (about 5.6 kilometers). Construction work began on September 24, 1896, and regular operation on the standard-gauge electric tram began on October 14 of that year . Since the bridges over the Granny Hole Stream and the Androscoggin River were too weak to carry other vehicles in addition to a tram, there were repeated delays. Shortly after the railway opened, the railway company and the municipalities of Brunswick and Topsham jointly financed the construction of a new bridge over both bodies of water, for which the road and tram route had to be relocated a few meters to the west.
Lewiston – Bath line
The owner of the railway company now wanted a connection to Lewiston and Bath . In early 1897 he acquired the Lewiston and Auburn Horse Railroad , which had built the tramway in Lewiston and Auburn , which at that time consisted of four lines . On March 26, 1898, he changed the company's name to Lewiston, Brunswick and Bath Street Railway . On March 30, the company merged with Lewiston & Auburn and on June 1 of the same year it leased the Bath tram . In 1901 the merger also took place with this railway. On March 12, 1898, construction work began to connect the three factories. On July 18, 1898, the section from Brunswick to Bath went into operation, which connected to the existing line at Bowdoin College. The Topsham to Lewiston line was also opened on September 5th. The railways now ran from Lewiston to Bath and continued on the city line from the Topsham Exhibition Center to Bowdoin College. However, operations on the city line were only maintained during the district fair in Topsham, which lasted from May to October every year. Around 1905, traffic on this line ceased entirely and both the track on Elm Street in Topsham and the loop around the Bowdoin College campus were shut down and dismantled around 1906. From the summer of 1899, the Brunswick railway company operated an amusement park with a casino and a wildlife park opposite today's Brunswick Naval Air Station . Due to the low number of visitors, the Merrymeeting Park was closed after the 1906 season. In Bath in 1907 a short extension was built on Front Street from the corner of Center Street to a new track triangle at the intersection of Lambard Street in order to be able to use one-way vehicles.
Portland and Brunswick Street Railway
As early as 1899, the Lewiston, Brunswick and Bath Street Railway planned to build a route from Brunswick to Yarmouth , where there was a connection to the Portland tram . Freeport Municipality wanted the route to go through South Freeport, the rail company preferred a more direct route. The supervisory authority only approved the route via South Freeport, which is why the railway company now only wanted to build the connection from Brunswick to Freeport.
The rail company's board of directors was split over the project and some board members formed the Portland and Brunswick Street Railway Company in early 1901 . She took over the concession for the line, which was renewed on November 27, 1901. An unsuccessful appeal against the construction of the line was lodged by the Maine Central Railroad , which feared strong competition for its Portland – Brunswick railroad . In April 1902 construction began and on July 23 of that year the section from Brunswick to South Freeport could be opened. The rest of the route to Yarmouth went into operation on August 8th. The terminus in Brunswick was at the intersection of Maine Street and Pleasant Street. With the tram, the railway company also opened Casco Castle Park in South Freeport in the summer of 1902 . Like the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath establishment, this park had a casino and a zoo and next to it a stone tower that still stands today. The park was sold to a private entrepreneur in 1910. After the casino burned down in 1914, the complex was closed.
In Yarmouth initially no track connection to the tram to Portland was built because there was no permit for continuous operation and also because the Portland tram showed no interest in it. Portland & Brunswick now intended to build their own tram route to Portland, parallel to the existing line. The Portland and Brunswick Extension Railway Company was founded on December 2, 1905. However, this led the Portland tram to give in and a cooperation agreement was signed on January 24, 1906. On August 9th of the same year, the route through Yarmouth was relocated to its own railroad track and a rail link to Portland was built and continuous operation began six days later.
Another story
On April 24, 1907, the Lewiston, Augusta and Waterville Street Railway bought the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath and now ran the Lewiston – Bath line. On September 25, 1911, this company bought the bankrupt Portland & Brunswick. Exactly two months later, the Brunswick and Yarmouth Street Railway Company was founded as the operating railway company, which received the operating license for the Brunswick – Yarmouth line on December 21. On August 19, 1913, this company merged with Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville.
After the First World War , which led to the bankruptcy of Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville and the reorganization of the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railway , the timetable was thinned out and continuous operations to Portland were discontinued on December 1, 1919. However, new vehicles were procured in 1920 and necessary track repairs were carried out, which reduced travel times. Due to the low capacity utilization on September 10, 1929, operations on the Brunswick – Yarmouth line were discontinued and the line closed. After a new highway was to be built between Lewiston and Brunswick, the line from Lisbon Falls to Bath had to be closed on May 15, 1937, because the railway company could not finance the necessary route relocations. The section from Lewiston to Lisbon Falls was integrated into the Lewiston / Auburn city network and operated until September 1, 1941.
Route
The Lewiston – Bath route connected to the Lewiston tram at the Lisbon Street / Cedar Street intersection. It led through Lisbon Street to the city limits and further alongside the street through South Lewiston and Lisbon . In Lisbon Center, the route turned east on its own rail track and crossed the Sabattus River . In Lisbon Falls the route met again on Lisbon Street, which it followed through Lisbon Falls. After the village, another stretch of track began on its own track parallel to the road. Through Pejepscot we continued parallel to Lewiston Road. North of Holland Place, the train turned onto Main Street in Topsham and reached the existing route through Main Street in Topsham and Maine Street in Brunswick at the junction of Main Street / Elm Street.
From this, the route to Bath branched off at Bowdoin College at the junction of Harpswell Road / McLellan Street. The route ran through McLellan Street and Bath Road until shortly after the Harding Road intersection. Here she turned onto her own railroad track, crossed the New Meadows River and ran parallel to the railroad to Old Brunswick Road, which she followed to Bath. In Bath, the train ran through North Street, Middle Street, Oak Street and Front Street to the junction of Front Street and Linden Street, where it met the Bath tram route. The trams ran over their track to Front Street / Center Street and reached the terminus at the junction of Front Street / Lambard Street via a short new line, where a track triangle was created.
The Brunswick – Yarmouth route branched off the existing Brunswick line at the Maine Street / Pleasant Street junction and ran through Pleasant Street, Old Portland Road and Main Street through Freeport. South of the town center, the route led a short distance over its own railway body to Pine Street and along this to South Freeport. We continued along South Freeport Road and Old Freeport Road to today's US Highway 1 . Todd's Brook and the Cousins River were crossed over railway bridges and the railway reached Yarmouth shortly afterwards. Initially, the train ran through Spring Street, East Main Street and Lafayette Street to the terminus just a few feet from the Portland Tram tracks, which ran on Lafayette Street and Marina Road. The trains from Portland drove to Yarmouth station at this time. When continuous operations were to start in 1906, Portland & Brunswick changed the route in Yarmouth and laid new tracks from Spring Street to a separate rail track to Willow Street, along this to Bridge Street and on again via their own rail track. On a new bridge over the Royal River , which still exists today right next to the bridge of Highway 1, it went on to Yarmouth station, where the rail connection to the Portland tram was made.
Operational flow
Timetable
During the fair from May to October, three railcars were used on the city line at 15-minute intervals, which covered the route in 20 minutes. Outside of the trade fair, only one railcar commuted about every 45 minutes. After the opening of the line to Bath and Lewiston, the railcars on the city line only ran during the trade fair and regularly only every 30 minutes, but sometimes more frequently.
The Lewiston – Bath line was operated continuously every 30 minutes in summer. At other times of the year, a railcar only ran every hour on the entire route, but also every half hour between Brunswick and Bath. The railcar from Lewiston arrived in Bath, then ran to Brunswick and back, and only then returned to Lewiston. The travel time for the entire route was two hours and 15 minutes, the Brunswick – Bath section was covered in 45 minutes. During the First World War, from February 14, 1918, the driving time had to be extended to two and a half hours due to a shortage of cars and the interval had to be extended to 75 minutes on the entire route, which also applied to the summer of 1918. It was not until 1919 that the hourly service was reintroduced and the travel time was reduced to two hours and 15 minutes. Through the use of new vehicles, the travel time could be reduced to two hours in 1920 and reinforcement trips were carried out between Brunswick and Bath in the morning rush hour, midday and late evening. From around 1930, trains only ran every two hours on Sundays.
The Brunswick – Yarmouth line was initially operated every 30 minutes. The journey time was one hour. Outside of summer there was only one car every hour on the entire route and there were reinforcement trips on parts of the route at different times of the day. At the terminus in Brunswick there were connections to the railways on the Lewiston – Bath line. In Yarmouth, however, long waiting times had to be accepted for the onward journey with the Portland tram. From 1906 the railways went through in joint operation with the Portland tram. Furthermore, a train ran every 30 minutes in summer and every hour outside this time of year. After the opening of the Portland – Lewiston Interurban Railroad , traffic on the Portland – Brunswick – Lewiston route was almost completely eliminated, as the journey time with the Interurban was only 80 minutes, while it took three and a half hours via Brunswick despite the direct connection. In 1918, therefore, there were only hourly trips between Portland and Brunswick all year round. From the cessation of continuous operation in 1919 to the closure in 1929, the railways commuted between Brunswick and Yarmouth every hour.
Freight transport
After a rail link to the Crowleys Junction – Lewiston Lower section of the Maine Central Railroad was built in Lewiston in 1910 , the tram transported Maine Central freight cars to a bleaching plant next to the tram depot on Lisbon Street. In 1915, a rail link to Maine Central was also built in Bath, so that local freight traffic could also be carried out here on tram tracks. In addition, a freight track was built on Washington Street, which tied several industrial and shipbuilding companies. In 1916 the city of Bath built a one and a half kilometer long freight connection to Bowery Street, where further operations were opened up. The line was electrified and served by the tram, which it bought in 1923. In addition to these regional freight transports, freight was also transported over greater distances. There was a regular freight train that ran from Portland via Brunswick and Lewiston to Waterville . Freight trains also ran regularly on the Portland – Bath, Portland – Lewiston and Lewiston – Bath routes. Freight sheds were built in Lewiston, Lisbon Falls, Brunswick and Bath.
After the Portland tram ceased freight traffic on July 13, 1920, Androscoggin & Kennebec took over freight traffic between Portland and Yarmouth, so that freight trains continued to roll on the Brunswick network. On February 1, 1929, however, freight traffic between Portland and Brunswick was set, which ultimately led to the line being closed a few months later. Until the closure of the route from Lisbon Falls to Bath in 1937, freight traffic was carried out on this route. Local freight traffic to the bleaching plant in Lewiston even continued until the summer of 1941 when Maine Central built its own siding there.
Fares
On the city line in Brunswick a 5-cent standard tariff initially applied. Only two cents were charged for students and teachers by contract with the municipalities of Topsham and Brunswick. With the opening of the other routes, a zone tariff was introduced.
| from date | route | Number of tariff zones |
Price per zone (cents) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1902 | Lewiston – Bath Brunswick – Yarmouth |
7 4 |
5 | |
| 1909 | Lewiston – Bath Brunswick – Yarmouth |
7 5 |
5 6 |
|
| November 1911 | Lewiston – Bath Brunswick – Yarmouth |
7 6 |
5 | |
| July 1, 1917 | Lewiston – Bath Brunswick – Yarmouth |
10 6 |
5 | From March 1, 1918, overlapping zones were introduced and some individual routes were offered for eight cents |
| June 7, 1918 | Lewiston – Bath Brunswick – Yarmouth |
10 6 |
7th | |
| August 8, 1920 | Lewiston – Bath Brunswick – Yarmouth |
10 6 |
9 | 6-trip / zone cards for 50 cents |
| April 24, 1924 | Lewiston – Bath Brunswick – Yarmouth |
10 6 |
10 | no more discounts or cheaper single routes and collective tickets |
| April 1933 | Lewiston – Bath | 10 | 10 | Introduction of additional short 5-cent zones between Lewiston and Lisbon Falls in order to reduce the fare on this route to 25 cents (previously 40 cents) |
Switching to the city lines in Lewiston / Auburn and Bath was free as long as no zone border was crossed.
Depots
The Brunswick Electric Railroad depot was in Topsham on Summer Street. A short service track connected it to the Main Street line. Even after the Lewiston – Bath line opened, the depot was still in use for a few years. However, three new depots were also built on this route. In Lewiston on Lisbon Street, near the Canal Street intersection, an eight-track depot was built, which also included the main railway workshop and a railway power station. A four-track storage hall was built in Lisbon Falls. In Bath, a former factory building on North Street has been converted into a depot. Two tracks had a connection to the railway line, the remaining tracks of an unknown number inside the hall were reached via a transfer platform.
On December 19, 1903, the Lewiston depot burned down, 25 trams were destroyed and another was badly damaged. It was rebuilt and used until September 1941. The depot in Bath was demolished in 1911 and replaced by a much smaller, two-track new building. It was closed with the closure of the tram to Bath in 1937. On October 20, 1913, a storm destroyed the garage in Lisbon Falls. Two of the four tracks were then dismantled, the others remained as siding without roofing until 1937.
On the route to Yarmouth, a four-track depot with a railway power station was built in Freeport near the level crossing in Main Street. It was shut down with the line through Freeport in 1929.
vehicles
The rolling stock of the Brunswick Electric Railroad consisted of one closed and two open railcars and a snow plow. The company only had three engines. Since the open cars only drove in summer, the engines of these cars could be built into the snow plow over the winter.
The Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath acquired a total of 20 four-axle open railcars from the Briggs Carriage Company , each with 70 seats , for the Lewiston – Bath line by 1899 . In addition, eight two-axle closed railcars with 28 seats each were bought. During the fire at the Lewiston depot, one of the open and three of the closed cars were destroyed. The remaining 21 wagons destroyed were assigned to the Lewiston / Auburn city network. After the fire, three used four-axle closed railcars were purchased from a Massachusetts tram operator and manufactured by the Newburyport Car Company . Around the turn of the year 1905/06, another closed car was bought by the Laconia Car Company . The special and work vehicles that were in use on the route were not exclusively assigned to this route, but drove on the entire network. This also included the Merrymeeting saloon car , which was used for special trips. At the beginning of 1907, the company acquired eight four-axle convertible railcars from the Brill Company with a viewing platform at the rear end. Although the cars had doors on both sides, they could only run in one-way operation. For this reason, a track triangle was built in Lisbon Falls so that the cars could also be used on amplifier trips. In Bath, too, a short extension of the track with a track triangle was built. Track triangles already existed in Brunswick and Lewiston.
Portland & Brunswick bought five closed and seven open four-axle railcars from the John Stephenson Company when their route opened . The closed wagons were combined passenger and luggage wagons. They got the names Alice , Camilla , Dorothy , Flora and Lida . In 1903 two of the open motor coaches were sold to the Waterville and Oakland Street Railway . The company also owned a two-axle work truck and two snow plows. Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville bought three two-axle closed railcars in 1911 for the Brunswick – Yarmouth line. Shortly thereafter, the combined cars were converted into pure passenger railcars and continued to be used on the Portland – Brunswick route. The three new railcars were sold to the Portland Tramway in 1916. She used this as a work car.
In 1920 ten four-axle closed railcars were bought by the Wason Manufacturing Company , which were specially designed for overland traffic . They were used on the Lewiston – Bath line but also on other longer lines operated by the railway company. The facility railcars were scrapped. Three new two-axle closed Birney cars were procured for the Brunswick – Yarmouth line by 1922.
literature
- OR Cummings: Trolleys to Brunswick, Maine 1896-1937. (Transportation Bulletin No. 73) Historical National Railway Society, Warehouse Point CT, 1966.