Portland (Maine) Tram
The city of Portland in the US state of Maine had a streetcar operation from 1863 to 1941 . In its greatest expansion in the 1910s, the network had a route length of 164 kilometers. The Portland tram was the second largest tram company in Maine in terms of route length. The network opened up not only the city of Portland itself, but also the neighboring cities of South Portland and Westbrook , and overland routes led via Scarborough to Saco and Old Orchard Beach , to Pond Cove , via Falmouth and Cumberland to Yarmouth and to Gorham and South Windham . In Saco and Old Orchard Beach the network had a connection to the Biddeford and Saco Railroad , in Yarmouth to the tram network of the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railway . Sometimes there were wagons going through these lines to Biddeford and Brunswick .
history
Horse tram
The Portland and Forest Avenue Railroad Company was founded on March 19, 1860 and was granted a concession on March 26, 1863 to build and operate a standard-gauge horse - drawn railway in the cities of Portland, Cape Elizabeth and Westbrook. The first stretch from the junction of Spring Street and Clark Street along Spring Street, High Street, Congress Street, Middle Street and India Street to the Grand Trunk Railway station in downtown Portland was officially opened on October 12, 1863 as Maine's first tram . The fare for the entire route was five cents. In the following year, the second line along Congress Street from the intersection with State Street (Longfellow Square) to the intersection with Atlantic Street (Munjoy Hill) and the third line from Monument Square (intersection of Congress Street / Preble Street) Operating Preble Street, Portland Street, Parris Street, Kennebec Street, Forest Avenue, Pleasant Avenue, Stevens Avenue to Morrills Corner (intersection of Stevens Avenue and Forest Avenue). The section between High Street and Monument Square on Congress Street was built on two tracks from the start. The ring closure provided for in the concession from Spring Street via Clark Street and Pine Street to Longfellow Square was not built, as was the planned cross connection between Congress Street and Middle Street through Exchange Street and the extension to Cape Elizabeth. On February 24, 1865, the company was renamed the Portland Railroad Company .
In 1882, the Portland Railroad began operating a loop extending the first route from Grand Trunk Station via Commercial Street and Pearl Street to Middle Street, connecting several shipyards along Commercial Street. The Ocean Street Railroad Company opened a branch line from the line to Morrills Corner that same year. It ran through Ocean Street (now Ocean Avenue) from the intersection with Forest Avenue eastwards to Lunt's Corner (Ocean Street / Washington Avenue). The reason for the construction of this route was probably to create an incentive for the settlement along Ocean Street. The railroad was not viable on its own, so the Portland Railroad acquired this route on May 30, 1885.
Starting in 1886, Portland Union Station , the city's new central station, was built. In the same year, two years before the station opened, the horse-drawn railway company extended its Congress Street line beyond Longfellow Square to the Congress Street / St. John Street, later called Railroad Square. From 1887, the Spring Street line ran beyond its previous western end point through State Street, Neal Street, Carroll Street, Vaughan Street and Bromhall Street to Bromhall Square (corner of Congress Street and Bromhall Street). The Congress Street line was extended to Bradley's Corner (Congress Street / Bradley Street) around 1889 and finally to Stroudwater Village (Congress Street / Westbrook Street) on August 3, 1891.
In 1890 an extension of the Congress Street line was opened on the eastern side, namely through Atlantic Street, Wilson Street and Beckett Street (now Obrion Street) to Fort Allen Park, as well as a connection through Pearl Street from Middle to Congress Street.
The horse tram depots were located on Spring Street / Clark Street (from 1863), on Stevens Avenue near Morrills Corner (from 1864), at Central Station (from 1888), and on Beckett Street / Wilson Street (from 1891).
In 1890, before the line to Stroudwater was opened, the route network provided for the following connections:
- Central Station - Congress Street - Monument Square - Congress Street - Fort Allen Park
- Bromhall Square - Spring Street - Monument Square - Middle Street - Grand Trunk Station
- Monument Square - Preble Street - Forest Avenue - Stevens Avenue - Morrill's Corner
- Woodfords Corner (Forest Avenue / Ocean Avenue) - Ocean Avenue - Lunt's Corner
- Monument Square - Congress Street - Central Station - Congress Street - Bradley's Corner
electrification
From 1891, the horse-drawn railway network was electrified, after approval had been given on February 26, 1889. The first line on which electrical operation began was on July 2, 1891, the Monument Square - Morrill's Corner line. The railway power station was built in the depot at Morrill's Corner. Portland was the third city in the state to have an electric tram after Bangor and Augusta . At the same time, the route of this line was moved because the multi-track level crossing at the intersection of Parris Street / Kennebec Street severely obstructed traffic. The tracks in Parris Street and Kennebec Street were closed and moved directly through Portland Street to Forest Avenue.
After that, new lines were built, the existing city lines continued to run as horse-drawn trams. On June 30, 1892, the new line from Forest Avenue via Woodford Street, Brighton Avenue and Main Street to Westbrook went into operation. It was built directly as an electric tram and initially operated every 15 minutes. A small wagon hall was built in Westbrook for this purpose, but it was not enough. For example, some vehicles had to be housed in the depot on Beckett Street and pulled by horses every day to the end point on Monument Square.
In 1894, the Ocean Avenue line, which was still operated as a horse-drawn railway line, was extended beyond its terminus at Lunt's Corner through Washington Avenue to East Deering. In the same year they built the horse rail line in the Congress Street eastwards to Atlantic Street two tracks from. In Woodford Street near the junction of Grant Street, a new turnout was also built in 1894 for the Westbrook line .
The rest of the existing horse-drawn railway network was not electrified until 1895. First a new steam power station was built on Forest Avenue / Kennebec Street, which also received a siding for coal transports. In addition, in the course of electrification, the level crossing at the main train station was abandoned and the route was relocated through St. John Street and Park Avenue, where an underpass is located under the railway line. In addition, the terminal at Fort-Allen-Park was converted into a large turning loop that led beyond the previous terminal from Fore Street via Morning Street and Congress Street to the existing route. The loop was driven clockwise. On October 24, 1895, all of the remaining lines except the Ocean Avenue line began to operate electrically. Horse trams operated on Ocean Avenue until the spring of 1896, before this line was also the last to go into electrical operation. At the same time, this route was extended from the post office in East Deering through Washington Avenue to the northern bridgehead of Tukey's Bridge.
Further network expansion
On June 2, 1896, a new line went into operation from Morrill's Corner through Forest Avenue to Riverton Park. The park itself was also built by the tram company as a recreation center and opened on June 20th. Shortly thereafter, the line on Stevens Avenue was double-tracked. In June 1897 the Portland Railroad opened an extension from Stevens Avenue / Pleasant Avenue to Highland Square (Stevens Avenue / Woodford Street) and at the other end of the same street from Morrill's Corner through Allen Avenue to Allen's Corner (Allen Avenue / Washington Avenue) . A new line now ran from Monument Square via Woodford Street, Stevens Avenue to Allen's Corner.
From Congress Street, a new line went into operation on August 1, 1898 through Washington Avenue over Tukey's Bridge, which connected to the existing line at the northern bridgehead. The Ocean Avenue line was thus expanded to a ring line that ran from Monument Square via Forest Avenue, Ocean Avenue and Washington Avenue back to Monument Square. In addition, at the same time a connection was built from Lunt's Corner to Allen's Corner through northern Washington Avenue. On October 7, 1898, a new route from the intersection of Forest Avenue and Portland Street through Park Avenue, Deering Avenue and Brighton Avenue to Rosemont Square (Brighton Avenue / Woodford Street) and a connecting route from this line through Stevens Avenue to Highland Square opens. On June 10, 1899, a link between Brighton Avenue and Congress Street went into operation by Bradley Street, which was served by a second ring line, the North Deering Belt Line . This ran from Monument Square via Central Station, Stevens Avenue, Allen's Corner, Washington Avenue to Monument Square.
Portland and Cape Elizabeth Railway
The Portland and Cape Elizabeth Railway Company (P&CE) was founded on May 7, 1895. She received the concession to build trams in Cape Elizabeth and from there to Portland. However, South Portland was spun off as an independent city from the city of Cape Elizabeth in 1895. The Cape Elizabeth Street Railway Company (CESR), which was founded on May 24, 1895, was supposed to open up the new city with tram routes. The two companies merged on November 1 of the same year and the name of the older company was retained.
A few months earlier, on August 26th, the inner-city network of South Portland went into operation. The CESR opened a route from the southern bridgehead of the bridge to Portland through Bridge Street (now northern Ocean Street), Knightville Square (Ocean Street / Cottage Road), Cottage Road, Broadway, Pickett Street, Fort Road, Preble Street and Willard Street Willard Beach. A second route branched off from this at the intersection of Broadway / Sawyer Street and led through Sawyer Street to Ferry Village at the intersection of Front Street. A third route branched off at Knightville Square and ran through Ocean Street, Summer Street (now Broadway), Lincoln Street and Main Street to Cash's Corner (Main Street / Broadway). The P&CE had extended this last stretch beyond Cash's Corner through Main Street and Rigby Road to the racecourse in Rigby Park, where the Rigby Yard freight yard is today. They also built a cross link between the two eastern lines of the CESR from Ferry Village through Front Street and Pickett Street. The railroad depot was on Bridge Street in Knightville.
On December 7, 1895, the connection between the two networks via the Portland Bridge went into operation. The new route ran from Monument Square in Portland through Federal Street, Market Street, Fore Street, Cross Street and Commercial Street. The line was extended in Portland in 1896 beyond Monument Square through Elm Street, Oxford Street and Preble Street to Portland Preble Street station on the Portland and Rochester Railroad . On June 3, 1897, the route was finally extended from Preble Street in South Portland through Angell Avenue and Cottage Road to Cape Cottage. The railway company also built a casino near the terminal Willard Beach in 1896, but it burned down on January 15, 1898. In June of the same year, P&CE opened a theater and a new casino near the Cape Cottage terminus.
The P&CE was taken over on February 28, 1899 by the Portland Railroad , which in June opened a new line directly through Cottage Road via Meetinghouse Hill, which considerably shortened the travel time to Cape Cottage. In addition, connecting curves to the Portland Railroad network were installed on July 29 at Monument Square in Portland . The line service to Preble Street station ended around 1900, as after the takeover of the Portland and Rochester Railroad by Boston & Maine, the passenger trains now ran to the main station. The tram route there was not shut down until 1922.
On July 31, 1901, the Portland Railroad took a new double-track line in Portland through High Street, York Street and Park Street, which relieved the single-track route on Market Street. Only the Willard Beach Line now ran on Market Street.
In total, the Portland Railroad operated four lines after these openings on their new "South Portland Division":
- Portland, Post Office - High Street - Meetinghouse Hill - Cape Cottage
- Portland, Post Office - High Street - Ferry Village - Cape Cottage
- Portland, Monument Square - Market Street - Broadway - Willard Beach
- Portland, Monument Square - High Street - Pleasantdale - Ligonia - Cash's Corner (- Rigby Park for racing events only )
The terminus of the Cape Cottage lines was on Middle Street at the Post Office (corner of Exchange Street). They drove down Pearl Street and Federal Street to Monument Square.
Portland and Yarmouth Electric Railway
The Portland and Yarmouth Electric Railway Company (P&YE) was founded on November 21, 1894 by entrepreneurs from Connecticut. She wanted to build an electric interurban tram from Portland to Yarmouth. After the company was taken over by another consortium in 1897, construction began in the middle of the year. Depots were built on Washington Avenue in Portland and Yarmouth, and a substation for the power supply in Falmouth Foreside .
The route should begin in Portland at the central square, Monument Square. Congress Street was already occupied by a double-track Portland Railroad and too narrow for a third track. So the end point had to be moved to Elm Street, where a track for the Portland and Cape Elizabeth Railway was already , but a second track could be built on the eastern edge of the road. From Elm Street, the route ran through Oxford Street to Washington Avenue, where it met the single-track Portland Railroad to East Deering. The existing line was on the west side of the road, Portland & Yarmouth built their track on the east side. Across Tukey's Bridge, the route reached East Deering, where it turned onto Veranda Street. This she followed to the naval hospital and then crossed the mouth of the Presumpscot River on the road bridge. Along the Foreside Road, the route continued parallel to the coast. In Yarmouth, she followed Lafayette Street, Pleasant Street and Main Street to the Grand Trunk Railway station . On August 1, 1898, the section from Portland to the city limits of Yarmouth was opened and on August 18, the first car reached Yarmouth station.
Although the Portland Railroad had already acquired the majority of the shares in P&YE in 1899 , the railway was only integrated into the Portland Railroad network as the Yarmouth Division on December 11, 1900 . As early as 1899, however, the facility on Washington Avenue was converted into a shared double-track line and a track connection to the rest of the network was established at Monument Square. On July 19, 1899, P&YE opened an excursion park and casino in Falmouth, Underwood Springs Park. In August, a turning loop was created at this park and between Portland and Underwood Springs there was a 15-minute cycle in the afternoons and evenings. On the remainder of the route, the cars ran every 30 minutes. A planned extension to Portland Central Station through Cumberland Avenue was not built.
From August 18, 1906, the car ran on the route of the Portland and Brunswick Street Railway through to Brunswick . The total length of the line was now 45 kilometers.
Westbrook, Windham and Naples Railway
There was an electric tram to Westbrook since 1892. To extend this route to Gorham, the Portland Railroad founded a subsidiary in July 1895, the Portland Extension Railroad . However, the Railway Commission initially refused the concession for the route because it considered the connection of Gorham through the Portland and Rochester Railroad to be sufficient. In 1899, however, the company reached a court ruling that this reason was insufficient to refuse the concession. In the meantime, however, the time the company had given when it was founded had run out to implement its project, and the line could not be built again.
In January 1897 the Westbrook, Windham and Harrison Railway was established. She wanted to build an overland tram from Westbrook via Gorham, Windham, Raymond, Casco to Otisfield and Naples, which would later be extended to Harrison or North Bridgton. Shortly thereafter, it was renamed Westbrook, Windham and Naples Railway (WWN) and began construction in September 1898. In early 1899, an Oxford and Cumberland Railway Company applied for a concession for a route from Westbrook to South Windham along the Presumpscot River, which was rejected. On August 13, 1899, the WWN first opened the section from Westbrook to Mosher's Corner. Four days later, the line to South Windham went into operation. The railway depot was in Westbrook. The construction was not continued, South Windham remained the terminus. In South Windham there was also an approximately 800 meter long freight branch to a quarry.
At the end of 1900, the Portland Extension Railroad applied again for a concession for a route to Gorham. The WWN also applied for such a route. The number of journeys on the existing railway line had declined significantly in previous years, which is why the line was approved on February 7, 1901. In January 1901, the Portland Railroad had acquired the majority of shares in WWN, then dissolved the Portland Extension Railroad and the WWN built the line that branched off the existing railway to South Windham in Mosher's Corner. The line was opened on June 26, 1901.
So far there was no connection between the lines from South Windham and Portland in Westbrook, although their tracks ended only a few meters apart. The connection was not installed until July 25th and the cars could now drive from Portland to Gorham and South Windham. At the same time, sidecar operation on the route to Westbrook was discontinued and the car sequence was reduced to 15 minutes.
Overland route to Saco and Old Orchard Beach
As early as June 1899, the Cape Elizabeth Street Railway applied to extend its route from Rigby Park along US Highway 1 to Saco and to build a branch from Dunstan Corner via Pine Point and Grand Beach to Old Orchard Beach. Since the Cape Elizabeth Street Railway was no longer an operating railway company after the takeover by the Portland Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad , which operated a railway line from Portland to Old Orchard Beach and Saco, appealed against the concession, the application was rejected. A second application also failed in 1900.
In 1899 or 1900, the Portland and Yarmouth Electric Railway founded a subsidiary, the Portland, Scarboro and Old Orchard Beach Railroad , which planned the construction of the line. This plan did not get beyond a draft stage and the company was later dissolved. It was not until February 7, 1901, that the supervisory authority approved the construction of the line - the Portland Railroad had applied for it itself. On July 9, 1902, the route from Rigby Park to Saco along Highway 1 went into operation. At the intersection of Main Street / Beach Street in Saco, the line met the Biddeford and Saco Railroad , whose tracks they shared up to the terminus at Pepperell Square in Saco. Two weeks later a connection was opened in South Portland along Brown Street (now Broadway) from Lincoln Street to Main Street, which the cars to Saco and Old Orchard Beach should use. A small wagon shed was built at Dunstan Corner.
The branch to Old Orchard Beach was only opened on June 15, 1903. The route was changed from the original plans and the railway now led from Dunstan Corner on Cascade Road and through Milliken's Mills to Old Orchard Beach. The route crossed the Portland – Portsmouth railway over a steel bridge.
After the depot at the main train station in Portland burned down on July 9, 1901, a new depot and main workshop were built on St. John Street, at D Street, by 1903. The access route was through St. John Street. On August 25, 1909, this route was extended over Danforth Street and the newly built Vaughan's Bridge to Ligonia and the cars to Saco and Old Orchard Beach now drove over this new route. The Pleasantdale Line was then split and every other car drove straight through Broadway to Cash's Corner, while the remaining cars ended up in Ligonia.
Overland route to Cape Elizabeth
When the Portland and Cape Elizabeth Railway was founded, a route to Cape Elizabeth south of South Portland was planned. In 1904, however, construction began and on August 4th of that year the route through Ocean Street to South Portlands City Hall was opened.
For the further extension, the Cape Shore Railway was founded on May 3, 1906 . The Portland Railroad took over this company a short time later and the route was extended to Pond Cove on July 22, 1909, where it ended at the school. The planned extension to the lighthouse at Cape Elizabeth was just as little built as the routes to Crescent Beach and Prout's Neck.
Portland-Lewiston Interurban Railroad
In addition to the Portland Railroad , the Portland – Lewiston Interurban Railroad (PLI) operated rail services on Portland's roads. The railway was opened in 1914 and used the tram tracks in the urban area. At Morrill's Corner it left the tram network and connected Lewiston with Portland via a well-developed route on its own railway body . An express car drove every two hours and covered the distance in 80 minutes. Local cars also ran every two hours and took 100 minutes.
Last new buildings
The endpoint Monument Square was relieved on June 9, 1910 when a large turning loop was opened from Congress Street through Temple Street and Federal Street, which was used by some lines of the Deering Division and Westbrook Division. In 1911 a route was opened directly through Forest Avenue from Woodford's Corner to Morrill's Corner, which was initially used by the Riverton Line, and from 1914 also by the Portland-Lewiston Interurban.
On 1 February 1912, the leased Cumberland County Power and Light Company , the Portland Railroad for 99 years. In the same year, at the urging of the port authorities, a short branch was built from Pearl Street through Commercial Street to Portland Pier. A new turnout was created at the same time in the Grand Trunk loop on Commercial Street. The first real line closure of the tram took place in 1915. The short branch line from Main Street in South Portland to the former Rigby Park was abandoned because the racetrack had given way to a new freight yard.
After a number of employees had been laid off in 1916, the only strike in the history of the railway began on July 12th . It was peaceful and ended on July 17 with the reinstatement of those released.
In mid-1916, the Portland Railroad planned to build a new line from Commercial Street via West Commercial Street to St. John Street and a cross connection through Park Avenue to Forest Avenue. A new ring line should be used on these two routes. The plan was not carried out. An important new line was put into operation on July 28, 1916. The old bridge between Portland and South Portland was replaced that day by a new building a little further west, the Million Dollar Bridge . In Portland, the rail connection was made via York Street. The old route of the Willard Beach Line over Market Street, Commercial Street and over the old bridge was maintained until the end of 1916. Then this line and the old bridge were shut down and dismantled. The Willard Beach Line then went over the High Street and the new bridge. The last new line of the Portland tram was built in 1917. A short connection route through Broadway between Ocean Street and Cottage Road was opened in South Portland for goods traffic only.
Decline and end of operations
As with most trams in North America, Portland began its decline in the First World War . The automobile traffic increased more and more, so that the number of journeys and thus the income of the tram fell rapidly. The Great Depression from 1929 and highway expansion plans by the government in the 1930s brought further losses and closures. Most of the routes were in need of repair, for which, however, no money was available, as was the procurement of new vehicles. It was driven to wear and tear and the routes were converted to bus operation as soon as the permits from the supervisory authority were available. This was significantly cheaper and therefore more profitable, since only the vehicles had to be serviced, not the route being used.
In 1918, operations on the Willard Beach Line, which was only used every hour, ended. The tracks on Willard Street in South Portland were dismantled. The South Portland Line now ran every hour through Fort Preble and the rest of the journey straight through Broadway.
In the same year, some line changes took effect in Deering. The "Kite Line" and the Ocean Avenue ring line were discontinued and Ocean Avenue was only served by a shuttle car that ran between Woodford's Corner and Lunt's Corner. A new Brighton Avenue line ran from Temple Street to Rosemont on Brighton Avenue, while all cars to Westbrook, with the exception of a few early morning trips, only ran on Woodford Street. The express trips to Westbrook and Yarmouth, which had been in rush hour traffic since 1912 and 1917 respectively, were also discontinued. Initially, the third ring line, the North Deering Belt Line, was also discontinued and replaced by two lines, which, however, led to protests among passengers and was soon reversed. In mid-1918, the old route of the Yarmouth Line in Portland through Oxford Street and Elm Street was also abandoned and the line now passed through Congress Street. In 1919 the continuous operation to Brunswick ended and the line was withdrawn to Yarmouth. From 1925 to 1932, however, the Yarmouth wagons ran through Portland and to Saco during the winter months.
In 1922 Riverton Park was closed and the line of cars on the line was extended to 30 minutes. A second Morrill's Corner line directly through Forest Avenue now ran every 15 minutes, to which the old Morrill's Corner line was also condensed via Pleasant Avenue. Also around 1922, regular operations on the line from the main train station to the Grand Trunk train station were discontinued, but until 1926 individual wagons ran after arriving trains. At the same time the pendulum line along Ocean Avenue was discontinued and the line from Stroudwater now operated via Ocean Avenue to Lunt's Corner. The route to the Grand Trunk station was only served by the Spring Street line. In about 1923 the South Portland Line was withdrawn to Preble Street / Willard Street. The route from there through Angell Avenue was dismantled. After Cape Cottage, the direct line continued via Meetinghouse Hill.
From 1928 the older depots were gradually closed and all cars were used from the depot on St. John Street. From 1931 the dismantling of the network and the conversion of the tram lines to bus operation began. Traffic to Gorham and South Windham ended on August 2, 1931. At the same time, the Westbrook depot was closed. The new terminal of the Westbrook line was in front of the former depot. The routes from Dunstan Corner to Saco and Old Orchard Beach had to give way to a widening of the highway on April 16, 1932. A week later the section from Thornton Heights to Dunstan Corner was closed for the same reason. The cars on this line now ran all year round from Yarmouth to Thornton Heights. On August 17, 1932, the North Deering Belt Line finally ended. The Morrill's Corner Line on Pleasant Avenue was extended to Allen Avenue / Washington Avenue, and a new North Deering line ran from Monument Square on Washington Avenue to this intersection. The route through Bradley Street and Stevens Avenue was closed or built back north of Woodford Street on a track. On October 9, 1932, the line through Ocean Avenue was shut down and the Stroudwater Line ended at the Grand Trunk Station. The Deering depot closed its doors on April 1, 1933.
The PLI was shut down on June 29, 1933. On the same day, the overland line from the Navy Hospital to Yarmouth was replaced by a bus route. The cars from Thornton Heights now ran to the Grand Trunk Station, while the cars to the Naval Hospital ended in Monument Square. On August 4, 1935, the North Deering Line was withdrawn to Lunt's Corner and the section from there to Allen Avenue was shut down. The same fate befell the route through Pleasant Avenue on September 13, 1936. The Allen Avenue line was diverted via Woodford Street. That same day, the Spring Street Line was taken back at its western end to Vaughan Street. The tracks from there to Bramhall Square were dismantled. In addition to the Stroudwater, Thornton Heights and Spring Street lines, some lines from South Portland also ran to the Grand Trunk station, as their previous terminal at the Post Office (Middle Street / Exchange Street) was also closed.
Major cuts took place on April 16, 1939. The lines to Spring Street, Thornton Heights, Washington Avenue / Ocean Avenue (Lunt's Corner) and the Naval Hospital were closed that day. Exactly five months later, operations in Pond Cove, Cash's Corner, Ligonia and Stroudwater ended. Before they were closed, all of these lines ran over the large loop to the Grand Trunk station. The lines to South Portland and Cape Cottage now drove via the Grand Trunk Station to the Customs House on Commercial Street. At the same time, the section of the loop from the Customs House on Preble Street was dismantled.
On June 22, 1940 the last trams went to Cape Cottage and on July 21 to South Portland, Preble Street. The route to the customs house in Portland has now also been closed. The line from Central Station to Munjoy Hill was suspended on December 24, 1940. The route to the depot in St. John Street was initially retained as an operating route . The last car drove to Westbrook on April 19, 1941 and on May 3, 1941, tram traffic in Portland ended with the closure of the lines to Riverton and North Deering. All vehicles, contact line systems and tracks were dismantled and scrapped by mid-July.
Line network
It was not until April 1906 that fixed stops were introduced , starting in downtown Portland . Before that, it was possible to get on and off at any point along the route. The central transfer station between all lines of the network was at Monument Square. There were no line numbers , the color in which the cars were painted indicated the line. In June 1916 the following connections existed:
| Name of the line | Route | Car density (in minutes) |
|---|---|---|
| St. John Street Division | ||
| Congress Street (green cars) | Fort Allen Park (Eastern Promenade) - Munjoy Hill - Monument Square - Central Station (also night traffic) | 6th |
| Spring Street (blue cars) | Bramhall Square - Spring Street - Monument Square - Grand Trunk Station | 10 |
| Union Station and Grand Trunk (red cars) | Central Station - Monument Square - Grand Trunk Train Station | 10 |
| Stroudwater (red car) | Stroudwater - Central Station - Monument Square - Grand Trunk Train Station | 30th |
| Deering Division (yellow car) | ||
| Forest Avenue | Temple Street - Monument Square - Forest Avenue - Pleasant Avenue - Stevens Avenue - Morrills Corner | 20th |
| Riverton Park | Temple Street - Monument Square - Forest Avenue - Morrills Corner - Forest Avenue - Riverton (Harris Avenue) | 15th |
| North Deering Belt Line | Monument Square - Washington Avenue - Allen Avenue - Stevens Avenue - Bradley Street - Central Station - Monument Square | 30th |
| Ocean Avenue and East Deering | Monument Square - Washington Avenue - Ocean Avenue - Forest Avenue - Monument Square | 30th |
| Deering Highlands and Brighton Avenue ("Kite Line") | Monument Square - Forest Avenue - Woodford Street - Rosemont Square (Brighton Avenue / Woodford Street) - Brighton Avenue - Deering Avenue - Park Avenue - Monument Square | 30th |
| Westbrook Division (dark green wagons) | ||
| Westbrook | Temple Street - Monument Square - Park Avenue - Deering Avenue - Brighton Avenue - Rosemont - Westbrook (in rush hour in the afternoon additional Express rides) | 30th |
| Gorham | Temple Street - Monument Square - Forest Avenue - Woodford Street - Rosemont - Westbrook - Gorham (additional express rides during afternoon rush hour) | 60 |
| South Windham | Temple Street - Monument Square - Forest Avenue - Woodford Street - Rosemont - Westbrook - South Windham | 60 |
| South Portland Division (red cars) | ||
| Cape Cottage | Post Office - Middle Street - Pearl Street - Monument Square - High Street - Knightsville - Cottage Road - Cape Cottage | 20th |
| South Portland and Cape Cottage | Post Office - Middle Street - Pearl Street - Monument Square - High Street - Knightsville - Broadway - Preble Street - Angell Avenue - Cottage Road - Cape Cottage | 20th |
| Pleasantdale and Cash Corner | Monument Square - High Street - Knightsville - Pleasantdale - South Portland, Cash Corner (Broadway / Main Street) | 40 |
| Pleasantdale and Ligonia | Monument Square - High Street - Knightsville - Pleasantdale - Lincoln Street - South Portland, Ligonia (Lincoln Street / Main Street) | 40 |
| South Portland Heights and Pond Cove | Monument Square - High Street - Knightsville - South Portland Heights - Pond Cove | 30th |
| East Broadway and Willard Beach | Monument Square - Federal Street - Market Street - Commercial Street - Knightsville - Broadway - Sawyer Street - Fort Preble - Preble Street - Willard Street - Willard Beach | 60 |
| Saco Division (dark green cars) | ||
| Saco | Monument Square - St. John Street - Main Street - Thornton Heights - Dunstan Corner - Saco (- Biddeford, only single trips in late traffic) (only from Dunstan to Saco / Biddeford during the summer months) | 30th |
| Old Orchard Beach | Monument Square - St. John Street - Main Street - Thornton Heights - Dunstan Corner - Old Orchard Beach (in winter only from Dunstan to Old Orchard Beach and only every hour) | 30th |
| Yarmouth Division (green wagons) | ||
| Brunswick | Monument Square - Washington Avenue - Veranda Street - Naval Hospital - Falmouth - Town Landing - Cumberland - Yarmouth (- Freeport - Brunswick) (in early and late hours, every second journey ends in Yarmouth) |
30th |
| Portland – Lewiston Interurban Railroad | ||
| PLI | Temple Street - Monument Square - Forest Avenue - Morrills Corner - Gray - Auburn - Lewiston (express every other trip) | 60 |
Depots
There were a total of twelve depots in the Portland tram network. In chronological order according to opening, these were:
- Spring Street
The first depot of the horse tram opened in 1863 at the intersection of Spring Street and Clark Street. It served exclusively as a parking facility and was electrified in 1895. On March 7, 1906, the facility was closed and the wagons transferred to the St. John Street depot. The rail company sold the site to the Portland Savings Bank Association .
- Deering
In 1864, with the opening of the Morrill's Corner line, the second depot went into operation on Stevens Avenue. It was also the first depot in Portland to go into electrical operation. For this purpose, a small traction power plant was built on the site in 1891. In 1908 the depot was renewed and a new 7-track hall was built. A five-track timber extension completed the ensemble. However, the timber cultivation was torn down again in the early 1920s when the need for vehicles decreased. The depot was used until April 1, 1933. After that, the Deering Division vehicles were stationed on St. John Street. The site remained owned by the railroad as the headquarters of the Track and Track Department and was sold to the State of Maine in 1940. He converted the area into an ammunition depot. In 1941 the tram cars were scrapped on the site.
- St. John Street (I)
The first depot on St. John Street was built near the Congress Street junction in 1888, still for the horse-drawn tram. It was electrified in 1895 and burned down with five cars parked in it on July 9, 1901. It was later replaced by a new depot further south, see St. John Street (II).
- Beckett Street
The horse tram's most modern depot went into operation in 1891 at the intersection of Beckett Street and Wilson Street on Munjoy Hill. From here, from 1891 to 1895, some electric tram cars were used, which were pulled by horses to Monument Square. On July 20, 1921 the depot was cleared. Tram cars were no longer parked here shortly after the turn of the century. The building had previously been leased to the government, which placed mail trucks there.
- Westbrook, Main Street
With the construction of the line to Westbrook in 1892, a four-track wooden depot was built on Main Street in Westbrook. A new building was planned as early as 1901, but was only started when the depot burned down on December 31, 1905. The new eight-track hall went into operation in 1906. The depot was closed on August 1, 1931 when the routes to Gorham and South Windham were closed.
- Knightville
On Bridge Street in Knightville, the Portland and Cape Elizabeth Railway had stationed its vehicles in a six-track hall from 1895. A traction power plant was also located here. In 1899 the depot was transferred to the Portland Railroad together with this company . The power plant was closed in 1912. On May 8, 1928, all vehicles were transferred to St. John Street and the depot closed.
- Washington Avenue
The Portland and Yarmouth Electric Railway built a four-track depot in Portland on Washington Avenue in 1898, along with their Yarmouth railway line. It was also used by the Portland Railroad after the takeover and decommissioned on December 20, 1920.
- Yarmouth
A three-track depot with a traction current substation and a battery house was also built in Yarmouth. It opened in 1898 and burned down along with two cars on February 13, 1920. The old battery house was then converted into a two-track storage hall. With the closure of the line to Yarmouth on June 29, 1933, the use of the depot as a road station ended.
- Westbrook, Conant Street
The Westbrook, Windham and Naples Railway housed their vehicles from 1899 in a small three-track depot in Westbrook on Conant Street. The facility became obsolete when the Portland Railroad took over operations the following year, but was used again briefly after the fire at the other depot in Westbrook. The final shutdown took place in 1906.
- Dunstan
At the Dunstan Corner junction, a small three-track storage hall was opened in 1902 for the lines to Saco and Old Orchard Beach. It was used until the line was closed on April 23, 1932.
- St. John Street (II)
After the old depot on St. John Street burned down, the Portland Railroad built a new depot on the same street, but further south at D Street, which was to become the largest depot for the Portland tram. A 14-track hall went into operation in 1903 and a large workshop was added by 1905, which served as the main workshop. The vehicles from the other depots were gradually transferred here until the depot was the only one on the network in 1933. It served as a tram depot until May 3, 1941, when it was converted into a bus depot.
- Portland Street
The Portland – Lewiston Interurban Railroad depot in Portland was on Portland Street, near the Preble Street intersection. It was in use from 1914 until the railway was closed on June 29, 1933 and then stood empty. From 1940 the track workshop of the Portland Railroad was housed here and until July 1941 the area was still used to scrap the tracks.
In addition to the tram stations, there was a large rail power station on Forest Avenue near Kennebec Street, which opened in 1895 and was used regularly as a rail power station until 1912. With the takeover of the tram by the Cumberland County Power and Light Company in 1912, the tram got its power from this company. The Forest Avenue power plant was kept operational as a reserve until 1922. In 1922, a new power station was built at the port to replace the facility on Forest Avenue. Substations were located at various points in the network and were in operation until the respective lines were closed.
vehicles
Horse tram
Little is known about the horse-drawn carriages. In 1863, two cars were enough to operate the first line. The vehicle fleet was soon enlarged and 50 horse-drawn tram cars were purchased by 1890. Open wagons were used in summer, closed wagons in winter. Many of these cars were made by the Brill company. However, the Portland Railroad also built four of their own, which entered service in 1890. These four cars and two older ones were converted into electric railcars in 1891 and operated on the Deering Line. In 1896 only 22 closed and 20 open horse-drawn tram cars were still in use. Most were used as sidecars, some were converted into railcars and some into work vehicles. The last of these vehicles were retired in 1905.
Portland and Cape Elizabeth Railway
When the company opened in 1895, P&CE bought six open and six closed railcars, two sidecars and a snow plow. In the following years, more cars were added, so that when the Portland Railroad took over ten closed and 20 open railcars, two sidecars, four work cars and two snow plows were available. Eight more sidecars have been bought and sold in the meantime.
Portland and Yarmouth Electric Railway
In 1901, P&YE handed over an extensive fleet of vehicles to the Portland Railroad. It contained twelve two-axle open, four four-axle open, six two-axle convertible / convertible, one four-axle closed and one four-axle convertible railcar. The convertible railcars could be used open or closed. There was also a closed freight car, three work cars with platforms and three snow plows.
Westbrook, Windham and Naples Railway
Only two open and two closed railcars as well as one open and one closed sidecar were sufficient to serve the WWN 1899 network. A flat motor vehicle and a snow plow were also available. The Portland Railroad only took over the railcars and the two work cars and scrapped the two-year-old sidecars.
Portland Railroad
The Portland Railroad had several types of electric tram cars. A total of 104 open and 177 closed railcars for passenger traffic as well as six general cargo railcars and the only two new trailer cars were procured in 1917. Most of the cars were made by Brill , some by its subsidiaries Wason and Stephenson, and some in-house. 87 of the closed railcars were larger and had two bogies . These cars were mainly used on the overland lines. 26 snow plows and rail cleaning wagons, 11 work motor vehicles, a shunting locomotive and nine flat freight wagons completed the fleet. In the course of time, some passenger railcars were converted into additional work railcars.
After the cars were initially painted depending on their area of use, a uniform color scheme was used around 1920. All cars were painted red, had white and blue stripes and a gray roof. The car number was written in gold digits. The name of the railway company was no longer affixed to the car. The destination had been attached to the roof in a box at the end of the roof since 1917. First, different colors were used for the individual lines on the target shield. Due to the weather, however, the colors faded, so that soon only blue signs with white letters were used. The walkway was also marked on the side on the roof edge.
literature
- Osmond R. Cummings: Maine's Fast Electric Railroad: Portland-Lewiston Interurban. (Transportation X) National Historical Society, Inc., Stratford CT 1956.
- Osmond R. Cummings: Portland Railroad. (2 parts) (Transportation XI / XII) National Historical Society, Inc., Stratford CT 1957/1959.
- George W. Hilton and John F. Due: The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press, Stanford CA 1960. ISBN 0-8047-4014-3
- Edwin B. Robertson: Remember the Portland, Maine Trolleys. Robertson Books, No Place, 1982.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Poor's Manual of Railroads , 44th Annual Number. Poor's Railroad Manual Co., New York NY, 1911. Pages 2068-9.
- ^ Robertson 1982, p. 6.
- ↑ Cummings 1957, p. 9.
- ↑ Cummings 1957, p. 10.
- ↑ see Cummings 1956.
- ^ First Annual Report, Public Utilities Commission, State of Maine. Sentinel Publishing Co., Waterville ME, 1915. page 313.
- ^ Robertson 1982, pp. 13-17.
- ↑ Cummings 1959, pp. 29-31
