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40-588: The Maine Central Railroad Rumford Branch is a railroad line in Maine now operated as part of the CSX Transportation system. The Rumford Branch leaves the mainline at Leeds Junction and continues northwest up the Androscoggin River valley, passing through Livermore Falls and terminating at Rumford . The branch comprises the remaining trackage of three earlier branches: Traffic over

80-730: A German Army lieutenant attempted to blow up the railway bridge which crossed the St. Croix River at the international boundary . The lieutenant was arrested by Washington County sheriff Still Woodman, who later became chairman of Maine's Highway Department. In 1888, the Maine Central leased the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad , which ran from Portland, through the White Mountains of New Hampshire via Crawford Notch , and into St. Johnsbury, Vermont , where it connected with

120-662: A pulp mill. It was joined to the rest of the North American rail network through a connection with the Canadian Pacific Railway at St. Stephen, New Brunswick , and operated through New Brunswick territory for several miles between Calais and Woodland. In order to avoid union agreements that the rest of the rail system was forced to follow, Guilford leased this operation to an obscure B&M subsidiary known as Springfield Terminal Railway , because shortlines operate under different federal rules. Eventually,

160-531: A major strike against the company in 1986. Guilford Transportation also moved the Maine Central's headquarters from Portland to North Billerica, Massachusetts, in the mid-1980s. One of the instigating factors which led to the labor strife at Guilford relates to a corporate reorganization at one of the company's former Maine Central properties. After the Calais Branch was abandoned, a small portion of trackage between Calais and Woodland remained in service to

200-484: A subsidiary Rumford Falls and Rangeley Lakes Railroad in 1894 to access aboriginal forests north of Rumford. The Rumford Falls and Rangeley lakes reached Oquossoc in 1902. Maine Central leased the entire line from Rumford Junction to Oquossoc in 1907, and extended it to Kennebago. This line became known as the Rangeley branch when formally merged into the Maine Central in 1914. The branch from Canton to Livermore Falls

240-516: A wholly owned route to Portland in place of the Grand Trunk Railway connection from Danville Junction originally used by the former Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad. This was the only portion of the Maine Central main line built by the Maine Central rather than predecessor companies. The Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad was chartered in 1845 and completed a Portland gauge railroad from Danville Junction to Waterville in 1849. The line

280-542: Is in use by Amtrak (now spelled Downeaster ), which began passenger service between Boston and Brunswick, Maine, in 2001. The Conway Scenic Railroad ( reporting mark CSRX ) is a heritage railroad in North Conway, New Hampshire , United States, owned by Profile Mountain Holdings Corp. The railroad operates over two historic railway routes: a line from North Conway to Conway that was formerly part of

320-720: Is now CSX Corporation . The Maine Central was created in 1862 through the merger of the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad and the Penobscot and Kennebec Railroad , resulting in a line from Danville (now Auburn ) to Bangor . The line connected with the Grand Trunk Railway on its Portland - Chicago mainline at Danville and with the Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad in Bangor. As a result of its connection with

360-756: Is operating these state-owned lines as the Maine Eastern Railroad . Prior to M&E, the Rockland Branch had been operated by Safe Handling , and before that, the Maine Coast Railroad . Several railroad preservation and promotion groups are seeking to have the state-owned Calais Branch and Mountain Division routes reactivated for use by short line or tourist rail operations. In March 2006, Guilford Transportation Industries changed its name to Pan Am Railways (PAR), reflecting

400-503: The Canada–United States border with New Brunswick , and a Mountain Division extended west from Portland to St. Johnsbury, Vermont , and north into Quebec . The main line was double track from South Portland to Royal Junction, where it split into a "lower road" through Brunswick and Augusta and a "back road" through Lewiston , which converged at Waterville into single track to Bangor and points east. Branch lines served

440-828: The Conway Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad , and a line from North Conway through Crawford Notch to Fabyan that was once part of the Mountain Division of the Maine Central Railroad. The Conway line is owned by Conway Scenic, and the Mountain Division is owned by the State of New Hampshire . [REDACTED] Media related to Maine Central Railroad at Wikimedia Commons Maine Central Railroad main line Portland had been

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480-467: The Grand Trunk Railway . The railway was completed to Buckfield in 1849 and reorganized as the Portland and Oxford Central Railroad in 1857. The railway was extended to Canton in 1870 and reorganized as the Rumford Falls and Buckfield Railroad in 1874. The railway went into receivership in 1878 and was converted to standard gauge. The railway was reorganized by Hugh J. Chisholm in 1890 as

520-591: The Penobscot Bay in 1871 by leasing (for fifty years) the then just-completed 33-mile (53 km) of track built by the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad (B&ML). The B&ML's grade ran the length of Waldo County from the port town of Belfast inland to Burnham Junction , where its single track connected with the MEC's Portland to Bangor mainline. Maine Central operated the road as its "Belfast Branch" for

560-483: The Portland and Rumford Falls Railway . The Portland and Rumford Falls Railway was extended north to Rumford Falls in 1892 and south to connect with the Maine Central Railroad at Rumford Junction near Auburn in 1893. A branch line was completed from Canton to Chisholm in 1897 and extended to a connection with the former Androscoggin Railroad at Livermore Falls in 1899. The Portland and Rumford Falls Railway chartered

600-633: The Southeastern Railway (owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway ). Maine Central also operated a line southeast from Bangor along the coast through Machias to Calais , with branches to Bucksport , Bar Harbor and Eastport . Maine Central gained stock control of the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad in 1911 and the Bridgton and Saco River Railroad in 1912, and operated both as narrow gauge branch lines. The Maine Central

640-602: The 1850s, but by the 1880s it was apparent that these could no longer handle modern equipment. The city of Portland, Maine vied with Waterville to become the new shop site, but the railroad decided to remain in Waterville and constructed new, modern shops north of the old ones along the Kennebec River . By 1915 about 2,000 people were employed at the roundhouse, shops, and yards. Following World War I, Maine Central began retracting. It sold or abandoned lines such as

680-719: The Androscoggin Railroad in 1871, and converted its own line to standard gauge in 1873. The southern end of the Androscoggin Railroad adjacent to the Androscoggin River from Brunswick to Crowley Junction became the Lewiston branch of the Maine Central, while the remainder of the line to Farmington became the Farmington branch. The Buckfield Branch Railroad was chartered in 1847 to build a Portland gauge railroad to Buckfield from Mechanic Falls on

720-624: The Canada–US border. This section of the main line saw some of the heaviest traffic on any portion of the Maine Central during winter months before modern icebreakers were able to keep the Saint Lawrence Seaway open; and most of it was Canadian Pacific trains exercising trackage rights. Canadian Pacific purchased the line from Maine Central on December 17, 1974, for $ 5.4 million. Maine Central retained trackage rights and subsequently operated this portion of their former main line as

760-634: The Grand Trunk, the Maine Central initially operated on a track gauge of 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) known as " Canadian " or " Portland gauge ". Maine Central purchased the Portland and Kennebec Railroad, which ran from Portland to Augusta and was built to standard track gauge, since it connected with the Boston and Maine Railroad at Portland. By 1871, the Maine Central completed its conversion to standard gauge to facilitate interchange of cars. The MEC established rail service to

800-458: The Lewiston lower branch was dismantled in 1938. The southern end of the Rangeley branch from Rumford Junction to Canton was dismantled in 1952. The last passenger train to Farmington was in 1957. The Androscoggin Railroad was chartered in 1848 to build a Portland gauge railroad to Farmington, Maine from Leeds Junction on the Portland gauge Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad. The railway

840-613: The Maine Central on the portion of the former E&NA from Mattawamkeag to Vanceboro. This Maine Central trackage formed part of the CPR's Montreal - Saint John mainline, upon completion of the International Railway of Maine . This line was an important rail route for Canadian war material heading to the port of Saint John for shipment overseas to Europe. In the months before the United States entered World War I ,

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880-420: The Rangeley branch decreased after adjacent timberlands had been harvested. Summer passenger trains between Oquossoc and Kennebago were replaced in 1933 by a railbus built in the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad shops. The Rangeley branch north of Rumford was abandoned and dismantled following damage in the 1936 flood . The southern end of the Farmington branch from Leeds Junction to Crowley Junction on

920-473: The Vanceboro Branch. Maine Central operated parallel main lines between Royal Junction and Waterville. The northerly inland main line was known as the back road , and the slightly shorter main line up the Kennebec River was the lower road . Maine Central mileposts east of Waterville computed mileage via the lower road . The line between Royal Junction and Danville Junction was built to provide

960-459: The corporate reorganization under Springfield Terminal would extend to the full extent of Guilford operations, and attempting to run a class 1 under short line rules would lead to years of union troubles. The former Maine Central locomotive shops in Waterville continue as Guilford's main repair shops. In the early 1990s, Guilford ended its practice of putting the full "Maine Central" name on

1000-433: The industrial center of Rumford , a resort hotel on Moosehead Lake and coastal communities from Bath to Eastport . At the end of 1970, it operated 921 miles (1,482 km) of road on 1,183 miles (1,904 km) of track; that year, it reported 950 million ton-miles of revenue freight. The Maine Central remained independent until 1981, when it was purchased by Guilford Transportation Industries and became part of what

1040-473: The long hoods of MEC locomotives. Instead, the locomotives would wear the "Guilford Rail System" moniker, with small "MEC" reporting marks underneath the cab windows. On November 1, 2003, the Morristown and Erie Railway (M&E) took over the former Maine Central "Lower Road" (main line) and Rockland Branch routes (aided by significant public funding from the state Department of Transportation). M&E

1080-413: The mid-1980s, Guilford began to rationalize its system and fully one-third of Maine Central's trackage was eliminated, including the "Mountain Division" from Portland to St. Johnsbury, Vermont; the "Rockland Branch" from Brunswick to Rockland ; the "Calais Branch" from Bangor to Calais; and the "Lower Road" from Augusta to Brunswick . Guilford also forced many management and salary changes, resulting in

1120-737: The narrow gauge and logging branches, as well as its hotels, ferries and steamships. In the 1930s it began to change its locomotives from steam -powered to diesel -powered. Beginning in 1933, Maine Central entered into a "joint management" agreement with the Boston and Maine Railroad , with which it shared the Portland Terminal Company (a switching railroad in Portland). Faced with increased competition from cars, trucks and buses, Maine Central operated its last passenger train on September 5, 1960, and continued to reduce its freight business to reflect changing traffic. In 1980,

1160-529: The next 55 years, but on June 30, 1925, MEC President Morris McDonald — after repeated public denials — gave the B&;ML (and the city of Belfast as its majority owner) the required six months notice that it would not renew its by then year-to-year lease when it expired on December 31, 1925. The reason eventually given was a net loss to the MEC on the Belfast Branch operations of $ 113,230 for

1200-465: The purchase of Pan American World Airways brand in 1998. PAR began repainting locomotives in the sky-blue Pan Am colors shortly thereafter. Pan Am was acquired by CSX Corporation in 2022. The MEC passenger trains, often advertised as "M.C. R.R." in the early 20th century, were essential to the sporting camp movement as early as the 1880s when people from Boston , New York , Philadelphia , and Detroit would make their way north to hunt and fish in

1240-532: The railroad was purchased by U.S. Filter Corporation and was then sold in 1981 to Guilford Transportation Industries , which later purchased the Boston and Maine Railroad (and thereby the Portland Terminal) in 1983 and the Delaware and Hudson Railway in 1984. Initially Guilford operated the system intact, although the system now permitted run-through traffic between central Maine and Boston . By

Rumford Branch - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-472: The terminal of several railroads whose independent yard facilities were consolidated as the Portland Terminal Company in 1911. After 1922, most freight trains originated or terminated in South Portland's Rigby Yard on what had originally been Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) property. The Kennebec and Portland Railroad was chartered in 1836, and completed from Portland to Augusta in 1851. It

1320-658: The western mountains and the Maine North Woods . From Portland's Union Station , the MEC had unnamed trains to Bangor via Lewiston , to Bangor via Augusta, to Rockland, to Calais via Ellsworth , to Farmington and to Montreal via North Conway . Among the named trains operated by the MEC prior to ending passenger service in 1960 were the Bar Harbor Express , Down Easter , Flying Yankee , Gull , Katahdin , Kennebec , Mountaineer , Penobscot , Pine Tree , and Skipper . The Down Easter name

1360-487: The year 1924. The B&ML took over operation of its road on January 1, 1926. It continued to exchange passengers and mail with the MEC at their jointly owned station at Burnham Junction until 1960 and freight interchange traffic until 2002. In 1882, Maine Central leased the European and North American Railway (E&NA) between Bangor and Vanceboro . In 1889, the Canadian Pacific Railway purchased trackage rights from

1400-648: Was at its height by 1917 when it became nationalized during World War I under the United States Railroad Administration , having trackage which extended over 1,358 miles (2,185 km). It ran from Vanceboro , Calais and Eastport in the east, to Portland in the south, St. Johnsbury, Vermont in the west, and to Lime Ridge, Quebec in the north. It also operated resorts and coastal steamships and ferries. The main repair facilities for locomotives and cars were located in Waterville, Maine . The first primitive shops were built in

1440-471: Was chartered in 1845 and completed a Portland gauge line from Waterville to Bangor. It was leased as an eastern extension to the Portland gauge Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad in 1856, and merged into Maine Central as the eastern end of the Portland Division main line in 1862. The European and North American Railway was chartered in 1850, and opened from Bangor to Vanceboro in 1871. It

1480-406: Was completed to Livermore Falls in 1852, and to Farmington in 1859. The railway was then extended south from Leeds Junction to Brunswick to connect with the standard gauge Kennebec and Portland Railroad in 1861. Conversion of the Androscoggin Railroad to standard gauge that year initiated a series of court battles ultimately eliminating Maine's Portland gauge rail network. Maine Central leased

1520-638: Was designated the Livermore Falls branch. Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad ( reporting mark MEC ) was a U. S. class 1 railroad in central and southern Maine . It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England . Maine Central had expanded to 1,358 miles (2,185 km) when the United States Railroad Administration assumed control in 1917. The main line extended from South Portland, Maine , east to

1560-550: Was leased as the Maine Central Eastern Division main line in 1882, and purchased in 1955 for $ 125 per share or $ 3,114,500 payable in cash or bonds at the election of the E&;NA shareholders. Canadian Pacific's transcontinental route to Saint John, New Brunswick , included trackage rights over the (former European and North American Railway) Maine Central Eastern Division main line from Mattawamkeag to

1600-462: Was reorganized as the Portland and Kennebec Railroad in 1862, leased as the Maine Central lower road main line in 1870, and purchased in 1874. The Somerset and Kennebec Railroad was chartered in 1848 and completed from Augusta to Waterville in 1853. It became the northern end of the lower road main line in 1874 after being leased to the Portland and Kennebec Railroad in 1864, and to the Maine Central in 1870. The Penobscot and Kennebec Railroad

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