Mountain Division

The railway Portland Lunenburg is a railway line in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont ( United States). It is 174.3 km long. The standard gauge track is mostly shut down or out of service. The section of Portland Cumberland Mills is now run by the Pan Am Railways exclusively for freight. Between Intervale Junction and Fabyans the Conway Scenic Railroad operates a tourist train. It owns and the subsequent distance to Hazen. Decommissioned Officially, only the portions of Westbrook to the state border between Maine and New Hampshire and the section Hazen - Whitefield in New Hampshire, but are also sections of the border Maine / New Hampshire to Intervale Junction and Whitefield Lunenburg inoperative.

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History

The city of Portland had an interest to break the transportation monopoly of the Grand Trunk Railway in the direction of Canada. These had their 1853 route Portland -Montreal completed. In addition, the city should be connected to the White Mountains that were a popular tourist destination since the 19th century. Another possible connection to Chicago was also in the pipeline. To this end, beginning in 1869 was founded the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad. You should build a railroad from Portland through the White Mountains and Vermont to Ogdensburg (New York). Soon other railroad companies began to build the western sections of the proposed route, so the Portland & Ogdensburg was limited to the portion located in Maine and New Hampshire.

Construction began in Portland and in the same year, the first trains could go to Fryeburg at the border to New Hampshire. In Fryeburg starts its climb in the White Mountains, so that the construction speed is now reduced drastically. 1871 North Conway was achieved in 1872, Glen, Bartlett 1873, on August 31, 1874 Bemis and on August 7, 1875 finally Fabyans. From there, the trains used initially to Wing Road, the railway Wing Road Mount Washington, which had opened in the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad in 1874, and Wing Road to Scott the railway line Woodsville - Groveton the same railway company. In Wing Road thereby reacting the locomotive was necessary because there was no connection curve towards Scott. The section from Scott to Lunenburg directly across the border to Vermont was in December 1875 in operation. Subsequently, the Essex County Railroad had its main straight, the railway St. Johnsbury Lunenburg built.

Starting in 1886, the owner of the track operated under the name Portland and Ogdensburg Railway. This company was leased in 1888 by the Maine Central Railroad (MEC ), which they finally bought in 1943. The route was designated by the MEC Mountain Division. The Maine Central Railroad built shortly after the missing intermediate portion of the route of Fabyans by Scott, which opened in 1889. Several passing from Boston Express trains, including from 1939 Mountaineer ( Boston-St. Johnsbury ) designated train, wrong on the track. 1891 were built in the Queen Anne style in Crawford and Fabyans prestigious new station building.

Several forestry railways brought wood from the forests of the White Mountains to sawmills on the Saco River, whose products were again removed by the MEC. These were as follows:

• The Rocky Branch Railroad from Glen station in the uninhabited district Sargent 's Purchase, perverse 1907-1914,
• The East Branch Railroad from Glen Station to Jackson from 1916 to 1919,
• The Bartlett and Albany Railroad from Bartlett had acquired in the north from 1887 to 1893, which used their tracks and vehicles of the Eastern Railroad,
• The Sawyer River Railroad from the station Sawyer River along the same river up to Livermore, the 1877-1928 perverted and is one of the most durable woods tracks of New England, as well as
• The Saco Valley Railroad of Carrigain northward along the Saco River.

Wood was so beside the passengers Haupttransportgut the web.

After the Second World War, the transport numbers fell as anywhere in the U.S. back drastically. On September 5, 1955, through traffic on Intervale Junction ended to Boston. Also, the North Wind and the Night White Mountains, the last perverted from Portland with Budd Rail Diesel Cars were withdrawn from circulation in 1956. The last passenger train on the route Portland -St. Johnsbury drove on April 26, 1958.

1978 put the state of New Hampshire to the railroad tracks in Bartlett higher, so the level crossing on the much-used route could account for 302. Nevertheless, presented the new owner of the web, Guilford Transportation, September 2, 1983, freight traffic between Westbrook and Lunenburg one. On 24 June 1984, Guilford Transportation leased the section Whitefield Lunenburg at the Twin State Railroad, which took up the freight again, but it finally stopped in 1999 due to lack of customers. The track is not officially shut down, but is no longer used regularly.

The section Fryeburg Hazen bought the state of New Hampshire and leased the section Intervale Junction - Hazen on 13 July 1994 at the Conway Scenic Railroad. The Conway Scenic Railroad is running on the section to Bartlett since 17 December 1994 and runs regularly since May 1995, with tourist trains. Since the spring of 1996, the trains run to Crawford 's Notch, and partly to Fabyans. Only occasionally trains to Whitefield.

The way from an industrial port north of Westbrook to Fryeburg is officially shut down since 12 October 1995 but was not mined until today. 1998, the section from Hazen to Whitefield was shut down, which is completely parallel to the railway line Whitefield Junction Berlin. In Hazen and Whitefield crossovers were built for this route, so all trains can now run on this route.

Route description

Maine

The route begins in Portland south of the center in the Commercial Street Station and exit the site in a westerly direction. Today, it is only a rarely used goods station. Shortly thereafter, the route turns to the northwest from, crosses under the main line of the Pan Am Railways and continues along the Fore River. In this section, the track is shut down. On a part of this route to the Fore River Parkway arise. Just before crossing under Interstate 295 bends from the east, the connecting curve from the direction of Boston on the line, which is used by the Downeaster trains of Amtrak since 2001. Only a few hundred meters of the Amtrak railway terminal Portland Transportation Center is reached. The station has a small reception building inaugurated in 1996, which also serves as a bus station.

Later in the track, the four-lane Congress Street crosses at ground level, crosses under Interstate 95 and located just a few kilometers to the former crossing station in Cumberland Mills in Westbrook. On this section there are several industry connections. The station, where once the railway Portland Rochester crossed today is only a branch. In both directions the track ends after a few hundred meters of industrial connectors. The former crossing the track is shut down and dismantled. Shortly after the train station, there is another industrial port on which the route now ends. The track in the further course is not broken, but partially so overgrown that the route is not usable currently. The route runs along the Presumpscot River, which is also crossed several times.

After about 25 kilometers, the Sebago Lake is reached, on the western shore runs along the railway. It crosses a tip of the lake on a causeway that is interrupted by a narrow bridge. Even the Rich Mill Pond is crossed by a causeway. Here, the route turns first to the west to reach at Steep Falls the Saco River, which it follows further. Just before crossing the river in Hiram chained to 1941 from the narrow gauge route of Bridgton and Harrison Railroad. As the interchange station Bridgton Junction Railway was built here, where the features of the main line held only after the narrow gauge railway, last only one train per day.

Shortly before Fryeburg, the route at some distance along the Lovewell Pond and turn right then off to the west. Immediately behind the Fryeburg station crosses the line the border into New Hampshire.

New Hampshire

A few kilometers after the border crossing the railway the Saco River and continues northwest through the towns that make up the town of Conway. In North Conway, the tracks are located on the North - South Road. Such local through traffic on public roads have been common in North America and to major routes, but now largely abandoned. North of the town is the branch Intervale Junction where once the trains are driven from the direction of Boston to the White Mountains range. Today, this branch is running on the Conway Scenic Railroad on summer weekends and other selected dates. Here, the increase in the White Mountains and the character of the route begins changes to a winding mountain path.

The Saco River, following the route gains more and more in height until it reaches at Crawford Notch, the apex at about 594 m altitude. The line has gradients of up to 3.5% in this section. In the vicinity of Crawford Notch, a 245 -meter-long Trestle over the Willey Brook had to be built, which became known as Frankenstein Trestle. It was named after Godfrey Frankenstein, a local artist named. The bridge was constructed in 1895 replaced by a steel structure.

A few miles north of Crawford Notch begins the valley of the Ammonoosuc River, the railway now follows. North of the railway is the famous Mount Washington Hotel, where in 1944 took place the Bretton Woods conference. The former junction station Fabyans today endpoint of most excursion trains of the Conway Scenic Railroad. Only a few trains per year continue to Whitefield. The station building was inaugurated in Fabyans as well as the at Crawford Notch in 1891. Here crossed the railway Wing Road Mount Washington, on the one reached for today trains running Mount Washington Cog Railway.

The railway now runs on the north bank of the Ammonoosuc River in a westerly direction to the railway station in Twin Mountain. Here, the route turns to the north and runs through a wooded area to the disused track triangle Quebec Junction, from where formerly the Quebec railway junction Lime Ridge led to Canada. Shortly after reaching the stretch Hazen and now leads in a westerly direction parallel to the railway line Whitefield Junction Berlin. In Hazen's a track connection to this railway line was built in 1998 and since then the trains use this route. The portion of mainline to Lunenburg was shut down. Shortly before Whitefield crossed the line this route. At the crossing point where also in 1998 a connecting curve was fitted, however, never was a breakpoint, but only a few hundred meters away in the village of Whitefield itself

From here the route is not shut down, but is no longer used regularly since 1999. The train leaves Whitefield northward along the Johns River and you soon come to Scott, where previously housed a railway junction. A compound curve allowed the traffic coming from Woodsville to Lunenburg and served the trains of Portland from 1875 to 1889, since the intermediate piece of Fabyans was only opened up to this point. A few kilometers further, the lift crosses the Connecticut River and turns westward into the valley from. The river also forms the border into Vermont. Shortly after the river bridge is the Lunenburg Station where the route merges with the railway line Lunenburg Maquam.