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The was a railroad in central
Maine . It was chartered in
1856 and began operations in
1862 . It operated between
Portland east to the
Canada-U.S. Border with
New Brunswick , west to
Vermont and north to
Quebec .
The Maine Central RR was created initially through the merger of the
Androscoggin And Kennebec Railroad and the
Penobscot And Kennebec Railroad , resulting in a line from
Danville (northeast of Portland) 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 the Grand Trunk, the Maine Central was initially running with a
Track Gauge of 5 ft 6 in (1676 mm).
The Maine Central purchased the
Portland And Kennebec Railroad which ran from Portland to Danville 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.
In
1882 , the Maine Central leased the
European And North American Railway (E&NA) between Bangor and
Vanceboro .
In
1888 , the Maine Central purchased the
Portland And Ogdensburg Railroad which ran from Portland through the
White Mountains through
Crawford Notch, New Hampshire and into
St. Johnsbury, Vermont where it connected with the
Southeastern Railway (owned by
Canadian Pacific Railway ). The railroad also purchased several narrow
Gauge branch lines used for the logging industry, such as the
Sandy River And Rangeley Lakes Railroad in
1911 and the
Bridgeton And Saco River in
1912 .
In
1889 the
Canadian Pacific Railway purchased trackage rights from 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 materiel heading to the port of Saint John for shipment overseas to Europe and in the months before the United States entered the war, a
German sabateur attempted to blow up the railway bridge which crossed the
St. Croix River at the
International Boundary .
The Maine Central also built a line southeast from Bangor along the coast through
Machias to
Calais with branches to
Bar Harbor and
Eastport .
The Maine Central was at its height by
1917 when it became
Nationalized during
World War One , having trackage which extended over 1358 miles. It ran from
Vanceboro ,
Calais and
Eastport in the east, to Portland in the south,
St. Johnsbury in the west, and to
Lime Ridge, Quebec in the north. It also operated resorts and coastal steamships and ferries.
Following World War One, Maine Central began retracting. It sold or abandoned lines such as the narrow gauge logging systems, as well as its ferries and steamships. In the
1930s it began to change its locomotives from
Steam powered to
Diesel powered. Beginning in
1933 , the Maine Central entered into a "joint management" agreement with the
Boston And Maine Railroad , with which it shared the
Portland Terminal Railroad (a switching railroad in Portland).
In
1955 , Maine Central completed a purchase of the E&NA line from Bangor to Vanceboro which it had leased in
1882 . The deal consisted of $125 per share or $3,114,500 payable in cash or bonds at the election of the E&NA shareholders.
Faced with increased competition from cars, trucks and buses, Maine Central Railroad operated its last passenger train on
September 5 ,
1960 and continued to reduce its freight business to reflect changing traffic. On
December 17 ,
1974 Maine Central sold its trackage between Mattawamkeag and Vanceboro to Canadian Pacific for $5.4 million while retaining trackage rights from CPR over the section of line.
In 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 a major strike against the company in
1986 .
One of the instigating factors which led to the labour 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 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. Guilford renamed this operation "Springfield Terminal" and reorganized it to avoid union agreements that the rest of the rail system was forced to follow. Eventually, the corporate reorganization under Springfield Terminal would extend to the full extent of Guilford operations.
The former Maine Central locomotive shops in
Waterville continue as Guilford's main repair shops. Other traditions of Maine Central have continued into the 1990s and 2000s, although Guilford and its subsidiary Springfield Terminal now dominate in the painting of locomotives.
On
November 1 ,
2003 the
Morristown & Erie Railway took over the former Maine Central "Lower Road" (main line) and Rockland branch routes (aided by significant public funding from the state government). Other groups are seeking to have the Calais Branch and Mountain Division routes reactivated for use by short line or tourist rail operations.
The
Guilford Rail System 's Boston and Maine Railroad comes into the state of Maine in South Berwick, through the town's southwest corner, continuing northeast through North Berwick, Wells, the Kennebunks, Arundel, Biddeford, Saco, and Scarborough, before coming to Rigby Yard in South Portland. Rigby is the historic junction point for the end-to-end MEC and B&M systems.
The MEC main line's western terminus is at Rigby and runs northeast through Portland, Falmouth, Cumberland, and Royal Junction (in Yarmouth). The "Back Road" main line continues northeast through North Yarmouth, New Gloucester, Auburn, Danville Jct., Lewiston, Leeds Jct., Readfield, Belgrade, Waterville, Pittsfield, Hermon, Northern Maine Jct., Bangor, Orono, Old Town, and ends at its eastern terminus at Mattawamkeag.
GRS's Maine Central main line interchanges with the
Eastern Maine Railway at Mattawamkeag, the
Montreal, Maine And Atlantic Railway at Northern Maine Jct., and the
St. Lawrence And Atlantic Railroad at Danville Jct.
Maine Central under GRS has several branch lines still under Guilford ownership.
The Brunswick branch splits off the mainline at Royal Junction and continues through the center of Yarmouth, before meeting the
St. Lawrence And Atlantic Railroad (ex-
Canadian National Railway , nee-
Grand Trunk Railway ) at Yarmouth Junction. The tracks meet at a 90 degree angle, and then the branch line continues through Freeport, where the line crosses under
U.S. Route 1 . After going through the center of Freeport, the line ends in Brunswick, where the eastern part of the line is now owned by the
Maine Coast Railroad .
The Rumford branch splits off the mainline at Leeds Junction and continues northwest up the Androscoggin River valley, passing through Livermore Falls, terminating at Rumford.
The Bucksport branch splits off the mainline at Bangor and continues south down the Penobscot River valley, passing through Brewer and terminating at Bucksport.
The Calais branch is a short, isolated section of former MEC trackage at the far eastern edge of Maine, running from a pulp mill in Woodlands to the city of Calais. Once part of a much longer line that ran from Bangor to Calais, it has been cut back to the present trackage and for part of the way it runs through the neighbouring province of
New Brunswick ,
Canada where it interchanges with the
New Brunswick Southern Railway .
