A brief history of railroads in Maine
Railroad technology emerged in Great Britain during the early 19th century. In Maine, charters granted in 1832 and 1833 opened the way for a transportation network that would connect forests, farms, mills, ports, cities, and remote communities.
The Bangor & Piscataquis Canal & Railroad completed a line from Bangor to Old Town in 1836. It followed the Boston & Lowell Railroad, which began operating in 1835, and placed Maine near the beginning of New England’s railroad era.
Rail mileage expanded for nearly a century. Maine’s network reached approximately 2,380 miles in 1924. From the 1920s onward, abandonment and track removal became common as road transportation grew and patterns of industry changed. A new connection to the South Portland shipyard was among the notable additions during World War II.
Railroads remained important to heavy freight even as the network contracted. Later track rehabilitation and operational changes supported forest products, petroleum, chemicals, manufactured goods, and intermodal traffic.
Standard-gauge lines formed the principal network, while narrow gauge railroads filled a distinctive role. Short lines moved wood from forests to mills and connected communities including Wiscasset, Albion, Farmington, Rangeley, Strong, Kingfield, Bigelow, Bridgton, and Monson.
Junctions and connections
Northern Maine Junction in Hermon, west of Bangor, linked the north–south Bangor and Aroostook route with the east–west Maine Central system. Such junctions made it possible to transfer freight between regional networks and connect inland producers with ports and larger markets.
Maine’s rail story is therefore not one continuous line. It is a web of company systems, branches, industrial sidings, passenger routes, and local links developed at different times for different purposes.
