Downeast Scenic Railroad

Last updated
Downeast Scenic Railroad
Locale Maine
Terminus Calais
Commercial operations
Name Calais Branch
Built by Maine Central Railroad
Original gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Preserved operations
Owned byTrack owned by Maine DOT
Operated byDowneast Rail Heritage Trust
Reporting mark DSRX
Length4 miles (6.4 km) (2010)
13 miles (21 km) (2019)
Preserved gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Commercial history
Opened1898
Closed to passengers1957
Closed(?)
Preservation history
2005Downeast Rail Heritage Trust founded
2010Open
Headquarters Ellsworth
Website
http://www.downeastscenicrail.org/
Downeast Scenic Railroad
Downeast Sunrise Trail
BSicon fCONTg.svg
BSicon exSTR+l.svg
BSicon exCONTfq.svg
To Mount Desert Ferry
BSicon ENDEa.svg
BSicon fENDEe.svg
BSicon ENDExa.svg
BSicon bvvWSLglr.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
Washington Junction
BSicon HST.svg
Ellsworth
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon ENDExe.svg
end of active track
BSicon exHST.svg
Green Lake
BSicon exCONTf.svg
Calais Branch to Brewer

The Downeast Scenic Railroad (reporting mark DSRX) is a heritage railway in Ellsworth, Maine which is owned and operated by the Downeast Rail Heritage Trust, which is a 501(c)3 charitable organization founded in the fall of 2005. [1] [ self-published source? ] The railroad operates over the historic Calais Branch which was once part of the Maine Central Railroad. Operations are out of Washington Junction and runs west towards Brewer. The railroad inaugural run was Saturday, 24 July 2010, with invited guests on board. The first 4 miles (6.4 km) to Ellsworth Falls have been completed, but work continues on the line west of Ellsworth Falls from Ellsworth to Green Lake where the railroad plans to run excursion trains in the near future.

Contents

Equipment

Locomotives

Locomotive details [2]
NumberBuilderTypeBuild DateStatusNotes
1055 Alco S-4 1950OperationalAcquired from the Conway Scenic Railroad, on April 9, 2010 and arrived at Washington Jct. on May 23, 2010. Ex-Conway Scenic and nee-Portland Terminal unit. This engine is the primary engine used to pull the excursion trains.
54 General Electric 70-ton switcher 1948OperationalAcquired from the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad. This ex-Belfast and Moosehead Lake unit was the first engine for the Downeast Scenic and is the backup unit. This engine had the honors to pull the inaugural train on July 24, 2010.
53 Davenport Locomotive Works 30-ton switcher1949OperationalThis unit was donated by R&R Contracting, and refurbished by Independent Locomotive Services of Bethel, Minnesota. This unit (which was delivered in August 2009) spent a majority of its life working the ore docks in Duluth, Minnesota. This engine is used as needed to help in switching duties around the Washington Junction railyard.
470 Alco 4-6-2 1924Under restorationOwned by New England Steam Corporation. Purchased from the city of Waterville, ME in November 2015, 470 was the last steam engine to operate for the Maine Central Railroad on June 13, 1954. [3] 470 arrived at Washington Jct. via flat bed trucks, partially disassembled on August 10, 2016 after being removed from its display track in Waterville, ME. When restoration is complete, 470 will operate on the Downeast Scenic Railroad. The railroad hopes to have the engine back up and running again by 2024, for the engine's 100th anniversary.

Rolling stock

Rolling stock details [2]
NumberBuilderTypeBuild Date
82Russell Snow Plow CompanySnow Plow1952
155 Laconia Car Company Passenger Car1910
102 Delaware and Hudson Railroad Combination Passenger / Baggage Car1904
124 Magor Car Corporation Open Air Car1964
26Magor Car CorporationFlatcar1964
214Bethlehem Car WorksFlatcar1944
46 American Car and Foundry Hopper Car1944
2608 Reading Company Caboose1926

Related Research Articles

Sullivan is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,219 at the 2020 census. The town was named for Daniel Sullivan, an early settler. Colloquially referred to as "Sully" or "the Sullivans"—like many Maine municipalities composed of villages with geographic designations of the town proper—the municipality was incorporated in 1789. Located in the Upper Schoodic Peninsula sub-region of Maine's Downeast Acadia region, the municipality has been known as "Waukeag", "New Bristol", and later Sullivan; and once included the nearby communities of Hancock, Sorrento, and what would later be Township 7, South & Middle Districts. Once home to abundant granite quarries, the town of Sullivan is now a residential community for nearby Ellsworth and Mount Desert Island. Located along U.S. Route 1, the Taunton River, and Hog Bay, Sullivan is home to a reversing tidal falls and many scenic turnouts that dot the Schoodic National Scenic Byway along the Upper Schoodic Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maine Central Railroad</span> Defunct American Class I railway

The Maine Central Railroad 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 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 the industrial center of Rumford, a resort hotel on Moosehead Lake and coastal communities from Bath to Eastport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falls Road Railroad</span> Short-line railway joining Lockport and Brockport, New York, U.S.

The Falls Road Railroad is a Class III short line railroad owned by Genesee Valley Transportation (GVT). The railroad operates in Niagara, Orleans, and Monroe counties in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland and Ogdensburg Railway</span>

The Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad was a railroad planned to connect Portland, Maine to Ogdensburg, New York. The plan failed, and in 1880 the Vermont section was reorganized and leased by the Boston & Lowell Railroad. In 1886, the Maine and New Hampshire section was reorganized as the Portland & Ogdensburg Railway. That part was leased to the Maine Central Railroad in 1888, and in 1912 the Maine Central leased the eastern part of the Vermont section from the Boston & Maine Railroad, the successor to the B&L.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conway Scenic Railroad</span> Heritage railroad in New Hampshire, US

The Conway Scenic Railroad is a heritage railroad located in North Conway, New Hampshire, 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth & Lincoln Railroad</span>

The Plymouth & Lincoln Railroad is a class III shortline railroad operating on the Concord-Lincoln rail line in central New Hampshire, United States. The railroad consists of two distinct passenger operations, the Granite State Scenic Railway, which offers passenger excursion trains in the White Mountains, and the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad, which operates passenger excursion trains along the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. In addition to passenger operations, the railroad owns the Lincoln Shops, a railroad equipment maintenance and repair facility located in Lincoln, New Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finger Lakes Railway</span>

The Finger Lakes Railway is a Class III railroad in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The company began operations on July 23, 1995, and operates in Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Ontario, Schuyler and Yates counties. The FGLK operates 18 diesel locomotives on 167 miles (269 km) of ex-Conrail trackage, formerly owned by the New York Central Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Between 2001 and 2013, the railroad operated a heritage railroad known as the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway which offered passenger train excursions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railroad Museum of New England</span>

The Railroad Museum of New England is a railroad museum based in Thomaston, Connecticut. Through its operating subsidiary known as the Naugatuck Railroad, the museum operates excursion and freight trains on the Torrington Secondary between Waterville and Torrington. The Railroad Museum of New England name and trademark was adopted in 1987, as a result of reassessing the Connecticut Valley Railroad Museum's goals and visions. Home to one of the largest collections of preserved historic railroad equipment in New England, RMNE and its predecessor organizations have been active since the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England Southern Railroad</span>

The New England Southern Railroad is a Class III shortline railroad that operates out of Canterbury, New Hampshire, and serves industries in central New Hampshire, in the United States.

The Maine Department of Transportation, also known as MaineDOT, is the office of state government charged with the regulation and maintenance of roads, rail, ferries, and other public transport infrastructure in the state of Maine. An exception is the Maine Turnpike, which is maintained by the Maine Turnpike Authority. MaineDOT reports on the adequacy of roads, highways, and bridges in Maine. It also monitors environmental factors that affect the motor public such as stormwater, ice/snow buildup on roads, and crashes with moose. MaineDOT was founded in 1972 and replaced the former Maine State Highway Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad</span>

The Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad is a heritage and freight railroad in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. It operates the West Virginia State Rail Authority-owned Durbin Railroad and West Virginia Central Railroad, as well as the Shenandoah Valley Railroad in Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain Division</span> Former railroad line owned and operated by the Maine Central Railroad

The Mountain Division is a railroad line that was once owned and operated by the Maine Central Railroad (MEC). It stretches from Portland, Maine on the Atlantic Ocean, through the Western Maine Mountains and White Mountains of New Hampshire, ending at St. Johnsbury, Vermont in the Northeast Kingdom. The line was abandoned in 1983 by MEC's successor, Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI). Guilford retained a stub between Portland and Westbrook. A section in New Hampshire remains in use by heritage railway Conway Scenic Railroad.

The Calais Branch is a mothballed railroad line in Maine that was operated by the Maine Central Railroad Company (MEC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Conway station</span>

North Conway station is a railway station located in North Conway, New Hampshire. Built in 1874, the depot was designed by Nathaniel J. Bradlee in an eclectic Russian-Victorian style. The station is also the terminus for the Conway Scenic Railroad. Northwest of the station stands a roundhouse, which now houses the Scenic Railroad's rolling stock; it was built around the same time as the station. The yard and depot were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as North Conway Depot and Railroad Yard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portsmouth, Great Falls and Conway Railroad</span>

The Portsmouth, Great Falls and Conway Railroad (PGF&C) is a former rail line between Rollinsford and Intervale, New Hampshire, in the United States. At Rollinsford, the line connected to other lines to provide service between the White Mountains and coastal cities such as Boston. At Intervale, it connected to the Mountain Division of the Maine Central Railroad. The rail line takes its name from the city of Portsmouth, near its southern terminus; the city of Somersworth ; and the town of Conway, near its northern terminus. Today, the infrastructure of the former PGF&C is owned by different entities, including the State of New Hampshire, the Conway Scenic Railroad, and the New Hampshire Northcoast Corporation. Some segments are still operated as freight or heritage railways, while other segments are being maintained as rail trails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maine Central 470</span>

Maine Central 470 is a 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in May 1924 for the Maine Central Railroad (MEC). Currently owned by the New England Steam Corporation, it is being restored to operating condition at Washington Junction in Hancock, Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public transportation in Maine</span>

Public transportation in Maine is available for all four main modes of transport—air, bus, ferry and rail—assisting residents and visitors to travel around much of Maine's 31,000 square miles (80,000 km2).

References

  1. "DRHPT Timeline —Downeast Scenic Railroad Downeast Scenic Railroad" . Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  2. 1 2 "Rail Equipment" . Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  3. Calder, Amy (September 24, 2012). "Waterville officials hope someone can either buy or restore Old 470 steam locomotive". CentralMaine.com.