Kennebec and Portland Railroad

Kennebec and Portland Railroad

Overview
Dates of operation	1836 (1836)–1864 (1864)
Successor	Portland and Kennebec Railroad
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Length	71.2 miles (114.6 km)
Route map

The Kennebec and Portland Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was chartered in 1836, and constructed its original line between Portland, Maine, and Augusta, Maine, between 1849 and 1851. This line became part of the Maine Central Railroad main line. The company also built a branch line from Brunswick, Maine, to Bath, Maine. The company was consolidated with the Portland and Kennebec Railroad in 1864; that company became part of the Maine Central Railroad in 1874.

History

The company was chartered by the Maine legislature on April 1, 1836, but disputes over its northern terminus delayed development. ^[1] An early figure in the development of the Kennebec and Portland Railroad was Robert Hallowell Gardiner, grandson of Silvester Gardiner, who had founded Gardiner, Maine. Gardiner proposed a railroad that would connect Portland, Maine, to Gardiner, and then run west via railroad or canal to Winthrop, Maine. This was opposed by interests in Augusta, Maine, including future senator Reuel Williams. ^[2]

Construction of the Kennebec and Portland Railroad main line finally began in 1849. In that year it opened between Bath, Maine, and Yarmouth Junction, northwest of Yarmouth, Maine, where it crossed the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad. In 1850 it was extended south to Portland. The northern extension to Augusta opened on December 29, 1851. ^[3]

The railroad ran into financial difficulties and the Portland and Kennebec Railroad was incorporated in 1862 to replace it. ^[4] The older company was formally consolidated with the newer one on January 1, 1864. ^[1]

Notes

1. ICC (1931), p. 431.
2. Snell & Ledew (1962), p. 21.
3. Peters (1978), p. 6.
4. Merrill (1891), p. 96.

References

• Interstate Commerce Commission (1931). Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports. Vol. 30. U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Merrill, Georgia Drew (1891). History of Androscoggin County, Maine. Boston: W.A. Fergusson & Co. OCLC   665072371.
• Peters, Bradley L. (1978). Maine Central Railroad Company. Maine Central Railroad. OCLC   2485707.
• Snell, Katherine H.; Ledew, Vincent P. (1962). Historic Hallowell. Augusta, Maine: Privately printed. OCLC   207592.