Maine Trains

[FThunder11]

This summer I plan to go to Maine for vacation like I do every year. Actually I go to Portland. ANy way, there is a, what I'm guessing, a mainline running through there. I've seen trians in the distance but have never gotten close ebougth to see what road name they have. Can anybody tell me who runs their trains through there? I know Amtrak's Downeaster(which is now gonna run faster!!!) stops in south Portland, but what oter comppanies run through there? Any help is appreacited. (I can't spell)

[RudyRockvilleMD]

The only operator in Portland, ME is Guilford Transportation, former Maine Central to Bangor and Brunswick. Guilford also operates south toward Boston which is the former Boston & Maine. The Portland terminal for the Downeaster is at the Portland Transportation Center at Thompson Point Road on the former Maine Central's Portland-St Johnsbury Mountain Subdivision.

Portland has the Maine Narrow Gauge Museum which is on the Portland waterfront. The museum offers rides on 2 foot gauge trains which used to run in Maine, and in Edaville, and the right-of-way is the former Grand Trunk line into Portland from Montreal, PQ and Island Pond, VT; the former Grand Trunk station in Portland still stands, and it is being renovated into office space.

[dharmon]

From Portland along the coast northward, Guilford runs up to Brunswick (about 30 miles and the next town up from Freeport where LL Bean is. In fact if you walk from east from LL Bean you hit the track in about five blocks ), and Safe Rail runs to Rockville through Bath over the old Maine Coast Line tracks. St Lawrence and Atlantic, part of GWR, also runs in the area. They run up north to Lewiston/Auburn where the new intermodal terminal is, then up to Canada. In Bangor, few hours drive to the north, id the Maine, Montreal and Atlantic, which took over the BAR route.

[Anonymous]

If you get up near Waterville/Agusta, the Guilford System runs daily freights through the Belgrade Chain - a series of lakes. The first lake just south of Waterville is Lake Messoolonskee and the train stays on the west side of the lake. At the end of the lake it crosses the road (I think Maine Road #11 but am not totally sure) and then starts up an upgrade towards Belgrade. I think the track is limited to about 20 mph and since the freights are 50+ cars the engines can really belch the smoke as they climb this grade. I saw this last summer before I bought my camera but I am planning on going back again this year as I can still see the smoke flying like an old steam engine.

Bill