I finally did some exploring in Portland and now have some ?

I was finally able to some some driving around in Portland the other day. I followed the trackage that branches east from Rigby and heads north towards the tip of South Portland (not sure what the official name is). And the end of the line, there are random cars on sidings and a lot of old rails and ties. Who was served on this line (tank cars?) and is it now used for storage? I saw the exempt signs and before driving around in the area, thought the trackage had been ripped out several years ago. It looks like an engine could make it through if the grade crossings are still intact. Also, there used to be trackage that branched off that line and went east towards Southern Maine Comm. College. Purpose for it and when was it taken out. It's a bike trail now.

My other questions are: 1) Is there a good place to watch Rigby Yard?
2) Was the union branch once completely double tracked? 3) There used to be another point where the tracks crossed the Maine Turnpike in Westbrook. I saw the tracks were still in place to some extent on both sides (are they still used), and my question is, where did the line cross the turnpike or were the tracks removed before the turnpike was constructed? I have a delorme atlas from 88 and it shows the tracks still in place crossing the turnpike,

Also, there is a stub track that heads west from westbrook towards gorham on rte 25. Is this part remnants of the other BM line to Portland from New Hampshire that went through Sanford?

Thanks for any help. I wanted to get these questions answered before my next trip to portland.
Warren

Well. Those are some great questions. The line to S. Portland I'm not to sure about. I believe there is still a B&M Milk car down there but I'm not sure. Rigby's south end has some places by the scrap yard but I'm not sure if that is trespassing or not. Best thing to do is ask a RR official. The Deering branch (I think thats what its called, thats what I've called it) is part of the old Sanford and Eastern. I believe the tracks came off the Cumberland Mills branch and looped around into Deering Yard. Now the Mountain Division from Portland to St. Johnsbury VT starts at Mountain Junction by the Downeaster Station and extends to Cumberland Mills. Those tracks headed towards Gorham but haven't been used in quite a while. I hope that helps, if you would like, try getting the Maine Central in Color Vol. 1 by Jeremy Plant & George Melvin.

OK, Warren, let me see if I can unravel your questions, and give some answers based upon 60+ years of being in the Greater Portland area.
1) The "old Eastern" is what branches east from Rigby, and ends up on Turner's Island in S. Portland. The Eastern(there before the B&M) crossed Portland harbor on a drawbridhe, that was diagonal to the current auto bridge; this was 1850-1920, approx. Their roundhouse, shops were on Turner's Island. Considerable petroleum was loaded there by Amoco & Texaco, 'til 1980. The line was extended in W.W. Two all the way to the "new" shipyards at Spring Point, and online industries used this("the Burma Road") until was torn up to make "the Greenbelt Path", in the early 1980's. THIS was the line to S. Me. Comm. Coll. that you mention.

2) The Union Branch was never doubled tracked(despite the St. John St. bridge).

3) Until the early 1900's, the W.N.&P. ran alongside Forest Avenue, and parallelled the MEC to Deering Jct.,(Morrills corner area on most maps) crossed it, and continued "west" out through Westbrook, Gorham, to Sanford(and Beyond).

When the Maine Turnpike was extended NORTH, from Portland, in 1954-55, the line was CUT(it never went over or under the turnpike!), as there was NO use for it, switchers using the Mt. Div. and connecting tracks, where the line crossed the Mt. Div. in Westbrook to serve the tracks to the paper warehouses of the paper mill.
Back then, the 50's, there were no customers, at Deering Jct. on the old W,N.&P, beyond 1/4 mile, but TODAY, you can see 3-4 boxcars always being unloaded at the Blue Lynx Lumber from the turnpike.

4) That "stub" track, is part of the old W.N. &P., and where Hannaford's supermarket is, there was a large cardboard box plant there, that only closed down in 2000! They were Guilford's biggest customer in Westbrook, NOT the SAPPI paermill!! Rest of the old W.N. &P. was torn up in 1961, after being run by Pinsly as "the Sanford & Eastern" from 1949-1961. Pinsley ran it from Rochester, when he bought it from the B&M in '49, but then cut back to Springvale(Sanford) around 1952(most of Rt. 202, from Lebanon to Rochester area is on the old roadbed!!), The S&E, would exchange cars with the Portland Terminal(part of MEC/BM) in Westbrook from 1952-1961, but had little online business, once the Sanford mills were all but closed in 1954.

Hope this helps.

Bud

Thanks. Those answer my questions. Yeah, I saw some roads leading towards rigby but they looked private. Portland really is a fraction of what it once was (train wise).

I have the 2nd volume for george melvins MEC book. I have been looking for the 1st and the 3rd is coming out this year. (Its going have a section on the rangley division from Auburn (Rumford Jct to Canton).

What rail business is left down by commercial street (before the tracks disappear into the road)?

And I saw the signs for it, does the Maine DOT own the Union branch. Were there two active tracks on that trestle at one point. I know it is single tracked past Hadlock field and then it is/or was double tracked maybe halfway down the line.

Regarding where to park to railfan at Rigby, I have parked right in the parking lot of the yard itself. I got out and walked around a LITTLE (emphasis on a little - never straying too far from my vehicle) and never got hassled. You could also get a good overview of the yard from the US 1 bridge, with PT Tower right up against it.

I passed Rigby last week on the Downeaster and it does seem much quieter than in the past, since most traffic is being blocked at points west and running through. Most PO symbols are gone. Some 25 years later, it seems the merging of the B&M and MEC lines has occured, at least somewhat.

Warren:

Bud nailed all of your questions...

Regarding business on Commercial street, I think that is the old yard 8. Every once in a while while I lived in Freeport and would check things out in Portland, yard 8 would have a cut of clay slurry tankers. Also, there is some sort of LNG/LPG receiving facility just under the new bridge between Portland and South Portland, but I never once saw a tanker of LNG/LPG spotted there ever from 2000-2003. There are two-three unloading tracks with bumpers next to large tanks...

For pictures of the Southern Container site as it was being constructed to the Hannaford, click here:

http://photos.nerail.org/show/?order=by ... =bwparker1

http://photos.nerail.org/show/?order=by ... =bwparker1

Finally, I think the Union branch was active until the late 1990's to serve the two scrap dealers in Back Bay.

Hope this helps,
Brooks

Thanks for the link. I have never seen those photos on the NE Rail sire before but they are helpful. So part of the mountain division is ripped out? I though Guilford was going to and then decided to wait.
And the Maine DOT wants to buy that trackage right and the former GT trackage from Deering to Danville Jct?

Well, I took them, glad they were helpful. I had heard that after my departure, that Guilford did rip of some of it between Westbrook and South Windham, although when I was in Westbrook, the tracks were still in place, but crossings were all paved over.

Brooks