Lewiston Industrial Track/Lewiston Lower Rd/Branch status

what was the purpose of this line once it got into lewiston? the missing overpass at locust st. that looks as though it has been gone for quite a while indicates that it hasn't connected to anything in a long time

NHV 669 wrote:what was the purpose of this line once it got into lewiston? the missing overpass at locust st. that looks as though it has been gone for quite a while indicates that it hasn't connected to anything in a long time

Back in the day when Lewiston had mills it was a busy line. There was also a branch from Crowley's Jct. in Lewiston to Leeds Jct. Since the textile industry moved to South East Asia the line had no purpose, hence its current state.

Not really sure how long the overpass has been gone, but I would suspect it went very shortly after service ended as it appears to have been a very low clearance.

Overpass was removed in the late 90's

The rails from it are sitting on the west side of the ROW

The line west of Lisbon St is in fairly intact up until halfway between Cedar and Locust Sts where the tracks currently end. The missing links west of Lisbon St besides the grade crossing at East Ave are the bridge over Locust and a section of the ROW that was cut out to make way for a place for water to run out to the Andro river.

Take a look at this map that has been previously linked to this thread. Last year, I spend a lot of time walking the line in Lewiston, taking many pictures and adding them to this map. The section west of Locust St is very overgrown but overall it was in better shape than most expect. East Ave to Lisbon St is the next section I want to walk but is very intact as well. The tell tales are still present in spots. The gas dealer is near the corner of Lincoln and Locust next to the area they made into a parking lot. (By the rr bridge over the Andro River Reservoir.

https://www.google.com/maps/ms?msid=210 ... 7,0.021136" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Warren

Very interesting photos.

BM6569 wrote:Take a look at this map that has been previously linked to this thread. Last year, I spend a lot of time walking the line in Lewiston, taking many pictures and adding them to this map.

Wow! Thanks for all the photos. I never realize the line went as deep into Lewiston as it did. I thought it ended somewhere just past Cedar Street.

newpylong wrote:As much as I rather see trains, but on corridors with zero chance of revival I rather see them get some use than left to grow back.

Returning to the question of reuse and disposition I would add that this segment from Lewiston to Lisbon is an excellent case study in an ideal case for conversion. The Central Business District retains a Right of Way (via the Back Road) that is both freight and passenger capable. The stub ended (and redundant) Lewiston Industrial Track segment is reused and converted to trail use to facilitate pedestrian and non-motorized vehicle movement through the urban core. Either way the community doesn't lose nor do they abandon future transportation options (freight or passenger) should the need arise.

so all that business was on a line that was stub-ended merely a mile, if that, from the active track? Doesn't make much sense to me

NHV 669 wrote:so all that business was on a line that was stub-ended merely a mile, if that, from the active track? Doesn't make much sense to me

If I remember correctly, the Back Road main line never connected to the branch in Lewiston because it was at a much higher elevation than the lower branch.

dnelson wrote:

NHV 669 wrote:so all that business was on a line that was stub-ended merely a mile, if that, from the active track? Doesn't make much sense to me

If I remember correctly, the Back Road main line never connected to the branch in Lewiston because it was at a much higher elevation than the lower branch.

iirc it's something like twenty or thirty feet below the Back Road, which would have required quite a substantial grade, since Lewiston Lower only ended something like a few hundred feet away.

690 recalls correctly. When the line was originally constructed, it was done by a competitor. When Maine Central was formed, they started purchasing different rail lines, eventually acquiring this one. It served several mills in Lewiston and one in Lisbon Falls. I can dig out the books if you want exact dates and names, or perhaps someone on here has them committed to memory.

Lewiston Lower to Crowleys was built as a branch off the mainline of the Androscoggin Railroad which
ran from Brunswick to Farmington, connecting with the Portland and Kennebec at Brunswick. It was a
competitor to the Maine Central so there was no reason for them to connect and a complicating factor
would have been a difference in gauge when these lines were built- ARR/P&K were standard gauge from
inception while MEC (A&K) was originally 5'6'' since it began at a junction with the GT at Danville.

The textile mills all had sidings, there was a railroad freight house at the end of track facing Main St.,
a team track on the east side of Cedar St. ( LePage Bakeries received their flour there ), a spur accross
Lisbon St. into the Lewiston Bleachery Works ( in the early 80's this building was used as a paper whare-
house ). When I was a kid in the 60's there were the remains of a gas plant north of the Androscoggin
Mill. More distributor warehouses where the line crossed Lisbon St. with a spur into Elmet. Fuel and
fertilizer distributors at Crowleys. The Lewiston yard crew started their day switching "The Lower"
using the local's road loco, usually a GP7 or a GP38, then migrated by auto to "The Upper" around
mid morning to spend the day between Shurtleff's ( where the scap outfit is now ) and the Fairgrounds
using the resident Alco switcher. Jimmy's in Auburn recieved fuel by rail, much time was spent at
Carter Feeds and weighing loaded scrap gons originating at North Leads on the scales next to the
team track on Middle St. This business all evaporated as time moved on and the local economy changed.
For a while there was a Back Road local F-1 originating at Lewiston Upper with working limits to
Jay-Farmington-Winthrop.

For anyone interested, the city of Lewiston has some nifty historic arial photos available online. The scan/image quality isn't great, but it's a nice historical reference for anyone interested in the Lewiston Lower/Industrial track. https://me-lewiston.civicplus.com/index.aspx?NID=194" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

S1f3432 wrote:Lewiston Lower to Crowleys was built as a branch off the mainline of the Androscoggin Railroad which
ran from Brunswick to Farmington, connecting with the Portland and Kennebec at Brunswick. It was a
competitor to the Maine Central so there was no reason for them to connect and a complicating factor
would have been a difference in gauge when these lines were built- ARR/P&K were standard gauge from
inception while MEC (A&K) was originally 5'6'' since it began at a junction with the GT at Danville.

The textile mills all had sidings, there was a railroad freight house at the end of track facing Main St.,
a team track on the east side of Cedar St. ( LePage Bakeries received their flour there ), a spur accross
Lisbon St. into the Lewiston Bleachery Works ( in the early 80's this building was used as a paper whare-
house ). When I was a kid in the 60's there were the remains of a gas plant north of the Androscoggin
Mill. More distributor warehouses where the line crossed Lisbon St. with a spur into Elmet. Fuel and
fertilizer distributors at Crowleys. The Lewiston yard crew started their day switching "The Lower"
using the local's road loco, usually a GP7 or a GP38, then migrated by auto to "The Upper" around
mid morning to spend the day between Shurtleff's ( where the scap outfit is now ) and the Fairgrounds
using the resident Alco switcher. Jimmy's in Auburn recieved fuel by rail, much time was spent at
Carter Feeds and weighing loaded scrap gons originating at North Leads on the scales next to the
team track on Middle St. This business all evaporated as time moved on and the local economy changed.
For a while there was a Back Road local F-1 originating at Lewiston Upper with working limits to
Jay-Farmington-Winthrop.

This is a great post, very informative. Thank you.