B&M Main through North Berwick

I was in North Berwick, Maine for a funeral this afternoon and chanced to drive over the B&M overpass on Route 9, just east of the village. I was surprised to find --- not having been down that way in several years --- that the line was single-tracked. I had thought that when it was rehabbed for the institution of the Downeaster, it was made double-track all the way from Portland to Boston. Where does it go from double to single and then to double again --- and why?

First of all,if you looked down from Rt. 9 overpass,you shouldve seen the old N. Berwick passing siding,that ran from just west of the bridge,back east to about Bragdon Rd. This hasn't been used for just prior to Downeaster rehab-which IS NOT double tracked.

B&M gave up double tracks Portland to Boston,other than a few controlled sidings, sometime in mid 1960's,maybe acouple years later in some spots.Some passing sidings were rehabed for Downeaster,and a longer one built in Wells.

Hope this helps. Bud

The passing track in North Berwick was retired when they built the new one in Wells, and since that time, Guilford has begun tearing up sections of the old passing track in North Berwick. Part of it was still there the last time I went over that overpass, but it's entirely possible that it's all gone now.

trainsinmaine wrote:I was in North Berwick, Maine for a funeral this afternoon and chanced to drive over the B&M overpass on Route 9, just east of the village. I was surprised to find --- not having been down that way in several years --- that the line was single-tracked. I had thought that when it was rehabbed for the institution of the Downeaster, it was made double-track all the way from Portland to Boston. Where does it go from double to single and then to double again --- and why?

As Bud pointed out, it's been a very long time since there was double track all the way from Boston to Portland. The B&M reduced it due to declining and then zero passenger traffic and the cost savings of maintaning fewer miles of track. Guilford bought the B&M in 1983 and actually allowed the line to deteriorate, but made almost no reductions of double track that they found when they took control.
There are short stretches of double track main line between Ocean Park and Saco(Surf), at Wells Beach, Rollinsford to Dover, and a controlled siding(don't know what the difference is, but that's what they call it) bewtween Rockingham Jct and Newfields West. At Plaistow it becomes double track to Lawrence(Andover St), then single track from Lawrence to Wilmington Jct. Wilmington Jct to Wilmington is single track, then it's double track all the way into Boston from Wilmington on the NH Route Main.