Passenger Trains

I posted the question regarding District 1 improvements in the 'Official' PAS thread in the PAR/GRS forum.

Eddie,

Thanks for answering the question regarding ridership. Although without further information breaking out destination we can't make any direct comparisons on ridership we can say that we have a service level/capacity that is higher than the 1950's, with the exception of the frequencies themselves. I think its important to keep in mind that the 300,000 ridership figure reflected northbound as well as southbound service.

Given the current number we may also have the following interesting trends:

Per capita utilization rate Portland - Boston (w/intermediate point ridership) higher than 1950s. Based on the following population data: 77,634 (U.S. Census 1950 population) 64,197 (U.S. Census 2000 population)

Depending on the trend absolute ridership Portland - Boston (w/intermediate point ridership) may also be higher than 1950s. I don't think most people who follow the Downeaster realize where it actually is right now compared to the so-called 'golden era'.

I don't think your comparison is accurate. PORTLAND ridership is presently ~80k each way... you have to consider that NH-Boston ridership provides the majority of the Downeaster business. Portland's population is similarly misleading. Portland's population has declined, but the metro area has grown substantially. In fact, Maine's population has grown 40% since 1950...and southern Maine's growth has been much greater than that.

I agree that the Metropolitan Area has grown. I will see if I can find a more useful statistical breakout for population. But when we say that we have 80,000 passengers each way I'm assuming that means 160,000 coming or going correct? Then at 300,000 a year coming or going to Portland in 1955 we must have service that is approaching or close to parity with what was previously provided.

Remember at 300,000 a year we still had a variety of northbound services that had at least some portion of the 300,000 total. If the breakout is anywhere close to 50-50/60-40 you now have 150,000-180,000 coming or going in 1955. I wouldn't dispute or doubt that perhaps the breakdown wasn't quite that favorable but I have difficulty contemplating the idea that MEC had anything less than 25% of the Portland market in 1955.

eddiebehr wrote:gokeefe had a question about ridership and consists. I would not know the peak year, but it might have been in World War II as there was a huge amount of military activity in Boston, Portland and Portsmouth. The 1955 Annual Report, the first McGinnis issue has a passenger density chart for year. It has about 300,000 passengers in and out of Portland.

eddiebehr, if you're still listening, is that 300,000 figure just for B&M, or does it include Maine Central passengers as well? The assumption in the following posts is that it does, but I'm not clear on that. I mean, wouldn't they be in the Maine Central annual report? What about passengers traveling through Portland; are they included, too, or is it 300,000 on/off at Portland?

Plus we have to keep in mind that not all passengers were Boston-bound or -boarded. The State of Maine came out of New York GCT; its Massachusetts stops were in the middle of the night, not conducive to originating traffic. And the Bar Harbor from Washington, Philadelphia, and New York Penn still ran in the summer, even though down to only twice a week by 1955. The State of Maine terminated in Portland and typically carried extra sleepers (and coaches? can't tell from the public TT, but likely) in the summer. The Bar Harbor (non-stop between Providence and Portland; no Massachusetts stops at all) went through Portland northbound around 4 a.m. with only one setout sleeper, as I recall; didn't even stop in Lewiston. I wish there were some way to tell how much those two trains added to the count. (gokeefe, I'm trying to help you.)