Portland Maine Passenger Stations

The Planning Board document is here; get it quick, because the city doesn't leave them up forever.

While the notes regarding a new Transportation Center are interesting, the change in plans for the overall development only really affect the Downeaster in one respect: the delay in construction of the parking garage which Downeaster passengers are slated to have use of. Of course, the "draw" effect of the arena being delayed could affect the train traffic as well.

I can't find another thread more suitable for this question:
Does anybody know where I could find a floorplan of Portland Union Station, especially from the 1940s-50s?

I'm interested in finding out what kind of waiting room facilities it had, given that train service in that era tended to "bunch," with extended periods of time between bunches.

I'd also like to know whether the station had a dining room or lunch counter where a passenger arriving from the south, particularly on the diner-less night trains, could get something to eat before continuing north on the Maine Central, which had limited (or no) dining car service for most of this period.

Any information greatly appreciated.

--eastwind

If you have Facebook, look at the group "Portland Maine History 1786 to Present". It has an album of Union Station photos that include some interior shots, but no floor plan.

I recently bought a book that I saw recommended in two separate posts.

Here is the one by Gil Janus from the Unique Equipment Sightings Thread: http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 1&p=986176" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

giljanus wrote:And for more details and lots of photos:

Passenger Trains Of Northern New England in the Streamliner Era
Kevin J. Holland
TLC Publishing, 2004
ISBN 1-883089-69-7

Gil, known as Bill somedays ...

There are some excellent photos of Portland Union Station including several from angles I have never seen before. It really gives you a feeling for the station's sense of "place" within Portland and in particular the St. John and Congress Street neighborhoods and what the station looked like on the train shed side.

...and in particular the St. Johnsbury and Congress Street neighborhoods...

It's actually St. John Street, not St. Johnsbury St., the relative proximity of Mountain Junction notwithstanding.

markhb wrote:

...and in particular the St. Johnsbury and Congress Street neighborhoods...

It's actually St. John Street, not St. Johnsbury St., the relative proximity of Mountain Junction notwithstanding.

Corrected and Thank You very much!

markhb wrote:If you have Facebook, look at the group "Portland Maine History 1786 to Present". It has an album of Union Station photos that include some interior shots, but no floor plan.

From the photo album, it appears there was an Armstrong lunch counter in the station in the '50s, which replaced the dining room that closed in 1949.
There's also a photo of the waiting room.
So that answers my questions.
Thanks for the tip.

Referencing this post by gokeefe in the Downeaster thread:

gokeefe wrote:Thanks to "watchful eyes" another detail emerged yesterday of the Thompson's Point sale that was 'heretofore' either poorly publicized or perhaps even not public knowledge:

From the Bangor Daily News coverage of the sale on Monday:

The city has future plans to build a larger, $25 million transportation hub on property adjacent to Thompson’s Point, where the bus and Amtrak station are currently located, he said.

That article was mainly discussing the closing of the purchase of Thompson's Point for the Forefront development, and also that the developers are purchasing the Suburban Propane property which lies directly across from the tracks from the PTC. Today, we found out that the first named tenant of the property will be the Circus Conservatory of America. On their new website, they show this image, which is the first I've seen of the revised plan with the arena relocated to the Suburban Propane property... and with a skybridge over the tracks, presumably connecting to the rumored new train station.

Wow....very interesting!

Your first impression of course is that this is kind of a joke.

Then you think about then potential synergies with Cirque du Soleil based in Montreal and you start to see why this makes sense for them. Portland is the most obvious location near Montreal that will have low initial startup costs.

For the developers who are seeking to build an events center having a permanent in residence Circus no more than a few hundred feet away also makes a lot of sense too. Having a mass transit option from Boston makes even more sense.

I can at least see the potential of what is being done here especially if the Conservatory achieves anything close to the level of quality I've seen at Cirque. This could certainly add a dash of flavor to an already eclectic Portland and bring some very substantial crowds to town.

An architectural rendering of Portland's Union Station from the April 12, 1887 Portland Daily News at this link.


It would be interesting to know what a replica of that station might cost to build.

To borrow phrasing from J. P. Morgan, if we have to ask, we can't afford it.

Cannonball wrote:An architectural rendering of Portland's Union Station from the April 12, 1887 Portland Daily News at this link.


It would be interesting to know what a replica of that station might cost to build.

That's from a more civilized era (in terms of station construction, although not other matters). Today, anything more than pole barn will bring down the wrath of the Visigoths.

I'm not sure what it would cost to rebuild Union Station, and I'm not at all sure that the current usage (with or without the bus lines) really requires a building 300 feet long (not including the later addition to the north of the clock tower). I am sure that coming up with enough pink Conway granite to face the building would be a tough task in this day and age (although some fast Googling tells me some granites similar to the sample block in Congress Square are available).

However, in August gokeefe discovered this article from the Bangor Daily News which said in part:

The city has future plans to build a larger, $25 million transportation hub on property adjacent to Thompson’s Point, where the bus and Amtrak station are currently located, [Greg Mitchell, economic development director for the city] said.

I'd be willing to bet that that new station will at least superficially resemble Union Station, and I would bet major money that it will include a clock tower to house the timepiece that is also currently in Congress Square, and which will be removed as part of the redevelopment of the plaza there. I'm guessing that the new station is planned for the next-to-the-current-station parking lot in the area that the footbridge is depicted in the image I linked to above.

Incidentally, the Planning Board is going to take up Forefront's latest plan revisions in a workshop in the afternoon of October 8. I anticipate that updated plans, etc. will be available on the city website soon.

As noted by markhb in the Portland Waterfront Operations thread:

markhb wrote:The City of Portland has released the following (quoting in entirety since I believe it's a city press release):

Mayor Brennan and Portland Delegation to Highlight Bond Referendum Waterfront Impacts

11/22/2013 - Mayor Brennan and Portland Delegation to Highlight Bond Referendum Waterfront Impacts

When: Monday, November 25th

Time: 10:00 – 10:30 am

Where: Ocean Gateway Terminal

Summary of Event:

Portland Mayor Michael Brennan and members of Portland's delegation will highlight the recently approved $100,000,000 bond referendum (Question 3) "related to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of highways and bridges, and for facilities or equipment related to ports, harbors, marine transportation, freight, passenger railroads, aviation and transit. These funds will be used to match an estimated $154,000,000 in federal and other funds." Mayor Brennan wishes to thank those responsible and to share with the public what these critical funds will mean to Portland, specifically:

1. $9,000,000 for property acquisition, rail connectivity and site preparation at the International Marine Terminal in support of Eimskip cargo shipping services.
2. $1-2 million for Ocean Gateway Facility upgrades to support passenger ferry service to Nova Scotia.
3. $3 million for dredging Portland’s waterfront to open up access of the piers to support increased commerce.
4. $1 million for Fish Exchange facility and equipment improvements.
5. Funding for a planning study supporting an improved rail and bus Intermodal facility at Thompson’s Point.

Senate President Justin Alfond, Delegate Dick Farnsworth, a Fish Exchange representative, business owners and other officials will also attend.

Note particularly the first and last items.

Like some I wonder if the City, with the support of MDOT will make an attempt to build a new "landmark" station as a replacement of sorts for Union Station. The amount of land available for this project at Thompson's Point is substantially more than would have been available elsewhere, especially as the Downeaster prepares to move their layover facilities to Brunswick.

Perhaps this study will begin to yield the first clues of just how far the State and City will go to build something of architectural significance.

gokeefe wrote:Like some I wonder if the City, with the support of MDOT will make an attempt to build a new "landmark" station as a replacement of sorts for Union Station. The amount of land available for this project at Thompson's Point is substantially more than would have been available elsewhere, especially as the Downeaster prepares to move their layover facilities to Brunswick.

It's definitely worth noting that the current plans for the Thompson's Point project, with the Red Claws arena and the parking garage moved to the Suburban Propane property, show a "future skybridge" aimed towards the parking lot adjacent to the current PTC. My assumption is that that is the intended location for a new station. With all maintenance and overnighting moved to Brunswick, that would (I think) give them room to build a 2-track layout with a center platform, which I believe is NNEPRA's goal.