Portland Maine Passenger Stations

[Hamhock]

This is usually the point where I mention my idea again about using the Portland Post Office buildings bordering on Deering Oaks Park for a new intermodal station. Double-track and trench the Union Branch, downtown location, near a 295 exit, improve the Bayside neighborhood.

[gokeefe]

In response to a post in the Downeaster thread I took another look at the possible locations for future passenger rail stations in Portland. Out of all the possible sites there is only one that really makes sense (other than the PTC/Thompson's Point) and that's the current location of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office and the Jail. It's non-taxable use right now and the land parcel is clearly large enough to serve the necessary functions along with a parking garage and a nice station.

Relocating the jail is in my mind a "best use" and would also enable the CCSO to have a larger facility that better serves the rehabilitation needs of inmates.

[Cosakita18]

There was a PPH a while back that briefly mentioned the idea of integrating and upgraded Portland Transportation Center into the Thompson's point master plan, complete with parking garage

[gokeefe]

That's still the plan as far as I can tell.

[Train Detainer]

Back to the OP and any original depot on Commercial Street - Here's a B&M print of part of the area that shows no depot in the area covered. It is dated March 15th 1873 with Commercial Street on the right - and very different from the 1876 map that was linked in the OP.

DSC03604.jpg

[Mikejf]

Where is this in relation to now? Looks like some railroad related buildings tp the left of the tutntable and roundhouse

[Train Detainer]

The three long buildings were (probably) a rolling mill that are now the site of the the east end of Veterans's Memorial Bridge. Turn the plan about 90 degrees clockwise for a more geographically correct orientation. Where Commercial Street and Danforth Street come together on the plan are now Cassidy Point Drive. Where the Portland and Ogdensburg ran on a causeway just north of the mill buildings (in 1873), about three hundred yards of it is now the Fore River Pkwy Trail (due south of the hospital buildings).

[Mikejf]

Thanks. Makes sense to me now..

[gokeefe]

As we all know in 1961 Union Station was torn down. However passenger service on the B&M to Portland was apparently not discontinued until 1965. My question then is where was the B&M station between 1961 and 1965?

This seems to me like a possible additional station that we have never previously discussed here in this thread and I would like to know more, especially if the station was anything more than just a step stool on the former Union Station site.

[MEC407]

Wow, great question! I never even thought of that until now.

[gokeefe]

Thanks!

Neither had I until I started doing some utilization research.

Worth noting ... I have never seen a photo of B&M trains in Portland during that era. All the references I can recall about this brief era made claims about RDC rolling stock but I don't know how definitive any of those claims are.

[gokeefe]

Under the heading "Adrift (1962 - 1971)" Mr. VanBokkelen's discusses this era on his website.

[gokeefe]

To give everyone an idea of how hard it is to find photos of this era here is the only one on NE Rail Photo that I could find and its not even in Maine. The photo shows and RDC in Wilmington that is captioned as being on the Portland-Boston service. I checked NE Rail Photo for years 1961-1965. There is very little for those years at all. Quite remarkable in some ways how hard it is to find photos from these years.

[gokeefe]

RR Picture Archives Advanced Photo Search with dates 9/01/1961 (the day after Union Station was demolished) to 12/31/1965 and Country: USA, State: Maine is also a total bust. Plenty of photography in that era but very little from Portland. Most of it is Maine Central.

[gokeefe]

Surely RailPictures.Net would have some additional photos that might show the B&M operations in Portland? The tally for the B&M in Maine between 1960 and 1969? 1 Photo.