Portland and Ogdensburg Railway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Portland and Ogdensburg Railway | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Locale | west from Portland, Maine |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | |
The Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad was a railroad planned to connect Portland, Maine to Ogdensburg, New York. The plan failed, and in 1880 the Vermont section was reorganized and leased by the Boston and Lowell Railroad. In 1886 the Maine and New Hampshire section was reorganized as the Portland and Ogdensburg Railway. That part was leased to the Maine Central Railroad in 1888, and in 1912 the Maine Central leased the eastern part of the Vermont section from the Boston and Maine Railroad, the successor to the B&L.
[edit] History
The Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad was chartered on February 11, 1867 to run from Portland, Maine to Fabyan, New Hampshire, where the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad would continue west. The line opened on August 16, 1875.
In 1864 the Essex County Railroad was chartered to run from St. Johnsbury, Vermont, on the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad, east to Lunenburg on the border with New Hampshire. The Montpelier and St. Johnsbury Railroad was chartered in 1866 to run west from St. Johnsbury to Montpelier. The Lamoille Valley Railroad was chartered in 1867 to run from West Danville on the planned M&SJ northwest to Swanton. The three companies were consolidated on August 7, 1875 to form the Vermont Division of the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad, and the construction that had started was continued, except that the part of the M&SJ west of West Danville was never built.
Construction on the Vermont Division began in 1871, and was complete in 1877. To connect between the two divisions, the company at first used trackage rights over the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad from Fabyan to Dalton, New Hampshire, but soon built its own alignment. West of Swanton, the P&O was allied with the Ogdensburgh and Lake Champlain Railroad, running west from Rouses Point, New York to Ogdensburg, and used the Vermont and Canada Railroad to access it.
The Montreal, Portland and Boston Railway opened in 1876 from Montreal, Quebec to the national border, and was planned to continue into Vermont as a branch of the P&O.
Just after completion of the Vermont Division the company went bankrupt, was taken over by the receiver on October 19, 1877. The Vermont Division was reorganized as the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad on January 30, 1880. On August 9, 1882 the Montreal, Portland and Boston Railway leased it, but it was soon taken over by the Boston and Lowell Railroad.
The main division was reorganized on June 8, 1884 as the Portland and Ogdensburg Railway, and on August 20, 1888 the Maine Central Railroad leased it. In July 1912 the Maine Central Railroad leased the old Vermont Division, but on August 1, 1927 the lease was terminated, and a new lease was made on only the part east of St. Johnsbury.
