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St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad

Maximum extent of the SLQ
A St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad train inSherbrooke, Quebec
Overview
Headquarters	Auburn,Maine
Reporting mark	SLR
Locale	westernMaine, northernNew Hampshire, northeasternVermont
Dates of operation	1853–
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge
Previous gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)broad gauge until about 1873
Other
Website	https://www.gwrr.com/slr/

St-Laurent et Atlantique Railroad

Overview
Headquarters	Richmond,Quebec
Reporting mark	SLQ
Locale	SouthQuebec
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge
Previous gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)broad gauge until about 1873
Other
Website	https://www.gwrr.com/slq/
Map Legend CN toMontreal Canada U.S.A. border PQ VT Norton Lake Summit Pherrins River Island Pond Goupee Brook East Brighton Woodbury's Creek Nulhegan River Wenlock Nulhegan River Connecticut River North Stratford Mason's (MEC) Bog Brook Mapleton Hatch's Creek Blackberry Grade Groveton Ammonoosuc River Upper Ammonoosuc River Stark Percy Phillips Brook Crystal Upper Ammonoosuc River West Milan Upper Ammonoosuc River Copperville Dead River Berlin Androscoggin River Cascade Boston & Maine RR Moose Brook Moose River Gorham Peabody River Pea Brook Androscoggin River causeway Rattle River Shelburne Chipman Brook Connor Brook Wild River Wild River RR Gilead Peabody Brook Pleasant River Allen's Barker's Mill Creek Bethel Alder River Alder River Locke's Mills Bryant Pond Little Androscoggin River Bates Snow's Falls Swift's Creek South Paris toNorway Little Androscoggin River Meadow Brook Oxford Little Androscoggin River MEC toMechanic Falls Worthly Brook MEC toEmpire Road Lewiston Danville Junction Danville JunctionMEC Royal River Meadow Brook New Gloucester Pownal Chandler Brook Dunn's Yarmouth JunctionMEC Royal River Yarmouth Cumberland Mill Creek Falmouth Presumpscot River Elm Ice Pond East Deering Back Covetrestle Portland Terminal Co. Portland B&M toBoston This diagram: view talk edit

TheSt. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad (reporting markSLR), known asSt-Laurent et Atlantique Quebec (reporting markSLQ) inCanada, is ashort-line railway operating betweenPortland, Maine, on theAtlantic Ocean, andMontreal,Quebec, on theSt. Lawrence River. It crosses theCanada–US border atNorton, Vermont, andStanhope, Quebec, and is owned by short-line operatorGenesee & Wyoming.

The line was built by the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad in the U.S. and the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway in Canada, meeting atIsland Pond, Vermont, south of the international border. Major communities served include Portland andLewiston in Maine;Berlin, New Hampshire; Island Pond, Vermont; andSherbrooke and Montreal in Quebec.

The line was proposed as a connection between Portland andSherbrooke,Quebec, in 1844 by Portland entrepreneurJohn A. Poor. Portland was desperate to connect itsice-free port with Montreal, and Maine was at risk of being eclipsed by a similar proposal running from nearbyBoston,Massachusetts. Writer, critic, and Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad investor,John Neal wrote of the necessity "to drive Boston out of the business and secure [a] monopoly."^[1] Montreal saw an advantage in linking with the smaller port at Portland, and Poor's idea became a reality.

The Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad was chartered inMaine on February 10, 1845;New Hampshire on July 30, 1847; andVermont on October 27, 1848, to build a continuous line fromPortland northwest into northeastern Vermont.William Pitt Preble was the railroad's first president. The line was originally built to thePortland gauge of5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm). Construction started in Portland on July 4, 1846. The first section, from Portland toYarmouth, opened July 20, 1848. Further extensions up theRoyal River to Danville (nowAuburn) opened in October 1848 and toMechanic Falls in February 1849. Construction then proceeded up theLittle Androscoggin River toOxford in September 1849 andParis in March 1850. Construction was then completed down theAlder River to theAndroscoggin River atBethel in March 1851.^[2] Simultaneous construction of Portland gauge connecting railways occurred from Danville and Mechanic Falls. Sections into and withinNew Hampshire opened toGorham on July 23, 1851, andNorthumberland July 12, 1852, and the full distance toIsland Pond, Vermont, on January 29, 1853.

Construction began with three locomotives built in Britain, but John Poor had organized thePortland Company with locomotive erecting shops adjacent to the railroad yard and wharves at Portland. Approximately half of the early Portland Company production was 25 Portland-gauge locomotives built for the Atlantic & St. Lawrence. These4-4-0 locomotives weighing 20 to 25 tons were augmented by locomotives built elsewhere when the road was completed to Montreal.^[2]

The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway was chartered to build the part of the line inQuebec, and on August 4, 1851, agreed to meet the Atlantic and St. Lawrence at Island Pond. Regular operations began April 4, 1853 betweenMontreal (Saint-Lambert) and Portland.

Four months later, on August 5, 1853, theGrand Trunk Railway leased the two companies, giving theToronto-Montreal line an extension east to Portland. A branch was also built fromRichmond, Quebec, northeast toPoint Levi, across theSt. Lawrence River fromQuebec City. Grand Trunk enlarged their waterfront facilities at Portland by purchasing land fromHenry Wadsworth Longfellow.^[2] The increased traffic from Portland and Point Levi to Montreal placed significant demands on the smalltrain ferry service across the St. Lawrence at Montreal, and this was replaced by theVictoria Bridge by 1860.

The locomotives burned wood exclusively until the cost of seasoned firewood increased during the winter of 1871–72 to make other fuels competitive.Peat from Quebec was used briefly beforecoal became the standard. Coal was used exclusively between Portland and Gorham by 1879, but use of wood continued for a few more years north of Gorham.^[2]

Interchange withstandard gauge railroads became a problem during the 1860s. Grand Trunk equipped approximately 1,000 freight cars with experimental "sliding-wheels" in 1863 at company shops inSarnia, Ontario, andPointe-Saint-Charles in Montreal. Gauge could be adjusted by removing and inserting axle pins on special tapered-gauge track segments at interchange points. Safety problems were reported despite high maintenance costs. All lines west of Montreal were converted to standard gauge on October 3 and 4, 1873. Grand Trunk purchased 200 standard gauge locomotives (including 62 fromPortland Company) and converted 135 old locomotives. Ten thousand standard gaugebogies were purchased for conversion of freight cars. The railway from Portland to Montreal was standard-gauged in September 1874.^[2]

During the week preceding the change, each section foreman made sure all ties on his section were properlyadzed and clear of gravel. Spikes were laid out beside each tie, and some sidings were re-gauged before the main line. Two eight-man squads were assigned to each five-mile section. They slept by the track with their tools on the night of September 25, 1874. Work began at Portland when the last Portland gauge train from Island Pond arrived at 2:00 am September 26, and the main line was ready for standard gauge trains by 9:00 am the same day. The change resulted in nearly complete replacement of locomotives on the New England line, since most of the Portland gauge locomotives were sold or scrapped. Five new "Burnside"2-6-0 locomotives fromRhode Island Locomotive Works had arrived in Portland from Boston to resume service.^[2]

The GTR line to Portland was built during the boom period for New Englandtextile mills, and various mill towns in northern New England soon saw an influx ofFrench Canadian workers who quickly found work in the region.

Grain elevators were constructed at Portland to facilitate storage and loading of Canadianwheat for export. The first elevator was built on Galt Wharf in 1863. The elevator with capacity for 150,000 bushels burned in 1873, and was replaced with a larger elevator in 1875. Portland Elevator Company built an elevator with capacity of one million bushels in 1897, and New England Elevator Company built the largest elevator on the Atlantic coast at the time, with capacity of 1.5 million bushels, in 1901.^[2]

By 1881, all wooden bridges had been replaced by iron and stone structures, and steel rail had replaced early iron rail. Fourteen steamship lines were serving the Grand Trunk wharves at Portland by 1896 with connections toBristol,London,Liverpool,Glasgow, andAntwerp. Fifty steamships visited Portland that winter, and as many as seven could load simultaneously from the Grand Trunk wharves. More powerful2-6-0 mogul locomotives increased freight train length from 16 to 30 cars.^[2]

Passenger train service included theSeaside and White Mountains Special (later called theInternational Limited) fromChicago to Portland, equipped with plushsilk andmahogany-finishedPullman, dining, sleeping, parlor, and observation cars including a library and a barber shop.^[2] By 1946 this required a change of train in Montreal, taking #16 from Montreal to Portland (and #17 the reverse trip). As late as summer, 1963, the Canadian National/Grand Trunk operated this route as a weekends only train, equipped with coffee shop car in addition to coach, for the route from Montreal to Portland.^[3]

The GTR's bankruptcy in the early 1920s saw it nationalized by the Canadian federal government, which merged it into the nascentCanadian National Railways (CNR). Unfortunately for Portland, the CNR also included various other rail lines to ice-free Canadian ports in theMaritimes, notablyHalifax, Nova Scotia, and their now ex-GTR mainline to Montreal soon became a secondary mainline under CNR as traffic dropped significantly. Within a decade, annual export tonnage leaving Portland declined to 21,000 tons, from an average of 600,000 tons during the early 1920s.^[2]

Canadian National class S 2-8-2s pulled through freight trains between Portland and Island Pond, while class OUSRA 0-6-0s worked those yards andclass N-4 2-8-0s pulled local wayfreights within the United States. Passenger trains were usually pulled by locomotives working out of Montreal.Canadian National class E-7 2-6-0 #713 worked the Lewiston branch, and was preserved at theCanadian Railway Museum when 16 class GR-17EMD GP9 diesel locomotives replaced steam power in 1957. Five of the GP9s were equipped withsteam generators for passenger service, while the other eleven haddynamic brakes for freight service.^[2]

Paper mills remained a major source of traffic. Annual car loadings in 1973 were 12,758 forBerlin, 5,794 forGroveton, and 1,161 forMechanic Falls; but theBoston and Maine Railroad carried some of the traffic for the New Hampshire mills.^[4] Dressed meat from Chicago to Maine continued to use the shorter Canadian routing as long as railwayreefers remained competitive with highway trucking.

From 1934^[5] to 1939 the twice-weeklyMaine Coast Special from Montreal left the Grand Trunk at Yarmouth Junction to follow theMaine Central Railroad to Portland'sUnion Station and then theBoston and Maine Railroad to the beach communities ofOld Orchard Beach andKennebunkport during July and August. The CNR class U-14-8-2 locomotives pulling as many as 17 car trains aroundDominion Day would be serviced atRigby Yard inSouth Portland before making the return trip. Daily except Sunday passenger trains 16 and 17 continued to carry arailway post office between Portland and Island Pond through the 1950s. These trains remained popular with summer vacationers from Montreal, and summer weekend service continued until 1967 after daily train service ended in 1960. Passengers were transported by bus from Portland station to Old Orchard Beach. Portland station was razed in 1966.^[2]

Despite the decline in traffic being handled over the line, its strategic connection to the Atlantic Ocean for Montreal saw other use arise duringWorld War II.Bauxite fromBritish Guiana was shipped via rail from Portland to avoid shipping losses toU-boats during theBattle of the St. Lawrence.^[6] ThePortland–Montreal Pipe Line was built to carry oil from terminals in South Portland to refineries in Montreal; the pipeline followed the GTR route along certain parts and is still in use today. Wharves at Portland were used by theUnited States Navy asCasco Bay becamedestroyer baseSail during theBattle of the Atlantic.^[7] Grand Trunk Piers housed a Navy supply pier and training schools forcombat information center (CIC), night visuallookouts, surface andaircraft recognition, search andfire controlradar operators,gunnery spotting,anti-aircraftmachine guns, andanti-submarine warfare (ASW) attack.^[8]

CNR (CN after the 1960s) continued to operate the Portland-Sherbrooke line as its Berlin Subdivision, but traffic continued to decline. By the late 1980s, followingderegulation of the U.S. railroad industry, it became a candidate for divestiture to a shortline operator.

In 1989, the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad was formed to take over operation of theIsland Pond-Portland section, and several years later this was extended to the border atNorton. In 1998, following Canadian deregulation, the short-line operator formed a subsidiary St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad (Quebec) to operate the remaining line from the border at Norton through toSainte-Rosalie, where it connects with the CNR main line to Montreal.

In April 2012, theMaine Department of Transportation put a project out to bid which would "purchase, design, and construct a portion of rail line for future passenger service toLewiston andAuburn."^[9] The potential passenger route would operate on tracks operated by the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad. As of 2013^[update] prospective operators of a night train from Montréal to Boston are attempting to get access to the St. Lawrence and Atlantic right-of-way for a 2014-passenger launch.^[10]

A bridge over theSaint-François River nearBrompton, Quebec, collapsed on January 13, 2018. There were no injuries. The preliminary opinion is that the collapse was due to an ice jam and rapid water level rise following an unseasonal day of rain.^[11]

• Milepost 0:Portland terminal facilities includingwharves,grain elevators,Portland Company shops, and interchange withPortland Terminal Company until 1984.^[2]

  

• Milepost 1.4: Portland Junction withPortland and Rochester Railroad from 1871 to 1947^[12]

• Milepost 1.5: Back Cove Trestle abandoned following fire damage in 1984^[13]

• Milepost 2.4:East Deering stockyard with resting pens for 2,500 head of export livestock and 15-stallroundhouse with steam locomotive servicing facilities (station closed 1939)^[2]

• Milepost 4.4:Presumpscot River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 5.5:Falmouth station razed about 1932^[6]

• Milepost 8.9:Cumberland^[2]

• Milepost 11.3:Yarmouth Station built in 1906; closed in 1968^[6]

  

• Milepost 11.7:Royal River trestle^[2]

• Milepost 12.2:Yarmouth Junction with Kennebec and Portland Railroad (laterMaine Central Railroad "lower road") since 1849^[14]

• Milepost 15.3:Dunn's^[2]

• Milepost 18.4:Pownal 69-car passing siding (station closed 1953)^[6]

• Milepost 22.7:New Gloucester station burned in 1940^[6]

• Milepost 23.9: Royal River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 24.3: Royal River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 24.8: Royal River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 26.8: Royal River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 27.6:Danville Junction with Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad (laterMaine Central Railroad "back road")^[14]

• Milepost 29.7:Lewiston Junction with 5.4-mile branch toLewiston, Maine since 1874^[2] (Lewiston station closed 1971)^[6]

• Milepost 32.1:Empire Road passed underPortland and Rumford Falls Railway from 1893 to 1952^[14] (station closed 1941)^[2]

• Milepost 36.2:Mechanic Falls junction withBuckfield Branch Railroad, laterPortland and Rumford Falls Railway until 1952^[14] (station razed 1968)^[6]

• Milepost 36.3:Little Androscoggin River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 40.9:Oxford station closed 1965^[6]

• Milepost 46.7:Little Androscoggin River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 47.3:South Paris junction with 1.4-mile branch toNorway, Maine since 1879 and 3-stallroundhouse until 1929^[2] (Norway station closed in 1964 and was razed in 1968)^[6]

  

• Milepost 55.6:Little Androscoggin River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 55.7:Bates 65-car passing siding androundhouse for 1.1 percent Bacon's Grade helper engine to Bryant Pond.Feldspar was mined, processed and loaded here for the manufacture ofporcelain from 1925 to 1988. Station built in 1851, enlarged in 1879, and closed in 1967 was razed in 1968.^[6]

• Milepost 58:Little Androscoggin River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 58.9:Little Androscoggin River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 61.8:Bryant Pond 2-stallroundhouse until 1923^[2] (station built in 1851 closed in 1958)^[6]

• Milepost 65.3:Locke Mills^[2]

• Milepost 67:Alder River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 68.2:Alder River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 69.6: Alder River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 70.1:Bethel station built in 1865 was enlarged in 1899 and closed and razed in 1968^[6]

• Milepost 74:Allen's^[2]

• Milepost 75:Pleasant River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 80.1:Gilead, Maine junction withWild River Railroad from 1891 to 1904^[15]

• Milepost 80.5:Wild River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 82.6: state line^[2]

• Milepost 85.9:Shelburne, New Hampshire^[2]

• Milepost 87.9:Rattle River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 88: Rattle River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 88.2: Rattle River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 88.4: east end ofAndroscoggin River causeway^[2]

• Milepost 89.2: west end of Androscoggin River causeway^[2]

• Milepost 91:Peabody River trestle^[2]

• Milepost 91.6:Gorham 12 stallroundhouse andcoaling tower until 1956 with shops from 1869 to 1902^[2] Station built in 1907 housed the Gorham Historical Society when railroad occupancy ended.^[6]

  

• Milepost 92.8:Moose River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 93.1:Moose Brook bridge^[2]

• Milepost 93.3:Boston and Maine Railroad toBerlin, New Hampshire crosses overhead on high bridge^[2]

• Milepost 96:Cascade^[2]

  

• Milepost 97.9:Berlin junction withBerlin Mills Railway^[2]

  

• Milepost 101:Dead River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 103.3:Copperville station closed 1929^[2]

• Milepost 103.7:Upper Ammonoosuc River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 106.3: Upper Ammonoosuc River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 108.7: Upper Ammonoosuc River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 109.4:West Milan junction with Upper Ammonoosuc Railroad from 1893 to 1903 with 37-car siding forpulpwood loading (station closed 1957)^[6]

• Milepost 110.2: Upper Ammonoosuc River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 110.5: Upper Ammonoosuc River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 111.6:Crystal^[2]

• Milepost 111.7:Phillips Brook bridge^[2]

• Milepost 114.3:Percy 76-car passing siding and 13-carteam track^[6]

• Milepost 116.4:Stark^[2]

• Milepost 117.3: Upper Ammonoosuc River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 121.8: Upper Ammonoosuc River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 122.2:Groveton junction with theBoston and Maine Railroad Groveton branch and (from 1948 to 1976) theMaine Central RailroadBeecher Falls branch^[14]

• Milepost 126.4:Mapleton^[2]

• Milepost 129.5:Masons crossing theMaine Central Railroad Beecher Falls branch from 1887 until Maine Central negotiated trackage rights from Groveton toNorth Stratford in 1948^[14]

• Milepost 134.6:North Stratford, New Hampshire junction with theNorth Stratford Railroad from 1887 to 1989^[14]

• Milepost 134.7:Connecticut River bridge^[2]

• Milepost 142.3:Wenlock, Vermont station closed 1925^[2]

• Milepost 145.3:East Brighton^[2]

• Milepost 149.5:Island Pond ice harvesting facilities forreefer icing and passenger car air-conditioning until 1959 and division point yard with 20-stallroundhouse and locomotive servicing facilities until 1966^[2]

• Railroad History Database
• Steamtown Special History Study - Berlin Mills Railway No. 7
• Genesee & Wyoming - St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad
• The Grand Trunk in New England
• Details and map of original railroad as of 1850

• Vermont railroads
• New Hampshire railroads
• Maine railroads
• Quebec railways
• Genesee & Wyoming
• Spin-offs of the Canadian National Railway
• Railway companies established in 1845
• Railway companies established in 1853
• Defunct Quebec railways
• Defunct Vermont railroads
• Predecessors of the Grand Trunk Railway
• 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in Canada
• 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in the United States

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• Articles with short description
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• Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2013
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