Charter and creation The Maine Central was created in 1862 through the merger of the
Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad and the
Penobscot and Kennebec Railroad, resulting in a line from Danville (now
Auburn) to
Bangor. The line connected with the
Grand Trunk Railway on its
Portland-
Chicago mainline at Danville and with the
Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad in Bangor. As a result of its connection with the Grand Trunk, the Maine Central initially operated on a
track gauge of known as "
Canadian" or "
Portland gauge".
Expansion Maine Central purchased the
Portland and Kennebec Railroad, which ran from Portland to Augusta and was built to standard track gauge, since it connected with the
Boston and Maine Railroad at Portland. By 1871, the Maine Central completed its
conversion to standard gauge to facilitate interchange of cars. The MEC established rail service to the
Penobscot Bay in 1871 by leasing (for fifty years) the then just-completed of track built by the
Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad (B&ML). The B&ML's grade ran the length of
Waldo County from the port town of
Belfast inland to
Burnham Junction, where its single track connected with the MEC's Portland to Bangor mainline. Maine Central operated the road as its "Belfast Branch" for the next 55 years, but on June 30, 1925, MEC President
Morris McDonald — after repeated public denials — gave the B&ML (and the city of Belfast as its majority owner) the required six months notice that it would not renew its by then year-to-year lease when it expired on December 31, 1925. The reason eventually given was a net loss to the MEC on the Belfast Branch operations of $113,230 for the year 1924.
Chronology • 1862 Merger of the
Androscoggin & Kennebec and
Penobscot & Kennebec created a
Portland gauge Maine Central Railroad mainline from
Danville Junction to
Bangor. • 1869 Maine Central leased the
Foxcroft branch. • 1870 Maine Central leased the competing
standard gauge Portland & Kennebec Railroad from
Portland to
Skowhegan as the "lower road" mainline and
Skowhegan branch; and completed the "back road" mainline from
Royal Junction to
Danville Junction. • 1871 Maine Central leased the
Belfast branch,
Farmington branch, and
Lewiston branch. • 1882 Maine Central leased the
European and North American Railway as the Eastern Division mainline from
Bangor to
Vanceboro; and gained majority stock control of Maine coastal steamboat service. • 1883 Maine Central leased the
Bucksport Branch. • 1884 Maine Central leased the
Bar Harbor branch. • 1888 Maine Central leased the
Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad as the
Mountain Division from
Portland to
Saint Johnsbury, Vermont. • 1888
Portland Union Station opened. • 1890 Maine Central leased the
Quebec Division. • 1891 Maine Central leased the
Rockland Branch. • 1904 Maine Central gained majority stock control of the
Calais Branch. • 1907 Maine Central leased the
Portland and Rumford Falls Railway as the
Livermore Falls branch and
Rangeley branch. • 1907
Bangor Union Station opened. • 1910 Maine Central leased the
Harmony branch. • 1911 Maine Central purchased the
Kineo House and
Kineo branch; formed the
Portland Terminal Company; and gained majority stock control of the
Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad. • 1912 Maine Central gained majority stock control of the
Bridgton and Saco River Railroad; and purchased the Samoset Hotel in
Rockland.
Retraction Following World War I, Maine Central began retracting. It sold or abandoned lines such as the narrow gauge and logging branches, as well as its hotels, ferries and steamships. Several railroad preservation and promotion groups are seeking to have the state-owned Calais Branch and Mountain Division routes reactivated for use by short line or tourist rail operations.
Pan Am Railways and CSX painted in the new
Pan Am Railways livery in 2005 In March 2006, Guilford Transportation Industries changed its name to
Pan Am Railways (PAR), reflecting the purchase of
Pan American World Airways brand in 1998. PAR began repainting locomotives in the sky-blue Pan Am colors shortly thereafter. Pan Am was acquired by
CSX Corporation in 2022. ==Passenger operations==