Maine Memory Network

Trolleys brought small towns together, allowed people to travel further and faster, and opened up the possibilities for largely rural Maine beginning in the mid 19th century.

The state's first horse-drawn trolley line began in Portland in 1863. Before long, horsecar lines sprang up in communities all over the state.

However, the range and speed of horses made connecting areas more than a few miles apart difficult.

In 1889, Bangor Railway and Electric opened the state's first electric line.

Electric trolley lines were slowly adopted statewide, despite the fact that many lines in the state measured several miles or less in length.

In the late 19th century hydroelectric plants served many Maine towns. Most were small, isolated and locally controlled.

These companies made much of their income from operating trolleys, which they often underwrote as well.

Bangor Hydroelectric Co. Car No. 14 was one of the many hydro powered trolleys in the state.

Hydro power also developed many of the state's industries.

For operating trolleys, though, hydro soon gave way to electricity.

By the turn of the century all horsecar lines but one had been converted to electric. The exception was the Fryeburg Horse Railroad, which until 1913 remained horse-drawn.

For nearly 25 years it served a three-mile route, and although permission to electrify the line was granted, the railroad's income was too small for such an undertaking.

There were a number of short trolley lines built throughout northern Maine. These included the Calais Street Railway, the Norway and Paris Street Railway, and the Somerset Traction Company.

None were more than 15 miles in length, and several operated independently without ever connecting to the state's larger trolley systems.

Maine became known for its four major electrified trolley systems - the Atlantic Shore Railway, Portland Railroad, Bangor Railway & Electric, and the Lewiston, Waterville and Augusta Street Railway.

These systems linked together to connect Maine from the Kennebec Valley to Kittery, then on to Boston and New York City.

After Maine became connected to major cities, trolley companies capitalized on tourism by building large casinos just outside the cities they served.

The Portland Railroad Company, for example, built the Riverton Park Casino which prospered for over 20 years.

By the 1930s reliance on trolley travel was fading. Roads spread out beyond the limits of trolley lines and connected nearly every part of the state.

Automobiles were more available and affordable than ever before. Buses became a more viable means of mass transit, replacing trolleys on their former routes.

Bibliography:
Churchill, Eastman, Judd, eds. Maine: The Pine Tree State From Prehistory to Present.
Orono, University of Maine Press, 1995. 440, 474-475.
Cummings, O.R. "Toonervilles of Maine, The Pine Tree State." 1955.
Cummings, O.R. "Transportation Volume 11: Portland Railroad Volume I, Historical
Development and Operations." April 1957
Cummings, O.R. "Transportation Volume 12: Portland Railroad Volume II, Rolling
Stock, Car Houses, Power Supply." January 1959