Fryeburg Horse Railroad, ca. 1910
Seashore Trolley Museum
Text by Patricia Erikson
Images from Brick Store Museum, Kennebunkport Historical Society, Sanford Historical Committee and Seashore Trolley Museum
Maine communities have enjoyed the benefits of public transportation for as long as the state has existed. Early ferries of the colonial era were followed in the mid 1800s by horse-drawn omnibuses and horse-drawn streetcars.
In the early 1800s, horse-drawn transportation borrowed steel-rail technology from railroads. Horsecar operation began in 1863 in Portland with the opening of the Portland Railroad Company.
The rails reduced friction, enabling horses to pull heavier loads and offer a smoother ride.
Electric streetcars, interurbans and other rail transportation began to replace horsecars by the end of the 19th century. In 1889, only seven years after construction of the first central power station in New York City, Bangor Street Railways operated Maine's first electric streetcars.
Man at the Goodall Mill Controls
Sanford-Springvale Historical Society
Electric railways had a longer range than horsecars and connected people in various communities in Maine and connected Maine to southern New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and beyond.
Industrial entrepreneurs used electric railways to connect their mills to main railroad lines to move supplies and finished products. Workers and travelers alike used the new street railways.
By the early 20th century, the fascination with private automobiles, the development of gasoline-powered buses, and changes in vacation and travel habits led to the demise of the street railways.
