The Maine Central Railroad, The Pine Tree Route

The Maine Central Railroad was a carrier similar in nature to the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad in that it served the State of Maine and shipped timber and agricultural products. At its height the railroad never reached 1,000 miles in length but it did serve the important coastal industries of southern Maine as well as central New Hampshire, and eastern Vermont. Until its 1980 buyout by Guilford the MEC continued to be a reliable and efficient transportation artery for the region it served.

The Maine Central Railroad came about in 1862 (a relative late comer to the scene) when the Kennebec & Portland and Androscoggin & Kennebec Railroads merged. Both railroads served the southwestern portions of Maine with the K&P linking Augusta, Waterville, and Yarmouth while the A&K connected Bangor and Portland via Lewiston (they essentially connected the two same end points but using different lines with the K&P’s line known as the Lower Road and the A&K’s the Back Road).

As was the case for northern New England railroading, Maine Central Railroad’s primary traffic base was held in agriculture (of which, potatoes were shipped via the BAR), timber, and paper. For much of its life the MEC worked with or was under the influence of its southwestern connection, the Boston & Maine Railroad (also its link to the outside railroad grid). Cooperation between the two began as early as 1911 and renewed in the 1930s when the depression was hitting everyone hard. In an effort to help cut costs the two railroads worked together and did what they could to help each other. They also partnered in introducing joint bus and airline service along with their passenger trains although the government forced them to divest the airline (called Boston-Maine Airways) in 1940.

The railroad continued to do well through the 1970s with its end beginning in 1980 when it was sold to U.S. Filter Corporation, which subsequently was purchased by Ashland Oil who quickly wished to divest its rail holdings, which were purchased by Timothy Mellon, founder of Guilford Transportation Industries.

Mellon’s new system included a black livery with a bright orange trim and white lettering and sub-lettered his equipment to the owning railroad (such as the Maine Central, Boston & Maine, etc.). During Guilford’s ownership large sections of the MEC were abandoned or sold off as unprofitable and as the years progressed much of the two former allies’ rails, the MEC and B&M, were merged together (originally this also included the Delaware & Hudson Railway, which was let go in 1987 following bankruptcy).

Guilford would later change its name to Guilford Rail System and today even it no longer exists as it was dissolved in 2006 in favor of parent Pan Am Systems’ Pan Am Railways. Today the Maine Central Railroad is still officially on the books although it survives now mostly in name only and The Pine Tree Route is all but a memory. However, the railroad continues to live on serving its successor quite well, and other upstarts have taken over former portions of the railroad such as the Conway Scenic Railroad and Twin State Railroad, which operate sections of the old Mountain Sub.

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For an all-time diesel locomotive roster of the Maine Central Railroad please click here. Also, for an excellent listing of EMD-built diesel locomotives, including those owned by the MEC please click here. Lastly, please click here to locate preserved MEC diesel locomotives.

The American Locomotive Company

Electro-Motive Division

General Electric

For a more complete roster of Maine Central Railroad steam locomotives please click here. Also, for information regarding surviving MEC steam locomotives please click here.

Notable Maine Central Railroad Passenger Trains

Flying Yankee

Bar Harbor Express: (Washington - Ellsworth, Maine)

Down Easter: (New York - Waterville/Rockland, Maine)

The Gull: (Boston - Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Katahdin: (Boston - Bangor)

Kennebec: (Boston - Bangor)

Mountianeer: (Boston - Littleton, New Hampshire)

Penobscot: (Boston - Bangor)

Pine Tree: (Boston - Bangor)

Skipper: (Boston - Bangor)

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