Some Ferroequinarchaeology

The pipeline of stuff to contribute spilled over last weekend. I came across some photos the Wheelman was "commissioned" to seek for a local organization in June of 2005. Since I had a new digital SLR and he had need, we set out to trace the old Portland and Rumford Falls route from Mechanic Falls to Buckfield. Both of us had seen pieces but neither of us had seen it all. I'll spare you most of the many empty roadbed shots and share a few highlights.

This Maine Central route used to feature Pullman through trains from New York to Kennebago where the Maine Central RR had a resort. My family used to ship apples on this line, some going to England where markets were good. My mother's parents used to ride from West Minot to Buckfield to attend high school. My dad's mother traveled to work at Bemis on this line and my dad's father used to go on fishing expeditions in the same neighborhood before the roads were built. My grandmother used to take my dad to a dentist in Rumford on this line, which is funny because I now commute to work following much of this line and go to a dentist in Rumford! Here is what's left of the East Hebron depot, which has been moved about 100 yards and is now a farm shed. The Hebron Historical Society would like to restore this building but there is some technical hangup with the town and the current user, not to mention where to put it. Things could change. We'll need help on that one if circumstances turn in our favor.

How about some solid artifacts. Bridge abutments tend to hang around a while. I think these had a deck on them until the 1960's or even 1970's. You can see them from Rt. 11 in Mechanic Falls when you cross the Little Androscoggin River. There is a park of sorts here and it used to be the site of a factory until it burned down in the '70's. It's a wicked flood plain though. A little south of this point the line headed eastward, passed a spur to Poland Spring Resort and ended at the mainline connection at Rumford Jct. Not far north there was a grade level crossing with the Grand Trunk who was here first with a 5' gauge line to Montreal.

As you head north out of Mechanic Falls on route 124 you pass by this gem of an arch bridge. It is fairly well known locally and probably dates back to well before the turn of the 20th century. The line's various owners had some ambitious plans early on. If you check the history books many of them went bankrupt and the line took many years to get to Canton. Buckfield was the terminus for a long time. The "new" high school there features etched glass with images of the steam engines working locally. The towns had to get involved to produce enough capital to build north. Rumford itself wasn't a real "target" until the paper mills were built around 1900.

This last shot is a roadbed shot but a scenic one. South of Buckfield village along the roadbed is a pull off area that resembles a park, but I'm not sure how official it is. It features a nice little pond and walking area. We ran into one of my cousins walking his dog here. Apparently he also fishes here and other spots along the roadbed.

We saw plenty of other stuff and I took lots of photos but this is enough for a low intensity tour. The several other depots are now private homes and I didn't want to bother them. One other major set of abutments is in Buckfield and has a snowmobile bridge on it. Photogenic but not terribly useful here. We found plenty of culverts and other signs but not much worth sharing here. Not a bad way to spend a lazy afternoon though. Mission accomplished.

BC