This first railway, the Bangor & Piscataquis Canal Railroad from Bangor, was built from Bangor to Old Town. With construction of the line beginning in 1832, work on the tracks was on again-off again, as finances became available. Finally completed in 1836, the first train from Bangor rolled into Old Town on November 20, 1836. In 1891 the Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad and the Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works Railway were combined into the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad (BAR). Passenger train service on this line ended in 1961 and in 1995, the BAR was acquired by Iron Road Railways which, in turn, declared bankruptcy in 2002. The line was subsequently passed through the hands of the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, the Maine Northern Railway and the Central Maine and Quebec Railway.
Though we know when the first railroad was built in Old Town, we have no information on when the station was built, nor when it was abandoned, but 1961, by the BAR, would seem a good guess. Today it is home to Old Town Redemption, a bottle recycler.
Bangor was one of the first places in the country to have a railroad. Its railroad ran in 1836, only six years after the very first run on the Baltimore and Ohio. The Maine State Legislature granted a charter to the Old Town Railway Company owned by Edward and Samule Smith and Rufus Dwinel in 1832. The Chief Engineer, Joseph W. Taney, and his crew surveyed the route and began construction. The company ran short of funds and the building ceased. In 1833 a new group of investors chartered the Bangor and Piscataquis Canal Rail Road Company with the State. In 1835 construction began again and on November 20, 1836 the first train ran from Bangor to Old Town, and the line opened to the public on the 29th November. The company ran for thirteen years until it was sold to Gen. Samuel Veazie in 1849 who built a bridge across the Penobscot and extended the tracks to Milford. At this time General Veazie renamed it the Bangor, Old Town and Milford. He continued to run the railroad until his death on March 12, 1868. The General’s heirs continued to “run the road” until the European and North American Railroad bought it out in 1869. The last BO & M train ran on April 16, 1870.
The Pioneer is one of the first two locomotives bought by the Bangor and Piscataquis Canal Rail Road. This engine was bought between 1833 and 1836 from the Stephenson Locomotive Works, Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. Stephenson was one of the early locomotive builders in England and produced most of the best locomotives in the world. The Pioneer, a drop-hook style engine, weighed 7.5 tons, was 18 feet long, burned hardwood, and could travel at 12 miles per hour. This engine is thought to be the first steam locomotive operated in Maine. This photograph was taken after the engine was taken out of service.
Maine Memory Net
The line was just over 12 miles, from the station in the block between Cumberland and Curve Streets to the terminus in Milford. The average speed of the trains was around 6 miles per hour. The Gauge was 4’8” with the earliest rails being strap iron spiked to 6” planks; each plank was 14 feet long. One of the problems with this rail was that it came loose from the plank and at times came up through the floor of the coaches. In 1849 it was replaced with “chair rail” and later, in 1867, with the now familiar “T” rail. (Chair rail was known bullhead rail and the “chair” held the rail to the ties.) The railroad operated six locomotives, two carriages for passengers, a baggage car, and a number of freight cars. The first locomotive was the “Pioneer”. The line transported laths, shingles, clapboards, and lumber in addition to passengers. Trains ran three times daily and the fare was 37 cents one-way.
From the Maine Memory Net