The ''Bar Harbor Express'' was a seasonal passenger train which served the resort areas around

Bar Harbor, Maine Bar Harbor () is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. The town is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory, and MDI Biological Laborat ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was a joint venture of the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

, the

Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad was a United States, U. S. class 1 railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expand ...

and the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a United States, U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the e ...

(B&M).

History

The ''Bar Harbor Express'' began in 1902 with its southern terminus in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Trains ran north to

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, over the New Haven, where they were handed off to the

Boston and Albany Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The mainline is currently used by CSX for freight a ...

(B&A), which carried them to

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

. From Worcester the B&M hauled them to

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

. From Portland the Maine Central hauled the cars to their final destinations in the northeast. The B&A withdrew early on, however, so the trains followed a purely New Haven routing from New York to Worcester. The lack of a direct connection between

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

North Station North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtr ...

and

South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan I ...

precluded a Boston section. The completion of the

Hell Gate Bridge The Hell Gate Bridge (originally the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge) is a railroad bridge in New York City. The bridge carries two tracks of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and one freight track between Astoria, Queens, and Port Morris, Bron ...

in 1917 allowed direct rail service from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

through New York to points south, so the New Haven added

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

sections to the ''Bar Harbor Express'' which were hauled by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

. Destinations north of Portland included Ellsworth, Mount Desert Ferry in

Hancock Hancock may refer to: Places Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New H ...

, and Rockland. At Mount Desert Ferry passengers would board ferries for Bar Harbor. The Rockland branch served resort towns such as

Boothbay Boothbay is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,003 at the 2020 census. It includes the neighborhoods of Back Narrows, Dover, Linekin, Oak Hill, Ocean Point, Spruce Shores, and the villages of East Boothbay and T ...

via a stop in Wiscasset. In 1952 a typical consist of the ''Bar Harbor Express'' included sleepers from Washington, Philadelphia and New York to Ellsworth; Philadelphia to Portland; Philadelphia and New York to Rockland; and New York to

Plymouth, New Hampshire Plymouth is a New England town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States, in the White Mountains Region. It has a unique role as the economic, medical, commercial, and cultural center for the predominantly rural Plymouth, NH Labor Market A ...

. The latter was a Friday-only connection with the B&M in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...

. The ''Bar Harbor Express'' was hurt by the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

decline in passenger rail traffic which afflicted all passenger services, compounded by a 1947 fire in Bar Harbor. In 1957 the Maine Central truncated the run to Bangor, and ended the train altogether on

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

, 1960. The ''

State of Maine Express The ''State of Maine'' was an overnight passenger train between New York City and Portland, Maine, that was operated jointly for more than 50 years by the Boston and Maine Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. It departed New ...

'' traveled a similar route, six days a week, many seasons. It went from New York City's

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...

to New Haven,

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, Worcester, Lowell, Portland and the Bar Harbor region. In contrast to the ''Bar Harbor Express'' (which made no stops between Providence and Portland), the ''State of Maine'' made several local stops. Passengers to points beyond Portland needed to change to a Maine Central to complete the trip. Various destinations afforded by the Portland transfer included Waterville and Rockland. The default destination was Ellsworth, from which passengers would take ferries to Bar Harbor.

1913 wreck

On the morning of September 2, 1913, north of

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, travelling at in heavy fog, the ''White Mountain Express'' crashed through two cars of the ''Bar Harbor Express'' and overturned a third coach, killing 21 and injuring 50.

Notes

References

* *

External links

Bar Harbor Express
at

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