The Portland and Rochester Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was established in 1865 to reorganize the York and Cumberland Railroad, whose line ran from

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 ...

, to Bar Mills, Maine. The Portland and Rochester extended the line southwest to

Rochester, New Hampshire Rochester is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,492 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, 6th most populous city in New Hampshire. In ad ...

. The company was merged into 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 ...

in 1900. The Portland and Rochester Railroad main line became part of the B&M's Worcester, Nashua and Portland Division along with the line of the

Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad The Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad was a railroad line that was to link the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, to the city of Portland, Maine, via the New Hampshire cities of Nashua, New Hampshire, Nashua and Rochester, New Hampshire, Roc ...

History

The York and Cumberland Railroad was incorporated in 1846 to challenge the

Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad The Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad (PS&P) was a railroad in Maine that ran from Portland via Saco to South Berwick. History It began operations in 1842. In 1843, an agreement was made between the Boston and Maine Railroad and the Easter ...

. It eventually completed a line between

, and Bar Mills, Maine, on the

Saco River The Saco River ( , Abenaki: ''Sαkóhki'') is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic O ...

. The railroad lacked the ability to push further south to connections with other railroads, and was reorganized on November 1, 1865, as the Portland and Rochester Railroad. With financial backing from Portland, the Portland and Rochester Railroad began building south, and reached

, in 1871. A new through route was created when the Worcester and Nashua Railroad, through the Nashua and Rochester Railroad, reached Rochester from the south in 1874. In Portland, the Portland and Rochester built two small branches: a connection along Back Cove to connect with the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

, and a short branch to reach

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 ...

. These opened in 1874 and 1891, respectively. The Worcester and Nashua and Nashua and Rochester merged to become the

in 1883; the

leased the merged company in 1886. The B&M gained stock control of the Portland and Rochester in the 1880s but it remained independent until 1900. Under B&M control the Portland and Rochester Railroad main line formed the northern end of the company's Worcester, Nashua and Portland Division.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Portland and Rochester Railroad 1865 establishments in Maine 1865 establishments in New Hampshire 1900 disestablishments in Maine 1900 disestablishments in New Hampshire Predecessors of the Boston and Maine Railroad Defunct Maine railroads Defunct New Hampshire railroads American companies established in 1865