Maine Bicentennial Series - Penobscot Central Railway 1898-1906

Penobscot Central Railway No. 1 - Original Patton
gasoline-electric motor car with former horsecar as a trailer
on Kenduskeag Avenue, Bangor, Maine during a trial
trip in 1898.   The trailer was purchased from the Bangor
Street Railway who had acquired the trailer from the
West End Street Railway of Boston.
Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection

     Here is the newest release in the Maine Bicentennial series of electric railways in Maine. This blog post features the Penobscot Central Railway summary/images from the book, "Bangor Street Railway" by Charles D. Heseltine, published as Transportation Bulletin No. 81 January - December 1974 through Connecticut Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society copyright 1976 Roger Borrup and Charles D. Heseltine. Some text/images may be from the NEERHS 2015 publication, "The Illustrated Atlas of Maine's Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946. Additional images will be credited.

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• 3.6.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath St Rwy 1898-1907
• 3.4.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Bangor Hydro-Electric Company 1925-1945
• 3.4.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Penobscot Central Railway 1898-1906
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Penobscot Central Railway

     The Penobscot Central Railway was one of the earlier projected suburban street railways extending from the Bangor area. On April 15, 1891, the citizens of the town of East Corinth held a special town meeting to vote upon an article calling for the issuance of bonds to a roral of $16,400 with which to purchase stock in the proposed road. Other towns along the way followed suit.

     Nothing was done in connection with building the road, so the 1894 town meeting at East Corinth was considered a warrant "to see if the town is willing to appoint a committee, jointly with the town of Charleston and the town of Kenduskeag, to employ counsel and, if advisable, to institute an action to recover money raised and paid by said towns to aid in the construction of the Penobscot Central Railway." It was so voted.

     At the 1895 town meeting, it was voted to leave in the hands of the selectmen the disposition of money, if recovered. A proposition in 1896 to extend credit to aid in the organization of the Bangor Suburban Railroad was rejected.

     So, it would appear that this chapter of Bangor's street railway system did not get off to a very auspicious start.

     Articles of association for the Penobscot Central Ry (PCRwy) were approved on December 31, 1896. Capitalization was $250,000. The company proposed to build from the Bangor-Glenburn boundary through Glenburn, Kenduskeag, and East Corinth to Charleston, with a branch from Kenduskeag Villiage through Exeter to Garland, a total of about 35 miles (the Garland branch never was built).

 1898 share certificate for PCRwy

Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection

     Approximately four-tenths of a mile of track - from a connection with the Bangor, Orono & Old Town Railway spur on Broad Street to the steamboat wharf on Front Street - was completed by August 3, 1897. It was immediately leased to the Old Town line which was planning to develop a trolley freight and express service.

     The construction of the PCRwy northerly from Bangor started in the spring of 1898. The line began at a connection with the Bangor, Orono & Old Town Railway's line at Harlow and Cumberland Streets, leaving the city via Harlow, Valley, and Kenduskeag Avenues.

     Two wooden covered bridges were used to cross and recross the Kenduskeag Stream on the outskirts of Bangor, both spans being substantially reinforced for the weight of the electric cars and the prospective freight business.

     From the outskirts of Bangor, the road generally paralleled the present-day (1974) Route 15 through North Bangor, Glenburn, and Kenduskeag Village, the village of East Corinth, terminating about one-half mile beyond this point at a corn-canning plant.

Penobscot Central Railway to Kenduskeag

Map by Charles D. Heseltine in the

2015 publication, "The Illustrated Atlas of

Maine's Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946.

     As the line was intended as a freight carrier, as well as a passenger line, and intended to haul standard railroad equipment, long radius curves, and grades not over 5% were planned. The Railroad Commission ruled that the charter was for the line to be a street railway, with the results being grades as high as 10% had to be established. These areas would prove difficult for the first motive power for the line to negotiate.

     Instead of adopting the conventional overhead trolley system, the PCRwy purchased a Patton Motor Car, a self-propelled vehicle supplied by the Patton Motor Company of Chicago, IL, This car was an innovation in the railway industry which was finding some success in the open, flatlands of the Midwest. 32 feet long, the car was divided into two compartments, one for the power plant and one for the passengers. It was equipped with a 50-hp gasoline engine driving a 30-kW direct-current generator which supplied a bank of 110 storage batteries that in turn fed two 50-hp traction motors.

     The generator and motors were the products of the Walker Company of Cleveland, OH, and the car body was built by the Laconia Car Company, Laconia, NH. Christensen air brakes were installed, making it the first streetcar in Maine to have air brakes. The car weighed 56,000 pounds.

     Enough of the line was completed by late in 1898, that the Patton motor with a trailer could be tested. The train set was reportedly greeted enthusiastically along the route by cheers, cannon shots, and fireworks.

     While the Maine Railroad Commissioners stated: "The use of this motor does away with the powerhouses, overhead construction, and the bonding of rails, and those in charge profess to be well satisfied with its performance," there was a bit of skepticism in this conservative praise.

     Indeed, the motor did not turn out to be all that it had expected of it. The 10%-grades were a considerable impediment. Gasoline engines had not been developed to peak efficiency at that early date. Riding within the car itself was described as unpleasant, due to the noise, and, vibration and fumes from the exhaust. Additionally, the engine, generator, and 110 storage batteries left little space for passengers, and most people elected to ride in the trailer, even though being yanked along in an ex-horsecar may not have been the acme of transportation comfort.

The carhouse and freight station at the end of the line in

Charleston. Image from the O. R. Cummings Collection in

the NEERHS 2015 publication, "The Illustrated Atlas of

Maine's Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946.

     The certificate of safety for the 21 miles of track from Cumberland and Harlow Streets in Bangor to the railway's carhouse in East Corinth was issued on December 17, 1898. Regular service did not start until June 8, 1899. Passenger revenues for June totaled $102.55. Express/freight revenues for June totaled $356.73. A Modest start to say the least.

Penobscot Central Railway from Kenduskeag to

end of the line in Charleston.

Map by Charles D. Heseltine in the

2015 publication, "The Illustrated Atlas of

Maine's Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946.

     On April 7, 1900, the company decided to suspend operations and adopt the conventional overhead trolley system. $105,000 was spent on the conversion. A steam power plant was constructed in Kenduskeag Village at about the midway on the line. A second carbarn was built at Six Miles Falls in North Bangor.

     Flavius O. Beal, president of the PCRwy, was also the mayor of Bangor. In more than one newspaper article of the day, the railway was referred to as "Beal's Hoodoo."

     The first electric car operated over the line from Bangor to East Corinth took place on May 1, 1901, with twelve passengers on board, with Motorman Henry E. Striker in charge and W. C. Noyes as the conductor. The regular fare to Kenduskeag from Bangor was 40 cents and to East Corinth, 50 cents, and with the completion of the line to Charleston, adjusted.

     As of August 5, 1902, the PCRwy owned 26.25 miles of mainline track.  The running time between Bangor and Charleston was two hours with five daily trips for passenger cars. The total cost of construction of the line after completion to Charleston was reported on June 30, 1903, was $458,123.

     Passenger service on the line diminished in numbers each year. Freight was the mainstay of the line. Total revenues failed to cover the cost of operation and fixed charges. It was inevitable that financial trouble would necessitate a change. Foreclosure proceedings in 1904  led to an auction. The purchaser was the Penobscot Central Railroad, which was an organization of the bondholders.

     The new company did not last long. Early in 1905, control of the line passed into the hands of the Public Works Company in the form of a newly organized corporation known as the Bangor & Northern Railway, which had been chartered on March 15, 1905.  For all practical purposes, it became part of the Bangor system with power being supplied from the Veazie hydro-station. The two companies were formally merged on January 31, 1905, when the line became the Charleston Division of the Bangor Railway & Electric Company.

     The high water mark for passengers carried in a year and passenger revenues was during 1903 when 368,464 passengers were carried, generating $18,423. The best year for freight revenues was 1904 with $16,328.

     No roster information has been found for Penobscot Central. There were two large double-truck open cars, but apparently, they were disposed of shortly after the merger; the two large double-truck closed cars went to the Waterville system where they became car Nos. 24 and 25. The remaining few cars did see some further service after the merger.

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We continue the restoration work on the 1912, Narcissus, the only surviving high-speed, luxury interurban coach of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban. 

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Being more than a century old, the stately, "Elegant Ride," Narcissus, is a gem.  This shimmering precious stone of Maine transportation history is brilliantly resplendent as it emanates so many elements of history, including; time, places, people, and events, that it was coupled to, that when just a smattering of its seemingly innumerable stories are shared, the contents captivates, fascinates, then generates, interest to learn more 🙋. The majestic Narcissus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

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The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one in a series of captivating stories containing an abundance of incredible coalition of narratives.

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     The Narcissus is featured in the national Gold Award-winning novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. The "Elegant Ride" is the Narcissus. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914, between Lewiston and Portland, Maine, while campaigning for the Progressive Party candidates.

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Independent book publisher, Phil Morse, holding

the Gold Book Award Winner plaque for

 the Middle Reader category for The Eric

Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to

award-winning Maine author,

Jean M. Flahive