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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
The Sanford Tribune newspaper article featured in this post on the Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway is quite lengthy with many photos over three pages. I separated the breakdown of the article in hopes of being able to better view/read the text and photos. I was able to locate some photos in other collections that were the same as some in the article and some that were of the same topic from a different view or time. I placed each of the full pages so readers could have a sense of the layout of the article in the paper.
Here is a little background on the railway and some of the sources outside of the newspaper used in the post.
O. R. Cumings Collection at the Seashore Trolley Museum. A few images are from the Kennebunkport Historical Society Additional images will be credited.
To see the online version of the 1957 book, Atlantic Shore Line Railway at Bangor Public Library here
Click Here: for the post on the Mousam River Railroad 1892-1899
Click Here: for the post on the Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway 1899-1904
Click Here: for the post on the Atlantic Shore Line Railway 1900 -1910
Click Here: for the post on the Atlantic Shore Railway 1911-1923
Click Here: for the post on the York Utilities Company 1923-1949
Click Here: Walter R. Jackson (1904-1989) - Former Atlantic Shore Railway Employee Interview 1988
Click Here: Ross W. Stahl (1912-2002) - Longtime Kennebunk Resident - Interview 2001
The Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway (S&CP), was organized by the Goodalls in Sanford and chartered on October 6, 1897. It proposed to build from Central Square (Sanford), through the outlying districts of Alfred, Lyman, West Kennebunk, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, and Cape Porpoise, 20.3 miles away.
To the tidewater terminal at Cape Porpoise, it was planned to bring coal in schooners and barges for transfer to Sanford via the new electric railway, and from interchanges (spur tracks) with the Boston & Maine Railroad at Kennebunk (Summer Street), and West Kennebunk. The S&CP intended to run a direct carload freight service to points along its route.
The cost for passengers (fare rate) in 1899/1900 to travel from Sanford/Springvale to West Kennebunk was 20 cents - one way. The fare to travel to Kennebunk was 25 cents - one way. The fare to Cape Porpoise was 35 cents - one way.
Continuing through West Kennebunk, the trolley line paralleled the old highway through Kennebunk village to the Town House Junction (Terminal) at Kennebunkport and thence again over private right-of-way to Cape Porpoise. Here a long wooden trestle, intended to serve also as a coal wharf, was built across the harbor to Bickford's Island where a large casino was erected.
On August 15, 1899, the operation began on 14.6 miles between Sanford and West Kennebunk. Passenger service to the B & M Station in Kennebunk commenced four days later on the 19th with No. 13, a new Jackson & Sharp 15-bench open trolley, leaving Sanford at 7:30 a.m. with 100+ passengers aboard and arriving at Kennebunk about an hour later. More than 1,000 people traveled on the route that first day. Initially, the tracks in Kennebunk ran through Fletcher Street to Main Street. In mid-November, the rest of the route to Cape Porpoise was complete (5.83 miles). On November 14, cars were rerouted to the newly completed track on Storer Street and on Main Street in Kennebunk.
This is the summary of the electric railways that operated
based out of Sanford, Maine 1893-1949
2015 publication by NEERHS
"The Illustrated Atlas of Maine's
Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946
The Sanford Tribune newspaper article on the Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway - August 25, 1899
The front page of the Sanford Tribune - August 25, 1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
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Open trolley car No. 13 was a 15-bench, double-truck car with
a capacity for 75 passengers. Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
Here is open trolley No. 13 at the former Kennebunkport schoolhouse
converted to the waiting station for the Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway at
Town House Junction. O. R. Cummings Collection at the Seashore
Trolley Museum 2009_2_42_053
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
Old Falls Hydro Electric Power Plant at Estes Dam c 1907
Still exists today and supplies electricity.
O. R. Cummings Collection
at the Seashore Trolley Museum 2009_2_5_090
Page 2 -
Sanford Tribune - August 25, 1899 page 2
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Sanford Tribune giving the Administrators of the Goodall
Board accolades for providing jobs and convenience
through their businesses and railways.
Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
S&CP - Cont. -
Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
A similar photo of the newly completed Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway
1899 - O. R. Cummings Collection at the Seashore
Trolley Museum 2009_2_42_124
Trolley Museum 2009_2_42_124
Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
A copy of the same photo as the one above - Trestle at Whicher's Mills
In South Sanford crossing Mousam River at Old Falls near the border
of West Kennebunk c 1902 O. R. Cummings Collection at the Seashore
Trolley Museum 2009_2_42_132
Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
Nice photo of the Old Falls Dam from the Sanford Historical Society Coll.
Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
Bickford Island at Cape Porpoise Harbor
Image courtesy Kennebunkport Historical Society
Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
Goat Island Lighthouse in Cape Porpoise Harbor
Penobscot Marine Museum - LB2007_1_102340
Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Journal - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
Sanford Tribune 8-25-1899
Page 4 -
Sanford Tribune - August 25, 1899 page 4
S&CP - Cont. -.jpg)
Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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Sanford Tribune - 8-25-1899
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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.
Click Here: Narcissus Restoration-Related Posts
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.
Please consider joining the epic journey to complete the Narcissus Project by making a donation today!
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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.
Click Here: History-Related Posts - Narcissus and Portland-Lewiston Interurban
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.
Click Here: Bookstores and Businesses promoting the Narcissus Project
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
