Bridgton and Saco River Railroad
Bridgton locomotive #8 operating at Edaville in 1959. A Bridgton tank car is visible in the background in front of the locomotive.
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| Locale | Maine |
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| Dates of operation | 1883–1941 |
| Track gauge | 2 ft (610 mm) |
| Length | 21 miles (34 km) |
| Headquarters | Bridgton |
| Bridgton and Saco River Railroad (Main Line) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Line length: | 33 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge: | 2 ft (610 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Bridgton and Saco River Railroad (B&SR) was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railroad that operated in the vicinity of Bridgton and Harrison, Maine. It connected with the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad (later Maine Central Railroad Mountain Division) from Portland, Maine, to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, near the town of Hiram on the Saco River.
B&SR design was based on experience of the Sandy River Railroad. Hinkley Locomotive Works modified their 2 ft (610 mm) gauge Forney design to run boiler first with an extended frame similar to that installed on Sandy River Railroad #1 following a wreck in early 1882. The successful design of the Bridgton Hinkleys was subsequently repeated for the Monson Railroad and the Franklin and Megantic Railway. Construction began in 1882, and trains were running to Bridgton by early 1883.
B&SR used early profits to replace wooden trestles with earthen fills. A 14-foot (4.3 m) granite masonry arch was constructed over Hancock Brook in 1895. Track was extended to Harrison with 35# steel rails in 1898. Trestles on the Harrison extension had been replaced by earthen fills and plate girder bridges by 1906. Original Hinkley locomotives #1-2 were replaced by #5-6 of an improved design with pilot wheels. B&SR then replaced the original 30# steel rails from Bridgton Junction to Bridgton with 48# and 50# steel rails from 1907 to 1910 before Maine Central Railroad secured control of the B&SR in 1912.
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