Portland-Lewiston Interurban

Portland–Lewiston Interurban

The former Lewiston Terminal, photographed in 2017
Locale	Maine
Dates of operation	1914–1933
Successor	abandoned
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	650-volt DC
Length	40 miles (64 km)

The Portland–Lewiston Interurban (PLI) was an electric railroad subsidiary of the Androscoggin Electric Company operating from 1914 to 1933 between Monument Square in Portland and Union Square in Lewiston, Maine. Hourly service was offered over the 40-mile (64 km) route between the two cities. Express trains stopping only at West Falmouth, Gray, New Gloucester, Upper Gloucester and Danville made the trip in 80 minutes, while trains making other local stops upon request required 20 minutes more. The line was considered the finest interurban railroad in the state of Maine.

Summer-season construction began in 1910 including ten reinforced concrete bridges. The longest was a 200-foot (61 m) span over the Presumpscot River There was a 100-foot (30 m) span over the Little Androscoggin River in Auburn and a span of similar length near West Falmouth. Approximately 30 miles (48 km) of 70-pound (32 kg) steel rail was laid in 33-foot (10 m) lengths over private right-of-way connecting segments of trackage rights over Portland, Lewiston, and Auburn city streetcar lines. Scheduled interurban service began on 7 July 1914. At Gray, odd-numbered northbound trains took a siding to cross even-numbered southbound trains on the following route from north to south:

The six original Laconia Car Company interurban cars were 46 feet (14 m) long with an enclosed vestibule at either end. Each car contained a 6-foot (1.8 m) smoking compartment with longitudinal leather seats, and a 30-foot (9.1 m) compartment with twenty plush cross-seats for non-smoking passengers. Cars were equipped with two power poles for operation in either direction. Each axle of the two-truck cars was equipped with a 90 horsepower (67 kW) motor geared for a top speed of 59 miles (95 km) per hour. Cars were capable of multiple unit operation, but difficulties operating over municipal streetcar tracks discouraged the practice.