St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway
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Portland Company locomotive Coos c. 1856
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| Reporting mark | SLR |
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| Locale | western Maine, northern New Hampshire, northeastern Vermont |
| Dates of operation | 1853– |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Previous gauge | , 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge until about 1873 |
| Headquarters | Auburn, Maine |
| Website | GWRR.com |
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| Reporting mark | SLQ |
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| Locale | South Quebec |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Headquarters | Richmond, Quebec |
| Website | GWRR.com |
The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad (reporting mark SLR), known as St-Laurent et Atlantique Quebec (reporting mark SLQ) in Canada, is a short-line railway operating between Portland, Maine, on the Atlantic Ocean, and Montreal, Quebec, on the St. Lawrence River. It crosses the Canada–US border at Norton, Vermont, and is owned by short-line operator Genesee & Wyoming.
The line was built by the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad in the U.S. and the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway in Canada, meeting at Island Pond, Vermont, south of the international border. Major communities served include Portland and Lewiston in Maine; Berlin, New Hampshire; Island Pond, Vermont; and Sherbrooke and Montreal in Quebec.
The line was proposed as a connection between Portland and Sherbrooke, Quebec, in 1844 by Portland entrepreneur John A. Poor. Portland was desperate to connect its ice-free port with Montreal, and Maine was at risk of being eclipsed by a similar proposal running from nearby Boston, Massachusetts. Montreal saw an advantage in linking with the smaller port at Portland, and Poor's idea became a reality.
The Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad was chartered in Maine on February 10, 1845; New Hampshire on July 30, 1847; and Vermont on October 27, 1848, to build a continuous line from Portland northwest into northeastern Vermont. William Pitt Preble was the railroad's first president. The line was originally built to the Portland gauge of 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm). Construction started in Portland on July 4, 1846. The first section, from Portland to Yarmouth, opened July 20, 1848. Further extensions up the Royal River to Danville (now Auburn) opened in October 1848 and to Mechanic Falls in February 1849. Construction then proceeded up the Little Androscoggin River to Oxford in September 1849 and Paris in March 1850. Construction was then completed down the Alder River to the Androscoggin River at Bethel in March 1851. Simultaneous construction of Portland gauge connecting railways occurred from Danville and Mechanic Falls. Sections into and within New Hampshire opened to Gorham on July 23, 1851, and Northumberland July 12, 1852, and the full distance to Island Pond, Vermont, on January 29, 1853.
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Wikipedia