"Onward", a 4-2-2 locomotive of the Portland and Rochester Railroad.
(Historic photograph before the locomotive was scrapped in 1905., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
PORTLAND AND ROCHESTER RAILROAD
The Portland and Rochester Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was established in 1865 to reorganize the York and Cumberland Railroad, whose line ran from Portland, Maine, to Bar Mills, Maine. The Portland and Rochester extended the line southwest to Rochester, New Hampshire. The company was merged into the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The Portland and Rochester Railroad main line became part of the B&M's Worcester, Nashua and Portland Division along with the line of the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad.
History
See also: York and Cumberland Railroad (Maine)
The York and Cumberland Railroad was incorporated in 1846 to challenge the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad. It eventually completed a line between Portland, Maine, and Bar Mills, Maine, on the Saco River. The railroad lacked the ability to push further south to connections with other railroads, and was reorganized on November 1, 1865, as the Portland and Rochester Railroad.
With financial backing from Portland, the Portland and Rochester Railroad began building south, and reached Rochester, New Hampshire, in 1871. A new through route was created when the Worcester and Nashua Railroad, through the Nashua and Rochester Railroad, reached Rochester from the south in 1874. In Portland, the Portland and Rochester built two small branches: a connection along Back Cove to connect with the Grand Trunk Railway, and a short branch to reach Union Station. These opened in 1874 and 1891, respectively.
The Worcester and Nashua and Nashua and Rochester merged to become the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad in 1883; the Boston and Maine Railroad leased the merged company in 1886. The B&M gained stock control of the Portland and Rochester in the 1880s but it remained independent until 1900. Under B&M control the Portland and Rochester Railroad main line formed the northern end of the company's Worcester, Nashua and Portland Division.
The 'Alfred' steam locomotive, 1880.
The Portland Company in Portland, Maine built this steam locomotive in 1880 for the Portland & Rochester Railroad.
It is of standard gauge, has 61-inch drivers and is posed out on the main line. Fletcher, David H.
'The Portland Company 1846-1982.' Charleston, S.C. : Arcadia Pub., 2002. 76.
(Maine Historical Society, https://www.mainememory.net/record/5948/image/5948, cropped)
Portland and Rochester Railroad Overview
Locale Maine and New Hampshire
Dates of operation 1865–1900
Predecessor York and Cumberland Railroad
Successor Boston and Maine Railroad
Technical
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Portland & Rochester boxcar with cupola, manufactured at the Portland Company in Portland, ca. 1900.
(Maine Historical Society, https://www.mainememory.net/record/7999/image/7999)
