The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-03-29
The Grand Trunk Railway.

The Grand Trunk Railway yard, or that
part of its real estate in Portland devoted ex-
clusively to freight and passenger business, is
located at the eastern end of the city, and with
its numerous wharves, buildings and moving
life is one of the things first observed on enter
ing the harbor from the sea. 1t lies between
the harbor line and the rising land in the rear
which terminates in the heights of Munjoy
Hill, 160 feet above tide water. Its front line
extends from Fish Point to the westerly line OF
Galt's wharf, distance of over 1000 feet, or
four-ffths of mile, while its width varies, be-
ing quite narrow at Fish Point. and growing
broader as we proceed westerly. According to
the official survey in the City Engineers
office the area of the upland is nearly
TwENTY-FOUR ACRES.
This area, it should be understood, is exclu-
sive of the improved and unimproved flats in
front of and contiguous to the yard beyond
Fish Point. On this territory is its fine brick
passenger station, 444 feet in length, its engine
house, repair shops, local freight houses and
offices; while along the front are the wharves
and immense sheds required for ocean steam
ships, and which are to be spoken of in detail
further on. 1t is not our purpose to institute
comparison with the past or record the grow
ing Importance of this place year by year. We
speak of it as we find it to-day. more active,
more densely crowded, more powerful than
ever. With improved financial ability the
corporation has added to it's facilities: with
enlarged resources order and system have in
creased and efficiency been promoted, and
with the gradual growth of its business as the
road has extended its rails westward its ter
minal advantages grow also.
One of the requirements of railroad yard is
it's ability to furnish accommodations for cars
and secure the speedy transportation of freight.
This yard has over
SEVEN AND HALF MILES OF RAIL
within its limits, more than a mile and a half
of new track having been laid down the past
year. These tracks furnish room for the re-
ception and easy working of
FOURTEEN HUNDRED FREIGHT CARS
at one time. Last year over 60, 900 freight cars
were handled in the yard this year, with great
er facilities, the number bids fair to be still
larger. The motive power of the yard has been
increased by the introduction of heavy trac-
ton engines of the "Modoc' pattern, so called,
which weigh, with the water tanks on their
backs and great coal bunkers, about AZ tons
each. These engines are Of immense power
and can perform nearly fifty per cent. more
than those formerly employed. The Portland
Company will soon turn out two more of these
machines for the Grand Trunk road And
here, while we are speaking of motive power
ipp
road is making in its rolling stock both here
and at Montreal. The Portland shop is
fully employed in rebuilding and repairing
both freight and passenger cars; those of the
latter class are all to be renovated as rapidly
as possible; while at Montreal 1900 men are
engaged in repairing and constructing new
work, including a number of passenger
coaches
But to return. We have confined our re-
marks thus far to the yard proper, it's area and
some of its means for transacting a large
freight business, without enumerating all its
facilities. These will appear as we proceed
with the narrative. 1t is not out of place.
however, to go outside these limits and refer
to the Grand Trunks connection with the
Portland & Rochester road at Fish Point and
its connection also with the Portland & o.
densburg road and the Eastern and Boston &
Maine railroads, by continuous track the
whole length of the city through Commercial
street. From this main track spurs extend the
whole length of fourteen of the best wharyes
in the city, thus giving the Grand Trunk &C.
cess to mile of water front outside its ward
limits-a direct line of nearly two miles Of
wharf privileges and abundant water.
The Sheds ana Docks.
The sheds and docks used for the foreign
freighting business lie along the southeastern,
border of the Grand Trunk water front, and il
order to realize their extent, capacity and con
venlence one must go over them in detail
The first starting from the northeast, is the Goa
wharf, 81 by 1S5 feet in dimensions, on which
is coal shed $50 by 10a feet. A dock some Il
feet wide, separates this from the first group O.
freight sheds, which stand On pier about 35
feet long by nearly 400 feet on the harbor line
These sheds are known respectively as Nos ]
2 and 3. The first is 307 by At feet; the sec
ond 2Oo by lob feet and the third 297 by Al feet
between Nos and 2, and Nos. and 3 ar
two lines OF tracks extending to the end of TIL
wharf, and the stills of the cars are flush wit
the platforms of the sheds. This eroun O
sheds, with the car accommodations ara de
voted mainly to the Glasgow and London bus
ness, no. being for inward cargoes and tn
other two for the storage of outward careoe,
A steamer just arrived from sea hauls into he