The Republican journal., 1904-02-11
THE B. & A. AND BRANCHES.

= ne proposed Extension to Stockton
Springs, Searsport and Belfast. A Brie
History of the Road and its Present Con
ditioDs. The Great and Growing Bushes,
of ArOOatoOk County.
Last week we gave an inkling OF rail
road enterprise in this vicinity, but wers
not at liberty then to go into details. The
following despatch has since appeared in
the daily newspapers:
AUGUSTA, Me-, Feb. 3. The most i'm.
pOrtant move in Maine railroading for q
number of years is that on file today at the
Office of the railroad commissioners in this
city, it being the articles of association of
the Northern Maine SeabOard Railroad OF
Maine.
This enterprise contemplates the con.
structiOn of TO miles of standard gauge rail-
way from Lagrange in PenObscOt county,
down past Bangor. coming within four
miles of the city and reaching the tide wa
ter in Waldo county, connecting with the
Maine Central railroad in the city of Bel
fast and extending spur tracks to tide wa
ter at Stockton Springs and SearspOrt. This
road would give the Bangor & Aro0stook
from Lagrange down.
The petition states that the road is to
start from point connecting with the Ban
gOr d AroostOok at Lagrange in Pen0bscOt
county, to the Maine Central railroad near
the northeast line of the city of Belfast in
Waldo county, with two spurs, one in the
town of Stockton Springs and one in the
town of Searsport, both in Waldo county.
The road will be 60 miles in length, and is
to pass through the towns of Lagrange, AL
ton, Bradford, Hudson, Glenburn, Bangor,
Hermon, and Hampden, all in Penobscot
county; and Winterport, Frankfort, Pros
pect, Stockton Springs, SearSport and Bel
fast, all in Waldo county.
The amount of capital stock is $3.50, 900 to
be divided into $500 shares of 800 each.
The incorpOrators named are Edward
Stetson, B. b. Thaxter, F. H. Appleton, H.
P, Oliver and F. W. Cram, all Of Bangor.
The stock is subscribed as follows: Hiram
72l.S2 shares Charles H. Wood, III shares
Isaiah X. Stetson, 80. Os shares {. A. Glib
son, 70S shares; Benz. B. Thaxter, 597 4
shares; Albert A. Burleigh, 47SS1 shares
II. P: Oliver, 2s shares; F. H. Appleton,
III shares; Franklin W. Cram, 265.5 shares.
The commissioners have ordered hear
ing at Bangor at 10 a. H., March Sth.
The Bangor and AroostoOk Railroad
Company was organized February IS, 1891.
Its mileage then consisted of the Bangor
and Piscataquis railroad from Old Town
to Greenville, 1850 miles, and the Bangor
and Katahdin Iron Works railway from
Milo junction to Katahdin Iron Works,
1890 miles-a total of 95.4O miles. Later
branches and spurs were built which in
creased the total mileage to 317.31. This
included the road from Brownvile to Carl.
bou from Fort Fairfield junction to Fort
Fairtield and from Ashland junction to
Ashland. 1t connects with the Canadian
Pacific at Greenville, at the foot of Moose
head Lake and at Debec junction, n. B.,
and is in a position to reach out into what
is now the wilderness of Northern Aroos-
took, but where extensive numbering opera
tions will be followed by the opening up of
a large area to cultivation. In the report
of thekRailroad Commissioners, just made
public, they say of the Bangor & Aroos-
took r. r.
Since our last report the mileage of this
road has been increased by the extension
of the Ashland branch to Fort Kent, a dis
tance of 81 miles. Tie extension was built
under the corporate n..me Of the Fish River
Railroad company, but by legislative author
ity has become part OF the Bangor Il
Aroost0ok railroad system.
1t has been carefully located and thor
oughly constructed. The alignment and
grades are favorable. The track is laid
with 10 pound rails, fully tied, with modern
Joints. and well ballasted with excellent
material.
The entire road gives evidence of great
care in the maintenance OF rOad-bed and
track The standard rail is 10 pounds and
is in Use upon all of the main lines. During
the year over S54, 600 have been expended
for rails and faStehingS, while S67.500 have
been paid for tracklaying and ballasting,
showing that no expense has been spared
to bring the track to high state OF excel
lence. The road-bed is of good width and
all the cuts well ditched.
The yard at Brownville has been greatly
enlarged, and protected from the river by
a heavy crib work of hemock logs.
The katahdin Iron Works branch now
has an Independent track into the Brown
Vile yard, and the handling of freight at
this point has been very much facilitated
half miles in length, has been constructed
from the depot to large mills erected upon
the bank of the ST. John river. This extern
sion is thoroughly built with the standard
track of the road, and will be of great value
when the mills are put in operation.
points upon the Ashland branch and the
main line, several of them of large capacity,
and with those in operation will furnish an
immense amount of freight in future years.
The bridges between Old Town and
Houlton-- Milo Junction and Greenville-
are all of steel and excellent structures.
The wooden bridges yet remaining upon
the other lines of the system are well and
strongly built and in fair condition.
The forest fires of May and June caused
the loss of several buildings and tanks
which have been replaced by new ones and
equally good. A new and cOmmOdiOus
station has also been erected at Milo juno
tion to replace the one destroyed by fire in
1902.
The yard and buildings in Hartland, near
Old Town, are models of convenience and
efficiency. In fact the entire property is in
a highly satisfactory condition with prom
ises of constantly increasing business.
The great and growing business OF the
Bangor & Aroostook R. R. rendered necessa-
ry such an outlet as it will now have The
road has been at disadvantage ever since
it started by not coming into Bangor over
its own rails, although it has had, and will
no doubt continue to have, friendly rela-
tions with the Maine Central for the trans
fer of freight, etc. The latter road also
controls the terminal facilities at Bangor
By the route now proposed the rails of the
new road will be laid around the western
J;,,itu of tho cty and across the Maine