In the early 1940’s, two major Liberty & Victory Ship building yards were constructed in South Portland, Maine by the U.S. Maritime Commision. These operated under various names until WWII ended. See: http://members.dialmaine.com/mdenis/Shipyard/ for more information.
These yards had an extensive rail network that connected to the Boston& Maine / Maine Central systems through the Portland Terminal Co. RR at Rigby Yards in So. Portland. Approximately 3 miles from the main yards was a “plate yard”, where some fabrication was done, then moved by rail to the main shipyards.
Part of the line operated over tracks of the old Eastern RR, and that portion is still in use, today, as the Turners Island Industrial RR. The balance of the line was abandoned in the sixties or seventies, and is now a Greenbelt walking trail.
I would appreciate any and all information on this rail network, such as track layouts, equipment owned/used, photos, etc.
.
01/15/2007
Still looking for information on the WWII time frame. No luck with GOOGLE, YAHOO, DOGPILE, etc. No luck with Merchant Marine, Linerty Ship, nor War Emergency Shipyard websites as far as this rail line goes.
Hoping that someone new may read this and have info. ???
In the early 1940’s, two major Liberty & Victory Ship building yards were constructed in South Portland, Maine by the U.S. Maritime Commision. These operated under various names until WWII ended. See: http://members.dialmaine.com/mdenis/Shipyard/ for more information.
These yards had an extensive rail network that connected to the Boston& Maine / Maine Central systems through the Portland Terminal Co. RR at Rigby Yards in So. Portland. Approximately 3 miles from the main yards was a “plate yard”, where some fabrication was done, then moved by rail to the main shipyards.
Part of the line operated over tracks of the old Eastern RR, and that portion is still in use, today, as the Turners Island Industrial RR. The balance of the line was abandoned in the sixties or seventies, and is now a Greenbelt walking trail.
I would appreciate any and all information on this rail network, such as track layouts, equipment owned/used, photos, etc.