Physical Condition of Railroads in Maine.

AUGUSTA, HALLOWELL AND GARDINER RAILROAD.

(ELECTRIC.) This road was built this year and is located through the main streets of Augusta, and extends along the county road, and through the streets of Hallowell and Farmingdale to a point near the passenger station of the Maine Central Railroad at Gardiner.

The track is laid with steel rails, and well secured; the road-bed is generally well graded, but is too narrow in several places, and should be widened and ditched. The bridges are wooden trestles and pile structures, fairly well built. The crossings of the Maine Central Railroad, at the foot of Rines' hill in Augusta and Louden hill in Hallowell, are dangerous, and every precaution should be adopted to guard against accidents. The rolling stock is first-class. The company have a good car-house and workshop at Hallowell. The road is carefully operated and under good management.

BANGOR AND PISCATAQUIS RAILROAD—Including Katahdin

Iron Works Branch. From Old Town to Milo Junction, the road-bed is in good condition, well ditched and drained. The track is laid with steel rails, well aligned, surfaced and ballasted. The bridges across the Penobscot river have been rebuilt within the last two years in a substantial manner, and the masonry is in good condition. Five hundred tons of new steel rails have been laid between Dover and Greenville, making about fifty and one-half miles of steel on the main line. The remainder is iron, and will soon need renewal. The road-bed from Milo Junction to Greenville, is fairly well ditched and drained, and the track is fairly aligned, surfaced and ballasted.

One long

high trestle bridge between Abbot and Blanchard has been fully repaired.

The station buildings at West Cove are convenient and of modern design and construction ; others are old style but comfortable, and sufficient to accommodate the business of the road.

The Katahdin Iron Works branch has been much improved during the past season. The road-bed in many places has been ditebed, widened, and raised. The track has been aligned, surfaced and ballasted. Many new ties bave been laid. One truss bridge across Pleasant river bas been rebuilt,

. and the truss bridges at Milo village and Hueston brook, repaired. Several trestle bridges have been rebuilt, and others repaired. The station buildings are in fair condition.

BANGOR STREET RAILROAD. (ELECTRIC). This road is located in and runs through the principal streets of Bangor, and to the town line between Bangor and Hampden. The road has been extended during the past season, in Bangor and along the main street in the city of Brewer. The track is laid with rails, thirty-five pounds to the yard, well secured and in good condition. The road has been in successful operation since May 21, 1889.

BIDDEFORD AND SACO RAILROAD. (HORSE). This road extends through the main streets of Biddeford and Saco, and along the county road from Saco to Old Orchard Beach. The road is well built and has been in successful operation more than two years. That portion of the road located in the streets of Saco and Biddeford is in very good condition, but that portion between Saco and Old Orchard Beach needs widening, and should be filled with gravel between the rails. The company have a well arranged and comfortable stable in Saco, where the horses are well cared for. The cars are first-class and kept in good repair.

BOSTON AND MAINE RAILROAD. The Western Division of the Boston and Maine Railroad in this State includes that portion of the road between Portland and Salmon Falls, and the branch road from Kennebunk to Kennebunkport.

The road-bed of the main line remains in the same good condition as stated in our report of last year. The track is laid with heavy steel rails and is fairly aligned and surfaced, but might be improved. Twenty-five thousand new ties have been laid during the past season. Extensive repairs have been made on the granite arch bridge across the Kennebunk river. At Saco the tracks have been raised in the yard, and new platforms built. At Biddeford the passenger station building has been enlarged and greatly improved. The bridges with the exception of the pile bridges at Portland and Scarboro' are first-class iron structures, supported on abutments and piers of first-class masonry. The station buildings are modern in style and construction, and maintained in a very neat and comfortable condition.

The branch from Kennebunk to Kennebunkport is mainly in good condition. The road-bed is fairly well ditched and drained. The track is well aligned, surfaced and ballasted. Four good stone culverts have been built, and embankments are being made over them in place of the pile bridges at these points. The station buildings are in good order.

The road from Portland to Portsmouth forms a part of the Eastern Division of the Boston and Maine Railroad. The road-bed is wide, well ditched and drained. The track is laid with heavy steel rails, upon good sound ties, and is very well aligned and surfaced. The bridges with the exception of the pile bridges at Portland and Portsmouth, and the two pile bridges across the Great Works stream between North Berwick and Conway Junction, are iron superstructures resting upon first-class masonry, and are in good order. The two last named bridges are not in keeping with the other portions of the road. The smaller open waterways and culverts are spanned by iron I-beams.

The station buildings are maintained in good condition.

The Portsmouth, Great Falls and Conway Railroad forms a part of the Northern Division of the Boston and Maine Railroad, and extends from the Eastern Division at Conway Junction to North Conway, New Hampshire, connecting at the last named point with the Portland and Ogdensburg, or Mountain Division of the Maine Central Rilroad. Two and ninety-two hundredths miles only are within the limits of this State. The road-bed is fairly well ditched and drained. The track is laid with steel rails. The ties are mostly good.

The station buildings are in good order. The rolling stock of the Boston and Maine Railroad is first-class on all divisions.

BRIDGTON AND Saco River Railroad, (NARROW GAUGE).

This road extends from Bridgton to a junction with the Mountain Division of the Maine Central at Hiram.

It has been greatly improved during the past year. The track is laid with steel rails upon good sound ties, and well ballasted. The road-bed is fairly well ditched and drained.

Boyd's trestle has been rebuilt, and Wood pond trestle repaired. Ingalls wooden trestle, repaired. Robinson - Cove trestle rebuilt. Backnipping brook; new granite culvert and embankment made over it. Rafting-ground brook ; new granite abutments, and sixty-one feet of trestle tilled with earth and stone. Small's culvert ; new iron tube; forty-tive feet of trestle filled. Iron tubes have been laid at two other points, and forty-five feet of trestle filled. The trestle bridge at Hiram Junction has been repaired. Six thousand yards of ballast has been put under the track and a large amount of filling done.

Six thousand two hundred new ties have been laid.

The station buildings are fairly good and comfortable. The rolling stock is good.

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD.

This road crosses the west line of this State, at Township No. 2 Eighth Range, north about fifteen miles east of Lake Megantic in Canada, and continues on through a comparatively unsettled country, to the north shore of Attean pond, and along the shore of the above-named pond, to the south shore of Holeb pond, to a point about one mile south of Moose River village, continuing its course along the south shore of Long pond and Moose river, through an unsettled country, where it reaches the westerly shore of Moosehead lake, at the Western Outlet, about twelve miles north of the junction of the road with the Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad, at West Cove. From West Cove it continues along about one-half mile south of Greenville village, to the outlets of Wilson and Ship ponds and thence to Brownville, where it crosses and forms a junction with the Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works Rulroad. From Brownville the line continues, mostly through an unsettled country touching the shores of Schoodie and Sebois lakes, to a junction with the Maine Central R:ilroad at Matta wankeag.

Total length of road in this State, 144.50 miles. This road is well constructed. The roud-bed is wide, well graded, ditched and drained. The rails are steel (sixty pounds to the yard) laid on ties of uniform length, sound and good, and are remarkably well aligned and surfaced. Many of the principal truss and trestle bridges are constructed of steel, resting upon abutments, and piers of first-class Masonry.

Some of the smaller water-ways are spanned by iron plate girders, and others by good wooden truss and trestle bridges, or stone culverts. A large amount of ballist has been placed upon the road, many excavations reduced, and embankments raised and widened. New station buildings have been built at Lowelltown, and at West Cove, Greenville.