FRANKLIN AND MEGANTIC RAILROAD. (Gauge two feet).

This road extends from Strong to Kingfield. At our examination, we found some improvements were being made, two stone culverts had been built, and three of the long trestle bridges between Salem and Kingfield, were being filled with earth, making solid embankments. The road-bed is of good width, and generally well ditched. The track is laid with steel rails, (twenty-five pounds per yard) upon good ties, and is fairly aligned, surfaced and ballasted. The station buildings and rolling stock are in fair condition.

FRYEBURG HORSE RAILROAD.

This road is in good condition. The track is laid upon good stringers, secured by cross ties. The road has proved very convenient for passengers arriving at Fryeburg or departing by the Maine Central Railroad, particularly in the summer season, when the many places of interest in the vicinity of Fryeburg are visited by tourists.

GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY.

Eighty-two and one-half miles of this railroad is within the limits of Maine. The Lewiston and Auburn and Norway branches are operated by the Grand Trunk Railway Company. The road-bed is wide, well ditched and drained. The track is in good line and surface, and well ballasted. The bridges are (with few exceptions), iron structures of approved designs. The bridge masonry is generally first-class. The station buildings are in fair condition, but should be improved. Five miles of new steel rails and 45,000 new ties have been laid this year. New abutments have been built at Swift's Creek, South Paris. The Lewiston and Auburn, and Norway branches are maintained in equally good condition, and compare favorably with the main line.

GREEN MOUNTAIN RAILWAY, (MOUNT DESERT).

This road extends from the shore of Eagle lake to the summit of Green Mountain, and is 6,300 feet in length, attaining an altitude of about sixteen hundred feet. The road is operated daring the summer season only. It is carefully managed and maintained in a safe condition. No accident has occurred since it has been in operation. The rolling stock is in good order, and well adapted to the service required of it.

HOULTON BRANCH RAILROAD, (N. B. R'y System).

Extends from Debec Junction of the New Brunswick Railway in New Brunswick, to Houlton, Maine, eight miles; three miles within the limits of this State. This road is in good condition. The track is laid with steel rails upon good ties, well aligned, surfaced and ditched. There are no bridges, and only two small culverts within the limits of this State.

In compliance with the suggestion made in our report of last year, a new passenger station building is being erected, and a track built to it, at a point nearer and more convenient to the village of Houlton.

The rolling stock is good.

KENNEBEC CENTRAL RAILROAD, (gauge two feet). This road extends from the town of Randolph to the Soldiers' National Home at Togus, and was opened for travel July 1890.

The road-bed is wide, well graded, and fairly well ditched. The track is laid with steel rails upon good ties fairly aligned, surfaced and ballasted. As there is no gravel suitable for ballast found on or near the line of the road, the ballast is hauled by teams a long distance, and deposited at points on the line, to be reloaded on the cars, and distributed along the track.

The bridges are all wooden superstructures, resting upon good masonry. A very tasty and modern style passenger station has been built on the grounds of the Soldiers' Home at Togus, also freight house, and coal sheds. A new and convenient passenger station building, freight house, turntable, and coal shed has been built at Randolph. The rolling stock is first-class.

LIME ROCK RAILROAD.

This is a comparatively new road built in and around the city of Rockland, for the purpose of transporting lime rock from the quarries in Rockland and Thomaston to the kilns on the shore. The road is maintained in good condition, and is being improved from year to year. The road-bed has been widened and raised at several points and a fair amount of ditching has been done. The track is laid with steel rails, upon good ties, and is well aligned, surfaced and ballasted. One-half mile of new steel rails have been laid this year. The wooden trestle bridges on the main line and along the shore, are built of hard pine timber, in a very safe and substantial manner, and would be very creditable structures on any road.

LEWISTON AND AUBURN HORSE RAILROAD.

During the past year an addition to this road, called the belt line has been built, extending through the streets of Auburn.

The new line crosses the Lewiston and Auburn branch of the Grand Trunk Railway, near the Auburn station, adding greatly to the convenience of the citizens of Auburn, and others going to and from that station. The track on Main street, Lewiston, has been relaid with new rails and ties, and is much improved.

The tracks through the streets of said city are for the most part in good condition; but the road-bed and track on the

Lake Auburn line, are in poor condition, and need extensive repairs.

A new car house is in process of building at Lewiston.

MAINE CENTRAL RAILROAD, BRANCHES AND LEASED LINES. The road-bed from Portland via Augusta and Waterville, to Bangor, is well ditched and drained. The track is laid with heavy steel rails upon good sound ties of equal length, and is well aligned, surfaced and ballasted. That portion of the road between Portland and Brunswick is entitled to especial mention and commendation. The wooden truss approaches to the iron bridge over the Androscoggin river, between Brunswick and Topsham, have been replaced, the west end by an iron deck plate girder, forty-five feet in length, and the east, by an iron deck lattice bridge, ninety-two feet in length. At Clinton, between Waterville and Burnham, the wooden pile and truss bridge has been removed, and first-class granite abutments built, and an iron deck plate girder placed upon them. There are only three wooden bridges left upon this line between Portland and Bangor; these are the trestle and truss bridges at Gardiner, and the pile bridge at Etna bog, which, with the exception of the Etna bog bridge will probably be rebuilt the coming summer. The following named new buildings have been erected at different points; a new freight house, coal shed, carpenter shop and blacksmith shop, at Brunswick; engine house at South Gardiner; freight house at Gardiner: passenger station at Farmingdale; storehouses for lumber, employes' building, and addition to coal shed at Waterville; new freight house at Benson, and passenger and freight building at Etna. From Bangor to Vanceboro, the road-bed is in good condition, wide and fairly well ditched. Construction trains have been run two months, engaged in raising and widening the road-bed and ballasting the track. Four and one-half miles of new steel rails, sixtyseven pounds per yard, have been laid, between Bangor and Old Town, and 43,000 ties along the whole line. Portions

of several pile bridges have been filled with earth, and others repaired. A new iron deck plate girder has taken the place of the wooden truss bridge at Lincoln Center. Crossuntic pile bridge 144 feet in length at Kingman, has been re-built. A new passenger station building and freight house has been built at Veazie, a freight house at Costigan, a passenger station at Wytopitlock, and a boiler house at Vanceboro. The road from Cumberland Junction via Auburn, Lewiston and Waterville to Skowhegan is in good condition. The road-bed is wide and well built. The track is laid with steel rails and is in good line and surface, and is well ballasted. All the wooden bridges have been replaced by iron structures. New abutments of first-class masonry have been built at the brook near Leeds Junction, and an iron plate girder placed upon them. The abutments at Martin stream, near Pishon's Ferry, have been repaired, and an iron plate girder placed upon them. Several stone culverts are being rebuilt on the line of road. The freight house at Skowhegan has been enlarged. The road from Bath to Lewiston compares favorably with the main line. The track is laid with steel rails on good ties, well aligned, surfaced and ballasted. The road-bed is wide and generally well ditched; the bridges are mostly wooden structures, some of which are being replaced with iron, resting upon good solid masonry. The road-bed and track between Crowley's Junction and Leeds Junction have been somewhat improved, and are in fair condition, but need more new rails, ties and ballast. The bridges, culverts and open water ways are in good condition. From Leeds Junction to Farmington, the track is laid with steel rails, and a large number of new ties have been placed in it the past season. The alignment and surface is fairly good, and the track is well ballasted. The road-bed is generally well ditched and drained. The bridges are mostly wooden structures, and with the exception of the long pile bridge at Farmington, which is being rebuilt, are in good condition. There is one long iron truss bridge of two spans over Dead stream in Leeds. The masonry is