generally good. A new engine house and freight house have been built at Bath. Belfast Branch: The track has been much improved by replacing several miles of the old iron rails, with steel, and by laying many new ties. The track is fairly well aligned, surfaced and ballasted. The road-bed has been widened and ditched; the bridges are wooden structures, and are in good condition. The masonry is mainly second-class. The station buildings at Belfast are modern in style and arrangement; others along the line are old style, fairly comfortable and convenient. Dexter and Newport Branch: During the last year the track has been relaid with steel rails, and many new ties. The track is fairly well aligned, surfaced and ballasted. The road-bed has been widened and ditched. The bridges are wooden structures and in good order. The station buildings are in good condition. A new freight house has been built at Corinna. Dexter and Piscataquis Railroad. This road diverges from the Dexter and Newport road, at a point about one mile south of Dexter Village, and continues on through the village of Dexter, to Dover and Foxcroft. The road was opened for traffic in December, 1889. The track is laid with steel rails and is in fair alignment and surface. The road-bed was built very narrow and poorly graded; but during the past season, construction trains have been employed in widening and raising it, and ballasting the track. Much has been accomplished, and more remains to be done. The wooden trestle at Dexter, 1,147 feet in length, is well built and in good condition. The bridge over the Piscataquis river at Dover and Foxcroft, is an iron deck lattice bridge of three spans, each one hundred feet in length. In addition to this there are five deck plate girder bridges at the crossing of streams along the line, varying from 26.5 to 54 feet in length. The station buildings are new, of good design, and well arranged for the comfort and convenience of passengers. This road connects at Foxcroft with the Bangor & Piscataquis Railroad. The Eastern Maine Branch, from Bangor to Bucksport, has been somewhat improved during the past year, by widening, raising and ditching the road-bed, on portions of the line; but much more is required. The track is in fair alignment and surface. A considerable amount of ballasting has been done. The long wooden bridge over the Penobscot river at Bangor, and the smaller bridges are in good condition. About sixty tons of steel rails, and six thousand new ties have been laid. The station buildings at Brewer and Bucksport, are convenient and comfortably arranged; others are small; but sufficient for the accommodation of the business at the points where they are located. A new station building has been built at South Brewer. The Maine Shore Branch, from Bangor to Mt. Desert Ferry, is in all respects in good condition. The track is laid with steel rails, well surfaced, aligned and ballasted. The ties are good and sound, 18,000 of which have been laid the past season. The road-bed has been widened, raised and ditched at points. where it was needed. The bridges are all iron structures; five through plate girders have been added this year, and the long pile bridge at Mt. Desert Ferry has been filled with stone and earth, making a solid embankment. The station buildings are modern in style and construction, and are well maintained. A new coal shed has been built at Penobscot Junction, and a freight house at Green Lake. MOUNTAIN DIVISION OF MAINE CENTRAL RAILROAD, This road extends from Portland, Maine, to Lunenburg, Vermont, 110 miles, 51 miles in Maine. Many improvements have been made upon this Division during the past season. The road-bed has been widened, raised and thoroughly ditched. The track is in good line, well surfaced and ballasted; four miles of new steel rails, and 35,000 new ties have been laid. New granite abutments have been built at the Basin, and iron stringers placed upon them; new abutments of first-class masonry are being built at the crossing of the Presumpscot river at Newhall, and an iron bridge is to be put upon them, in place of the wooden pile bridges now in use. A new iron bridge is in process of building at the crossing of Saco river, in Hiram. Other bridges along the line of the road are in good condition. A new telegraph office and store-room combined has been erected at Thompson's Point. A very tasty, well arranged and modern style passenger station building has been erected at Sebago lake, and new passenger and freight buildings at Mattock's station. Other station buildings along the road have received necessary repairs. All openings and waterways upon the Maine Central system, requiring spans of twenty-five feet or more, are classed as bridges, and in addition to the new iron bridges before mentioned, fifteen old wooden structures have been replaced with iron stringers of substantial design at other points in this State. Many new side tracks have been built, and others extended, the length of which together with the description and amount of the rolling stock will be found in the tabulated returns on another page of this report. The rolling stock is first-class. MONSON RAILROAD, (two feet guage). This road extends from the junction with the Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad at Abbot, to Monson. As we have before stated, this is a narrow gauge built for the purpose of developing the state quarries and transporting the product to the Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad at Abbot. The road is in good order for both passenger and freight train service. The track is laid with steel rails, mostly upon good sound ties, and is well ballasted. The road-bed is wide and fairly well built. There are no bridges, and only a few small waterways and culverts upon the road, all in fair condition; some have been repaired this year. The rolling stock is good for the service required, and no injury to persons or property has occurred. NEW BRUNSWICK RAILWAY SYSTEM-Aroostook River Railroad. This road extends from the boundary line to Presque Isle. At our examination, we found that the road-bed had been widened and raised at several points along the line, and for the most part, well ditched and drained. The track is laid with steel rails on good ties, well ballasted, and is in good line and surface. The bridges are wooden, mostly crib and trestle structures, generally in good condition, several are being rebuilt or repaired. The station buildings are mostly new, convenient and comfortable. ORCHARD BEACH RAILROAD. This road extends from the station of the Boston & Maine Railroad, along the beach to the mouth of the Saco river, and is operated during the summer months only. The track is in fair line and surface, and is in safe condition to serve the purposes for which the road was constructed. There is but one bridge upon the road, a wooden pile structure, and this has been rebuilt this season. Open observation cars are run during the warm season affording comfort and amusement to the visitors at Old Orchard. PORTLAND AND ROCHESTER RAILROAD. This road extends from Portland, Maine, to Rochester, New Hampshire. The track is laid with steel rails mostly upon sound and good ties and is well ballasted. The alignment and surface are fairly good; but are hardly up to the standard of last year. One hundred and fifteen tons of steel rails, and twelve thousand six hundred cedar ties; twenty new sets of switch ties; twenty safety switches, and an equal number of new frogs have been laid this season. Nine thousand three hundred and seventy-four feet of side track have been built. The road-bed is of good width, and fairly well ditched, but more ditching is needed. The bridge over the Saco river at Bar Mills, is an iron truss resting upon granite abutments and piers. The bridge at Skaker pond, Alfred, is a firstclass iron plate girder, supported upon first-class masonry. The other important bridges at Springvale, and East Rochester, and smaller ones at different points along the road are wooden structures, a portion of them nearly new, and all in good condition. The smaller waterways and open culverts are spanned by iron I-beams. The marginal way is in safe condition; but the road-bed should be widened and protected with rip-rap, and the sluice ways rebuilt. Among the additions and improvements made this year, is the building of a new wharf, with a frontage of seventy feet on tide water, to accommodate the coal traffic of the road. Four hundred and sixty-five cubic yards of stone bulkhead has been laid on the marginal way. Several thousand dollars have been expended in filling lands on Somerset street, Portland, to provide accommodations for freight business. The overhead bridge at Gorham has been fully repaired. Six miles of barbed wire fence and five hundred and fifty feet of snow fence has been built. The station buildings are in good condition, and kept clean and comfortable. Large additions have been made to the rolling stock, which is first-class. The road has been safely operated and no serious accident has occurred to the trains. PORTLAND RAILROAD, (Horse). During the past season, this road has been extended from Congress street on Munjoy hill, through Atlantic, Wilson, Beckett streets, and the Eastern Promenade to Fort Allen, a distance of 2,301 feet. The track is laid with steel sidebearing rails, 45 lbs. to the yard, and the road-bed thoroughly built and paved. This extension has proved profitable, as the fine views of Casco Bay and the Islands, obtained at the terminus, attracts many visitors to that point. The entire road through the streets of Portland and extending outside of the city limits, is in good condition, and well managed. Fifty-two tons of |