A postcard photo of Maine Central 470, a 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in May 1924 for the MEC. It often led the Bar Harbor Express. The locomotive is currently being restored to operating condition. Click to enlarge. (Public domain photo)
BAR HARBOR EXPRESS
The Bar Harbor Express was a seasonal passenger train which served the resort areas around Bar Harbor, Maine, in the United States. It was a joint venture of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, the Maine Central Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M).
History
The Bar Harbor Express began in 1902 with its southern terminus in New York. Trains ran north to Springfield, Massachusetts, over the New Haven, where they were handed off to the Boston and Albany Railroad (B&A), which carried them to Worcester. From Worcester the B&M hauled them to Union Station in Portland, Maine. From Portland the Maine Central hauled the cars to their final destinations in the northeast. The B&A withdrew early on, however, so the trains followed a purely New Haven routing from New York to Worcester. The lack of a direct connection between Boston's North Station and South Station precluded a Boston section.
The completion of the Hell Gate Bridge in 1917 allowed direct rail service from New England through New York to points south, so the New Haven added Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia sections to the Bar Harbor Express which were hauled by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Destinations north of Portland included Ellsworth, Mount Desert Ferry, and Rockland. At Mount Desert Ferry passengers would board ferries for Bar Harbor. The Rockland branch served resort towns such as Boothbay via a stop in Wiscasset.
In 1952 a typical consist of the Bar Harbor Express included sleepers from Washington, Philadelphia and New York to Ellsworth; Philadelphia to Portland; Philadelphia and New York to Rockland; and New York to Plymouth, New Hampshire. The latter was a Friday-only connection with the B&M in Lowell, Massachusetts.
The Bar Harbor Express was hurt by the post-World War II decline in passenger rail traffic which afflicted all passenger services, compounded by a 1947 fire in Bar Harbor. In 1957 the Maine Central truncated the run to Bangor, and ended the train altogether on Labor Day, 1960.
The State of Maine Express traveled a similar route, six days a week, many seasons. It went from New York City's Grand Central Terminal to New Haven, Providence, Worcester, Lowell, Portland and the Bar Harbor region. In contrast to the Bar Harbor Express (which made no stops between Providence and Portland), the State of Maine made several local stops. Passengers to points beyond Portland needed to change to a Maine Central to complete the trip. Various destinations afforded by the Portland transfer included Waterville and Rockland. The default destination was Ellsworth, from which passengers would take ferries to Bar Harbor.
1913 wreck
On the morning of September 2, 1913, north of New Haven, Connecticut, traveling at 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) in heavy fog, the White Mountain Express crashed through two cars of the Bar Harbor Express and overturned a third coach, killing 21 and injuring 50.
Wreck of Bar Harbor Express in North Haven, Connecticut. Click to enlarge. (Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Engine which wrecked Bar Harbor Express. Click to enlarge. (Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Wreck of Bar Harbor express. Click to enlarge. (Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Bar Harbor train wreck - 9-2-13- Car Chrisholm. Click to enlarge. (Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Engine which wrecked Bar Harbor Express. Click to enlarge. (Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Car Chisholm (i.e., Chrisholm). Click to enlarge. (Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Car "Chancellor". Click to enlarge. (Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Engine which wrecked train on New Haven. Click to enlarge. (Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Overview
Service type: Inter-city rail
Status: Discontinued
Locale: Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States
First service: 1902
Last service: Labor Day, 1960
Former operators: Pennsylvania Railroad, New Haven Railroad, Boston and Maine Railroad, Maine Central Railroad
Route Termini: Washington, D.C., Ellsworth, Maine
Service frequency: Three days a week, summer service only
Train numbers: 84; 85
On-board services
Seating arrangements: no coaches between Philadelphia and Portland
Sleeping arrangements: sections, roomettes, single and double bedrooms, compartments
Catering facilities: Dining car
Observation facilities: Parlor car
Route
Ellsworth
Bangor Union Station
Waterville
Belgrade
Readfield
Winthrop
Rockland
Wiscasset
Bath
Brunswick
Portland
Plymouth
Concord
Manchester
Nashua
Providence Union Station
New London
New Haven
Bridgeport
Stamford
New York Penn Station
North Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Wilmington
Baltimore Penn Station
Washington, D.C.
Washington Union Station
A Boston & Maine Timetable. Click to enlarge.
(B&M Railroad, Public domain)
A postcard depiction of the Bar Harbor Express between Bangor, Maine and Boston, Massachusetts on the Maine Central Railroad. Circa 1910. Click to enlarge.
(Public domain via W. Lenheim Collection)