Atlantic Shore Line locomotive 100 at Seashore Trolley Museum in 2014

The Atlantic Shore Line (ASL) was an

electric trolley Electric current collectors are used by trolleybuses, trams, electric locomotives or EMUs to carry electrical power from overhead lines, electrical third rails, or ground-level power supplies to the electrical equipment of the vehicles. Those for ...

line providing passenger and freight service to many towns in

York County, Maine York County is the southwesternmost county in the U.S. state of Maine, along the state of New Hampshire's eastern border. It is divided from Strafford County, New Hampshire, by the Salmon Falls River, and the connected tidal estuary—the Pi ...

, in the United States. The ASL was the second-longest trolley line in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, encompassing over of track.

Beginnings

A charter for the Atlantic Shore Line Electric Railroad was first issued in March 1893 by the Maine legislature. The charter allowed for the building of an electric railroad from

Biddeford Biddeford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddeford Poo ...

, through the towns of

Kennebunkport Kennebunkport is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,629 people at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford metropolitan statistical area. The town center, the are ...

and Wells, to York Beach. In October 1899, articles of association were filed for the Atlantic Shore Line Railway by a group which included officers of the Mousam River Railroad and the Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway. The charter of the railroad was approved on February 9, 1900, following a hearing at the State House in Augusta.

Route

From the Town House Square carbarn in Kennebunkport (the site currently across the street from the Kennebunkport Historical Society), ASL trolley service connected

Cape Porpoise Cape Porpoise, Maine is a small coastal village in the town of Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, and was the original English settlement of the town. It is northeast of Dock Square and southwest of Goose Rocks Beach. The village occupies the ma ...

, Kennebunkport, Biddeford, Kennebunk,

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

, Sanford, Springvale, Wells,

Ogunquit Ogunquit ( ) is a resort town in York County, Maine. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,577. Ogunquit is part of the Portland– South Portland– Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Ogunquit, which means "b ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, York Beach,

Kittery Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, Maine, Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals. The ...

, Eliot and South Berwick. The line also connected with

Dover, New Hampshire Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in the New Hampshire Seacoast region and the fifth largest municipality in the state. It is the county se ...

, through South Berwick and with Portsmouth, New Hampshire, via ferry service from Kittery (the ASL ferry "Kittery" was built in Kennebunkport in 1900). Electricity was provided from a power plant at

Kittery Point Kittery Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Kittery, Maine, Kittery, York County, Maine, York County, Maine, United States. First settled in 1623, Kittery Point traces its history to the first seafarers who c ...

, which was originally built by the Sanford Power Company.

Operations

Electric freight service continued until June 1949, when a small diesel locomotive replaced the electric locomotives. In 1939 the Seashore Electric Railway was formed with the intent to preserve electric cars for future operation. of the ASL

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

between Town House Square and Biddeford off Log Cabin Road in Kennebunkport have been preserved by the

Seashore Trolley Museum Seashore Trolley Museum, located in Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, is the world's first and largest museum of mass transit vehicles. While the main focus of the collection is trolley cars (trams), it also includes rapid transit trains, ...

. The museum has developed its demonstration railway upon of the old right of way. The museum has also completed the restoration of electric locomotive ASL #100, the only remaining original piece of rolling stock from the Atlantic Shore Line Railway system.

Footnotes

References

* *

External links

Atlantic Shore Line Railway car, South Berwick, c. 1910Atlantic Shore Line Railway locomotive, South Berwick, 1906Seashore Trolley Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlantic Shore Line Railway Defunct Maine railroads Interurban railways in Maine Defunct New Hampshire railroads Interurban railways in New Hampshire Transportation in York County, Maine