The Bangor and Portland Railway was an American

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

incorporated in 1879. It began operations between Bangor and

Portland, Pennsylvania Portland is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The population of Portland was 494 at the 2020 census. Portland is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was thus the 68th most populous metrop ...

, the following year. In 1880, the company merged with the Bangor and Bath Railroad, giving an extension to

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. A branch opened in 1885 from Bangor, extending along Martins Creek to connect with the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

at the town of Martins Creek on the Delaware River. The

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

(DL&W) acquired the B&P as its Bangor and Portland Division in July 1903, and fully absorbed it six years later.

Structures

This railroad crosses Martins Creek on an unusual bridge with two different spans, a riveted deck girder and a riveted lattice deck truss. The bridge originally had two deck girder spans, but these were doubled up to increase their strength. The lattice deck truss spans were salvaged from Bridge No. 138 on the DL&W's Buffalo Division and a new abutment constructed to accommodate the shorter span.Milepost 96.50, region/division/branch 626255, correspondence files, Consolidated Rail Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., subsequently transferred to Norfolk Southern Railway Co., Atlanta, Ga. The bridge is the second at the location. The first, a trestle, was wrecked by the 1955 flood caused by

Hurricane Diane Hurricane Diane was the first Atlantic hurricane to cause more than an estimated $1 billion in damage (in 1955 dollars, which would be $ today), including direct costs and the loss of business and personal revenue. It formed on August ...

. The DL&W abandoned it and built the current bridge. Its remains are still visible.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bangor Portland Railway Defunct Pennsylvania railroads