Old Maine Central Railway Train Depot in Maine


Bucksport Railroad Station, Bucksport Maine
Date added: February 15, 2024
Categories:
 (1978)

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This building is a survival of the typical small town railway station which sprang up in the latter third of the nineteenth century as railroad development mushroomed to include more and more relatively small communities with subordinate branches. The earliest rail lines in Maine connected only the larger towns on the coastal route from Boston to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. By the 1870's, however, more and more smaller towns which, like Bucksport, were centers of maritime activity were tied into the main routes.

In 1851 the Northeast American and European Railway Company was chartered and put forward the grand scheme of shortening the sea voyage from New York to Europe by transporting passengers by rail from that city to the port of Canso in Nova Scotia for their ocean departure. This would render the crossing about 1000 miles shorter. While this plan never received popular acceptance, the company did lay many miles of track and was responsible for the line running from Bangor to Bucksport.

On June 12th, 1869, citizens of Bucksport held a "railway meeting" and decided in favor of rail service. A surveying party began operations on August 9th and the following spring a Board of Directors was chosen. In September of 1870 the town met again and voted to take stock and issue bonds to raise money for building the road. On September 17th, 1874 the first locomotive arrived by sea and was landed near the spot where the newly built station stood at the foot of Mechanic Street. The delivery in this manner was occasioned by the fact that, typical of the period, the gauge of the Bangor to Bucksport road was different from that of the main line.

Within a year or two the N.A. & E.R. Co. passed out of existence and the line was run by the Bucksport and Bangor Railroad Co., a locally based group. In 1884 the Maine Central Railroad took over the road on a 999-year lease and changed the gauge to conform to the rest of its system.

Building Description

The Bucksport Railroad Station is typical of the small nineteenth-century stations that once stood in many Maine communities. Since the demise of passenger service in the state more than a decade ago, most of these structures have been demolished. However, in the coastal town of Bucksport, the historical society has successfully adapted its local station into a museum.

The Bucksport Railroad Station is rectangular, stands one and a half stories high, and has a gable roof with a pronounced overhang supported by large brackets. The foundation is of granite, while the remainder is of frame construction.

The facade or north wall contains seven bays. From left to right, the bays consist of a double door and a window for the baggage room, a single door and three windows for the waiting room, and a single door for the ticket office. The doors are paneled and have a horizontal Italianate pediment above them, which is ornamented by dentil molding and supported by a bracket at either side. Identical treatment appears above each of the four windows. Each window has original six-over-six sash and the later addition of a window box below it. The roof is supported by a series of eight large brackets. At the center of the overhang is a sign reading "BUCKSPORT."

The east and west walls of the Bucksport Railroad Station are alike in design. Each first story has two symmetrically placed windows which are identical to those on the facade. Another identical window appears in the half-story under the overhang. Each end of the roof is supported by four large brackets.

The south side of the station served as the point of boarding and leaving the trains. Its seven bays are arranged in a slightly different manner from the facade. From left to right, there is a window for the ticket office, three windows and a door for the waiting room, and a window and a double door for the baggage room. The Italianate window and doorway treatment of the facade and side walls is repeated on the south wall. There is also a series of eight large brackets to support this side of the roof.

Bucksport Railroad Station, Bucksport Maine Station from the Northeast (1974)
Station from the Northeast (1974)

Bucksport Railroad Station, Bucksport Maine  (1978)
(1978)