WAS THERE A TRAIN STATION
WHERE THE TRACKS CROSSED KENNEBEC ROAD?
by Jim Husson
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This is a picture of the train station at the intersection of Western Ave. and the train tracks that cross over it. From the looks of the cars, it is circa 1940. This building still stands. If you look closely, you can see the HAMPDEN sign. However, was there ever a train station at the intersection of Kennebec Road and the train tracks?
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I found these two items in my postal history collection. These are postal-facing slips that label bundles of mail being sent onto trains. The one on the left came from the Hampden Post Office. The one on the right would be from the Hampden Highlands Post Office bundle (up till 1909, it was the Hampden Corner Post Office). So yes, we know the mail was sent and probably received by trains in Hampden. The one on the left would have been sent to the tracks that crossed Western Ave. (Hampden Station). But were there two stations in Hampden? Did the Hampden Highlands bundle go to a Station on the Kennebec Road? Or did the mail from Hampden Highlands go to the station on Western Ave. Or did it get picked up and delivered by a hook (mail crane) located on Kennebec Road?
The mail would be picked up by a train and delivered to another station, such as Bangor, or sorted on a Railroad Post Office Car (R.P.O.) on the Bangor and Boston line. Incoming mail would be dropped off. The two slips that have been recovered have cancellations from the same day, Jan. 28, 1948. The first one from Hampden is timed at 7 AM. The second from Hampden Highlands is timed at 11 AM. These are the times that the bundles left the post offices.
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Walking around the Kennebec crossing doesn’t reveal any structure, foundation, or roadbed that would indicate a railroad siding or an old train station was once there. However, Rail Lines of Northern New England lists the stations going north on the Bangor and Aroostook line as Frankfort, Winterport, Arey, Hampden, South Switch, Northern Maine Junction, and North Bangor. Thus, there was something near the intersection of Kennebec Road and the tracks that crossed it. It was named Arey, which matches Arey’s Corner, an area around Kennebec and Back Winterport Roads. However, was it just a railroad siding or a railroad station? After reviewing maps over the last one hundred years (including the recent Delorme Maps), I can find an area on the railroad line labeled Arey. However, all the maps show this location to be in the middle of the woods, a few miles South of the intersection of the railroad tracks and Kennebec Road. Using Google Maps, one can see that there is a siding just south of the intersection of the railroad tracks and Meadow Road in Winterport. However, that would be further south than the older maps indicate. Local railroad workers have also told me this siding is called the Arey Siding.
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Mapcarta.com
Walking along the tracks in this area does not reveal any area where there might have been any building or railroad railbed.
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To confuse matters more: from the United States Post Office Department, Postal Bulletin 7994 May 21, 1906: “101019. South Lagrange, by Hampden Corner, Winterport, Frankfort, Sandypoint, Stockton Springs and Park, to Searsport. Bangor & Aroostook RR. Co., 55.12 ms. and back, 6 t a w, or as much oftener as trains may run. From June 4, 1906.” This indicates that a Bangor and Aroostook train ran from LaGrange to Searsport at least six times per week (t a w) for 55.12 miles and back with a mail stop or drop off at Hampden Corner (name changed to Hampden Highlands in 1909) but did not stop at Hampden for mail. Is this postal bulletin wrong? Did it mean Hampden and not Hampden Highlands, or was there a stop at Hampden Highlands and not Hampden?
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So, I remain baffled. There is indication that a Station may have existed at or near the Kennebec Road, but if it did, where was it? If anyone has more information they would like to share on this subject, please contact me at the Hampden Historical Society.