Kennebec Central Railroad

Kennebec Central Railroad

Company type	Private
Industry	Railroad
Founded	July 23, 1890 (1890-07-23)
Defunct	June 29, 1929 (1929-06-29)
Headquarters	Randolph, Maine , United States
Area served	Randolph to Togus, Maine
Products	Passenger and coal transportation

The Kennebec Central Railroad was a narrow gauge line that connected Randolph and Togus, Maine. Constructed primarily to facilitate transportation for American Civil War veterans traveling from Togus to Gardiner, the route spanned five miles and utilized 25-pound steel rails. Operations commenced on July 23, 1890.

At the Randolph end, passengers accessed a modest Queen Anne style depot, with stairways leading to a covered bridge that provided passage to Gardiner. The initial fleet comprised six flatcars, two boxcars manufactured by W.H. Dyer of Strong, two passenger coaches, and a combined passenger-baggage car produced by Jackson & Sharpe. Power was supplied by a 16-ton 0-4-4 Forney locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. To meet increased summer ridership, the railroad added two open excursion cars from Jackson & Sharp and acquired an additional 18-ton 0-4-4 Forney engine from the Portland Company.

The veterans’ facility at Togus served as a venue for band performances and baseball matches, drawing civilian visitors on weekends and holidays who filled both passenger and excursion cars. The railroad operated independently without connections to other rail networks; coal deliveries arrived by barge to a government coal shed near Randolph before being transported via flatcars to Togus’s steam heating plant. To accommodate the rising coal shipments, the Portland Company constructed five lowside gondolas with side gates in 1904 and 1907, supplemented by modified flatcars featuring similar gates.

Service stabilized at four round trips daily between Randolph and Togus, typically arranging coal gondolas between the locomotive and the combination car. As automobile use reduced passenger volume, one excursion car was converted into a second combination car. In 1922 and again in 1926, the railroad replaced its original locomotives with secondhand Forneys from the Portland Company obtained from other regional lines.

Operations ended suddenly on June 29, 1929, after the federal government awarded coal transportation contracts to trucking companies. The locomotives were stored inside Randolph’s enginehouse while rolling stock remained unused for three years. After a December 1931 fire damaged engines of the nearby Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway, that company acquired the Kennebec Central Railroad’s assets at a reduced cost. The Kennebec Central locomotives were relocated, repainted, renumbered, and put into service there. The original rails and equipment were scrapped; some car bodies were sold as storage sheds while others were destroyed during the 1936 Kennebec River flood.

Locomotives

Name	Number	Builder	Type	Built	Acquired	Retired	Disposition	Notes
Volunteer	1	Baldwin Locomotive Works	0-4-4t	1890	1890	1922	Scrapped
Veteran	2	Portland Company	0-4-4t	12/1890	1890	1925	Scrapped
	3	Portland Company	0-4-4t	4/1892	1920	1929	Sold in 1933 to Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway #8	Purchased from Bridgton and Saco River Railroad #3
	4	Portland Company	0-4-4t	1891	1925	1929	Sold in 1933 to Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway #9	Purchased from Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad #6; preserved at the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum.