Grand Trunk betterments, etc.

Portland terminal facilities.—Owing to the steady increase in the Co.'s business at Portland, Me., the officials have been greatly hampered in the narrow limits & small capacity of its yard. Various expedients were tried to extend the capacity of the freight yard, but it was not until the land near the East Deering stock yards was purchased & fitted up as a yard that the problem of handling the large business was solved in any satisfactory manner. Now the Co. has 2 yards, one near the passenger depot, extending out towards the bridge around the base of the Munjoy Hill & past Fish Point, & the other yard, the new one, about 1 1/2 mile from the passenger station & steamer docks.

The new yard begins just above Verandah street, where the Yarmouth road crosses the G.T. tracks. Its northerly end is at the stock yards, 2,500 ft. from the commencement of the yard. The yard contains 11 1/2 miles of tracks &, holds 1,300 cars. The yard is 25 tracks across, the longest track being 2,400 ft. & the shortest about 1,300 ft. At the Verandah street entrance the yard branches out from the main line, which at this place is a double track, & this is the only entrance to the yard. It was the original intention to make the yard much longer than it now is, but this was prevented by the failure to secure a proper deed of the land near the northern terminus of the yard, & when the deed finally was secured it was too late to grade the land & lay the tracks for this season. This extension will probably be constructed as soon as it is required.

Grading for the yard was commenced July 22 & was done by contract. The big fields were smoothed down & the hollows filled in, making a perfectly level tract of land for the laying of the tracks. On Sep. 28 the work of putting in the tracks commenced. This required 23 miles of rails, 35,000 sleepers & hundreds of car loads of gravel for ballasting.

Railways: G.T.Ry.

Results