The Portland Terminal Company (PTM) was a switching and terminal railroad based in Portland, Maine, responsible for handling freight operations for the Maine Central Railroad (MEC) and the Boston & Maine Railroad (B&M) in and around Portland, South Portland, and Westbrook. It was established in 1911 during the New Haven Railroad’s effort to consolidate New England’s rail and port facilities, and became a subsidiary of the Maine Central after the Boston & Maine entered financial difficulty in 1914.
Operating at the heart of Maine’s largest port, the PTM played a vital role in maintaining Portland’s position as a winter seaport, handling exports of Canadian goods that arrived via the Grand Trunk Railway. Although traffic declined after the Grand Trunk was nationalised in 1923, which redirected much export business to Saint John and Halifax, the PTM remained essential to local industry. By the post-war years, it operated more than 140 miles of track, including extensive waterfront yards, wharves, and industrial branches that connected with the Grand Trunk and the Maine Central’s Mountain and Portland Divisions.
In its later years, the PTM’s operations centred on Rigby Yard, which became the principal freight hub for southern Maine. The company’s ALCO switchers were a familiar sight working around the docks, paper mills, and fuel depots of Portland and South Portland. The PTM was absorbed into Guilford Transportation Industries in 1981, ending seventy years of independent operation. Its former territory remains active under CSX Transportation, which continues to handle freight in the area today.
Diesel Locomotives
The Portland Terminal Company was an early adopter of diesel power, purchasing its first ALCO HH600 switchers in 1936, among the earliest diesels to work in New England. These 600-horsepower locomotives were well suited to yard and dock work, where their compact size and quick acceleration offered clear advantages over steam. Additional units followed through the 1940s and 1950s, including ALCO S-1, S-2, S-3, and S-4 switchers, as well as a single ALCO RS-11 road switcher and an EMD GP7 that operated in pool service with the Maine Central and Boston & Maine.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, PTM diesels could be found shunting wharves along Commercial Street, working coal and clay traffic from the waterfront, and handling interchange traffic with the Grand Trunk and Maine Central. The rugged ALCO switchers became synonymous with Portland’s rail operations, and a few survived into preservation under later owners, including S-4 no. 1055, which still exists on the Downeast Scenic Railroad.
| No. | Type | Date | Serial | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PTM 1001 | ALCO HH660 | 1936 | 68730 | Scrapped 1961 |
| PTM 1002 | ALCO HH660 | 1936 | 68731 | Scrapped 1967 |
| PTM 1003 | ALCO HH660 | 1936 | 68732 | Scrapped 1969 |
| PTM 1004 | ALCO HH660 | 1938 | 69071 | scrapped 1973 |
| PTM 1005 | ALCO S-1 | 1941 | 69494 | scrapped 1977 |
| PTM 1006 | ALCO S-1 | 1945 | 73083 | sold 1976 to GE |
| PTM 1007 | ALCO S-1 | 1949 | 77111 | scrapped 1984 |
| PTM 1008 | ALCO S-1 | 1949 | 77112 | Sold 1981 to North Stratford Railroad |
| PTM 1051 | ALCO S-2 | 1941 | 69565 | Scrapped 1982 |
| PTM 1052 | ALCO S-2 | 1943 | 70244 | Sold 1982 to Bay Colony Railroad |
| PTM 1053 | ALCO S-2 | 1946 | 73902 | Retired 1980 |
| PTM 1054 | ALCO S-2 | 1949 | 76596 | Scrapped 1984 |
| PTM 1055 | ALCO S-4 | 1950 | 78416 | Sold 1981 to Conway Scenic Railroad, and sold in 2010 to the Downeast Scenic Railroad. |
| PTM 1056 | ALCO S-4 | 1950 | 78417 | Retired 1982 |
| PTM 1057 | ALCO S-4 | 1950 | 78418 | Scrapped 1982 |
| PTM 1058 | ALCO S-4 | 1950 | 78419 | Sold 1982 to Bay Colony Railroad |
| PTM 1061 | ALCO S-4 | 1950 | 78235 | ex-Delaware and Hudson Railroad #3041 purchased 1967 sold 1983 to Bay Colony Railroad |
| PTM 1062 | ALCO S-4 | 1950 | 78239 | ex-Delaware and Hudson Railroad #3045 purchased 1967 sold 1981 to Fore River Railroad |
| PTM 1063 | ALCO S-4 | 1950 | 78406 | ex-Delaware and Hudson Railroad #3047 purchased 1968 sold 1983 to Bay Colony Railroad |
| PTM 1081 | EMD GP7 | 1950 | 13533 | Used as a Boston and Maine Railroad mileage equalizer on Boston commuter trains until renumbered Maine Central Railroad #581 in 1956. |
| PTM 1082 | ALCO RS-11 | 1956 | 81917 | renumbered Maine Central Railroad #802 in 1956. |
| PTM 1101 | ALCO S-3 | 1950 | 78393 | ex-Greater Portland Public Development Commission #661 acquired in 1958 and was the last locomotive to wear PTM paint when sold in 1988. |