The Rails That Built a Resort

Old Orchard Beach did not become a resort by accident. It became one because of the railroad. In the eighteen forties the first rail lines pushed into this corner of Maine, and by the middle of the century the trains were stopping close to the shore.

The real transformation came from the north. When the Grand Trunk Railway completed its line linking Montreal to the Maine coast, it handed the people of Quebec their nearest ocean beach, a straight shot by rail from an inland city to the open Atlantic. That connection turned a quiet farm shore into one of New England's great summer destinations.

By the eighteen seventies the little town had multiple railroad stations feeding the crowds pouring off the trains, many of them bound for the enormous religious camp meetings held near the beach, which drew famous orators of the day. In the early eighteen seventies the Boston and Maine built a passenger station right in the center of town, near where the Chamber of Commerce visitor center stands today. For decades the rhythm of Old Orchard Beach was set by train whistles, arriving crowds, and the long platforms where vacationers stepped off, smelled the salt air, and walked toward the water.