Incorporated February 9, 1900, the Atlantic Shore Line (ASL) was an electric trolley line providing passenger and freight service to many towns in York County, Maine

York County, Maine

York County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, the population was 197,131. Its county seat is Alfred.Founded in 1636, it is the oldest county in Maine and one of the oldest in the United States....

. The ASL was the second-longest trolley line in Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, encompassing over 87 miles (140 km) of track.

From the Town House Square carbarn in Kennebunkport

Kennebunkport, Maine

Kennebunkport is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,720 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford metropolitan statistical area....

 (the site currently across the street from the Kennebunkport Historical Society), ASL trolley service connected Cape Porpoise

Cape Porpoise, Maine

Cape Porpoise, Maine is a small coastal village in the town of Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, and was the original English settlement of the town. It is northeast of Dock Square and southwest of Goose Rocks Beach. The village occupies the mainland adjacent to Cape Porpoise Harbor...

, Kennebunkport, Biddeford

Biddeford, Maine

Biddeford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is the largest town in the county, and is the sixth-largest in the state. It is the most southerly incorporated town in the state and the principal commercial center of York County. The population was 21,277 at the 2010 census...

, Kennebunk

Kennebunk, Maine

Kennebunk is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,075 people at the 2000 census. Including Kennebunkport , the population totals 14,196 people...

, Alfred

Alfred, Maine

Alfred is a town in York County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 2,497. Alfred is the county seat of York County and home to part of the Massabesic Experimental Forest...

, Sanford

Sanford, Maine

Sanford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,798 in the 2010 census, the highest of the York County towns, and the 8th largest in the state. Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale...

, Springvale

Springvale, Maine

Springvale is a census-designated place in the town of Sanford in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,488 at the 2000 census...

, Wells

Wells, Maine

Wells is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Founded in 1643, it is the third-oldest town in Maine. The population was 9,400 at the 2000 census. Wells Beach is a popular summer destination.-History:...

, Ogunquit

Ogunquit, Maine

Ogunquit is a town in York County, Maine, United States. As of the 2000 census its population was 1,226. The popularity of the town as a summer resort is epitomized by its motto, "Beautiful Place by the Sea."...

, York

York, Maine

York is a town in York County, Maine, United States at the southwest corner of the state. The population in the 2000 census was 12,854. Situated beside the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Maine, York is a well-known summer resort. It is home to three 18-hole golf clubs, three sandy beaches, and...

, York Beach, Kittery

Kittery, Maine

Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...

, Eliot

Eliot, Maine

Eliot is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 6,204 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area....

 and South Berwick

South Berwick, Maine

South Berwick is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,220 at the 2010 census. South Berwick is home to Berwick Academy, a private, co-educational university-preparatory day school founded in 1791...

. The line also connected with Dover, New Hampshire

Dover, New Hampshire

Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. The population was 29,987 at the 2010 census, the largest in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...

 through South Berwick and with Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...

 via ferry service from Kittery (the ASL ferry "Kittery" was built in Kennebunkport in 1900).

Electric freight service continued until June 1949.

Four miles of the ASL right of way between Town House Square and Biddeford off Log Cabin Road in Kennebunkport has been preserved by the Seashore Trolley Museum

Seashore Trolley Museum

The Seashore Trolley Museum, located in Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, is the world's oldest and largest museum of mass transit vehicles....

. The museum has developed its demonstration railway upon two miles of the old right of way. The museum has also completed the restoration of electric locomotive ASL #100, the only remaining original piece of rolling stock from the Atlantic Shore Line Railway system.

External links

• Atlantic Shore Line Railway car, South Berwick, c. 1910
• Atlantic Shore Line Railway locomotive, South Berwick, 1906