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HISTORY OF THE TRAIL
In 1985, local Eagle Scouts established the trail with help from the Town of Randolph and the Department of Conservation Summer Youth Corps Project. It was given the official name "The Old Narrow Gauge Volunteer Trail". Unfortunately, the trail was not maintained and over the years grew over and washed out in places. In the summer of 2003, a commitee was formed to improve, upgrade and establish more of a permanency to the trail.
HISTORY OF THE KENNEBEC CENTRAL RAILROAD
The Kennebec Central Railroad existed for one purpose: to transport passengers and goods to and from the National Veterans Home at Togus, Maine -- now the Togus Veterans Administration Medical Center – the first VA Hospital in the country. The railroad served the Veterans Home from 1890 to 1929.
The railroad ran from the Randolph terminus by the Kennebec River through Chelsea to Togus, a total distance of five miles. One and a quarter miles of this lay within the town of Randolph, and the right-of-way on this section is now owned by the Town.
The “National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers” was founded in 1866 on the site of the Togus Springs Hotel. 200 veterans were in residence there by 1873 and in later years the number of residents reached almost 3000.
For many years the facility served as a community recreation center, boasting a zoo and a farm. Large crowds came on weekends from the surrounding communities to participate in the many activities that were planned for the general public.
The Kennebec Central Railroad was completed on July 22nd 1890 and the first trains ran the following day. The regular schedule was two (later six) trains a day in each direction, and the one-way fare was 30 cents.
Passengers walked across the bridge from Gardiner to take the train to Togus. Veterans used the train for visits to Gardiner, and townspeople took the twenty-minute ride to utilize the facilities and grounds at the Veterans Home.
Coal for heating the Veterans Home and other supplies were carried by the railroad. Passenger traffic on the Kennebec Central Railroad started to decline when an electric railway from Augusta to Togus started in 1901. However a government contract provided that all the coal for the Soldiers’ Home was to be brought by barge from East Coast ports upriver to Randolph and then transported on the railroad to Togus and this prolonged the life of the railroad.
Passenger traffic steadily diminished with the advent of the automobile and the coal contract was terminated in the Spring of 1929. The last train ran on June 29, 1929.
If you are interested in commemorating the history of the railroad please contact the Friends of the Kennebec Railroad David Hart at (207) 737-2798 The photographs and history are taken from the book “ Two Feet to Togus” by Robert C. Jones. Published by Evergreen Press 1999. Used with the kind permission of the author.
