Rumford Falls and Rangeley Lakes Railroad - circa 1910's Unissued Railway Stock Certificate

Unissued Stock by American Bank Note Co., Boston. Rare! The Buckfield Branch Railroad was established in 1847 with the purpose of constructing a Portland gauge railroad connecting Buckfield to Mechanic Falls on the Grand Trunk Railway. The completion of the railway to Buckfield occurred in 1849, and it was subsequently reorganized as the Portland and Oxford Central Railroad in 1857. In 1870, the railway was extended to Canton and was reorganized again in 1874 as the Rumford Falls and Buckfield Railroad. Following its receivership in 1878, the railway underwent conversion to standard gauge. In 1890, Hugh J. Chisholm reorganized the railway as the Portland and Rumford Falls Railway. 

The Portland and Rumford Falls Railway was further extended northward to Rumford Falls in 1892 and southward to connect with the Maine Central Railroad at Rumford Junction, near Auburn, in 1893. A branch line was completed from Canton to Chisholm in 1897, which was later extended to connect with the former Androscoggin Railroad at Livermore Falls in 1899. In 1894, the Portland and Rumford Falls Railway chartered a subsidiary known as the Rumford Falls and Rangeley Lakes Railroad to gain access to the aboriginal forests located north of Rumford. The Rumford Falls and Rangeley Lakes reached Oquossoc in 1902. In 1907, Maine Central leased the entire line from Rumford Junction to Oquossoc and extended it to Kennebago. This line was officially designated as the Rangeley branch when it was merged into the Maine Central in 1914. The branch line from Canton to Livermore Falls was named the Livermore Falls branch.