Boston & Maine Railroad in Maine — Portland, Rigby Yard, Waterville & Bangor

The Boston & Maine Railroad (“B&M” — founded 1835; reorganized under Guilford Transportation Industries and later Pan Am Railways in the late 20th century; New England main-line Class I) was the principal historic operator of the Maine premises in this slug family. New York Central and New York, New Haven & Hartford never operated in Maine — the Maine portion of this page is Boston & Maine-only. According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, B&M’s documented Maine shops, division points, roundhouses, and yards during the U.S. asbestos era allegedly included:

  • Portland ME — Boston & Maine principal Maine terminal, roundhouse, engine terminal, and interchange gateway with the Maine Central Railroad (with which B&M shared close operating ties for much of the 20th century). Passenger and freight operations for Boston-Portland service.
  • Rigby Yard (South Portland ME) — the flagship freight yard and classification hub for B&M / Maine Central joint operations in southern Maine. A principal car-repair and classification premises through the asbestos era, continuing under Guilford / Pan Am.
  • Waterville ME — historically the mechanical heart of the Maine Central Railroad and, in the Guilford era, the combined B&M/MEC system shops for northern New England. Locomotive back shop, car shop, and roundhouse.
  • Bangor ME — B&M / MEC yard, engine-servicing facilities, and interchange point for northern and eastern Maine freight and passenger traffic.

Plaintiffs allegedly experienced railroad-worker asbestos exposure at these Maine premises during the steam and diesel eras through asbestos-containing brake-shoe dust at the rip tracks and car shops, allegedly asbestos-lagged steam-locomotive boilers stripped and rebuilt in the Waterville back shop and boiler shop, allegedly asbestos pipe covering on shop and roundhouse steam mains, allegedly asbestos block insulation on shop boilers, allegedly spray-applied asbestos fireproofing on shop structural steel, allegedly asbestos ceiling and partition board in shop, roundhouse, and terminal buildings, allegedly asbestos gasket and packing materials handled in the machine shop, and allegedly asbestos brake dust on freight cars received from every New England interchange partner.

Workers Exposed at Boston & Maine Maine Operations

  • Railroad car repairmen at Portland, Rigby Yard, Waterville, and Bangor
  • Boiler-shop and back-shop workers rebuilding steam locomotives at Waterville
  • Locomotive engineers, firemen, and hostlers on B&M / Maine Central trains
  • Railroad shop machinists, boilermakers, pipefitters, sheet-metal workers, and electricians
  • Roundhouse and locomotive-servicing workers at the Portland engine terminal
  • B&M yard switchmen, conductors, and brakemen at Rigby Yard
  • Passenger-terminal and freight-house workers at Portland and Bangor
  • Shop-building maintenance workers exposed to alleged building asbestos

FELA — Railroad Workers Have a Different Statute

Railroad workers exposed to asbestos on the job are covered by the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), not state workers’ compensation. FELA claims have their own limitation periods (three-year discovery rule), causation standards (any part of the injury caused in whole or in part by railroad negligence), and procedural rules. FELA liability follows the railroad through successor entities — for B&M, that means Guilford Transportation Industries, Pan Am Railways, and subsequent operators as successor employers.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 237-3332

Mesothelioma Resources for Maine Workers

Railroad asbestos exposure like this is a leading cause of mesothelioma, often diagnosed decades later. If you or a family member worked here: