The story
The Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad completed a 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) line between Danville Junction, on the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad, and Waterville, Maine, in 1849. The Androscoggin Railroad was incorporated on August 10, 1848, to build north from the Androscoggin and Kennebec at Leeds Junction, northeast of Lewiston, Maine, to Farmington, Maine. In December 1952, the Androscoggin opened a line, also 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm), to Livermore Falls, Maine. The full line to Farmington opened in June 1859.
A dispute with the Androscoggin and Kennebec led the Androscoggin to begin building a new 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) line south to Brunswick, Maine, and a connection with the Kennebec and Portland Railroad. The company also planned to convert its original line to Farmington to standard gauge, leading to further legal disputes with the Androscoggin and Kennebec. The 26-mile (42 km) line to Brunswick, and a 5-mile (8.0 km) branch to Lewiston, opened in 1861. The gauge conversion of the original route was also completed that year.
The financing of the Brunswick extension was unconnected to the original mortgage on the line between Leeds and Farmington. When the company defaulted on that mortgage in 1865, a new company, the Leeds and Farmington Railroad, was formed to acquire it. The Androscoggin Railroad continued to own and operate the newer line to Brunswick and Lewiston. The Androscoggin leased the Leeds and Farmington in 1867, and was itself leased by the Maine Central Railroad on June 29, 1871. The Maine Central merged the Leeds and Farmington on November 16, 1874, and the Androscoggin on August 19, 1911.
From Wikipedia’s article on Androscoggin Railroad, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3