Monthly Archives: June 2016

How many trips across Portland does it take to cook hot dogs on a motorcycle engine?

Troy R. Bennett (left) and Dan MacLeod of BDN Portland test hot dogs cooked on Bennet's motorcycle engine on Thursday. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

My boss Dan MacLeod and I set out today to answer a question that’s messed with the heads of many a philosopher over the centuries: How many trips across Portland does it takes to cook hot dogs on a motorcycle engine? We double wrapped four, Maine-made, red snapper hot dogs in foil and wired them to […]

Red Sox top prospect never heard of Maine and doesn’t plan to stay in Portland for long

Yoan Moncada watches the game from the dugout Tuesday night at Hadlock Field in Portland while making his Sea Dogs debut. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

Infielder Yoan Moncada, the Red Sox top prospect, made his Double-A debut for Portland going 1-for-5 with an RBI single and a run scored Tuesday night at Hadlock Field as the Sea Dogs beat the Harrisburg Senators 10-4. Moncada was also good for two diving defensive stops. Plus, he made a lunging grab on a liner that he […]

Mt. Washington’s auto road by motorcycle and the surprising Portland connection

A motorcycle crests the summit of the Mt. Washington Auto Road on Thursday in Gorham, New Hampshire. The road was only open to motorcycles on Thursday as part of the famous Bike Week festivities centered in Laconia. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

It sounds strange, but without Portland Harbor, there’d be no Mt. Washington Auto Road. I learned this tidbit while riding up the famously steep byway on Thursday with my buddy Johnny Sideburns, a local comedian and fellow sidecar enthusiast. The 7.6 mile-long road sets aside a day or two every year during Laconia’s long-running bike […]

Take a walk through Portland’s historic Riverton Trolley Park

This photo, from around 1900, shows folks canoeing along the Presumpscot River at Riverton Trolley Park. The canoes in front are called "Kiddo" and "Arrow." The Portland Railroad Company built the park to encourage customers to ride the trolley during off-peak hours, weekends and holidays. The park was very popular at the turn of the 20th century, but suffered a decline in attendance after the 1918 flu epidemic and World War I. It was reborn as an amusement park in the 1920s, but did not last long. Courtesy of Maine Historical Society Item #29409 on MaineMemory.net.

For 20 cents, Portland’s turn-of-the-20th-century day-trippers could climb aboard a Portland Railroad Company trolley car and spend the day at Riverton Trolley Park. According to Maine Memory Network, those folks could dine, dance, play croquet, watch a vaudeville act or even see a hot-air balloon and parachute show by Monsieur Roberto, billed as “Meteor of the Sky.” […]