Timetable - December 6, 1948

This is the second major cover version and re-styling of the Timetable within the year of 1948 and this one is much more extensive than the last, which was little more than changing out the photo of a steam locomotive for a diesel. Now we have a whole new look and the keystone logo now contains the banner 'Sound as The State it Serves'. This is the first of both this design and that slogan over the keystone in this collection. The inside double page ad is all new, promoting Northern Maine for farming and industrial use. This continues the railroad's general policy of promoting Northern Maine in general, not just the railroad.
For the first time, the railroad has a section in this timetable talking about its design: "We thought of when we made this new Bangor and Aroostook rail table. We have watched travelers puzzle over timetables in an effort to decipher the schedule of their trip. We watched and wondered - wondered if something could be done to make our timetable easier for you to read and understand." It goes on with instructions on how to read this new timetable. We will come back to this in a moment. The bus section is smaller now - no mention of service to Mapleton for instance. Service between Millinocket and Bangor remains and the Air Force base is highly featured. Fares in coaches, pullman and sleeping cars are broken out into their own tables. 
Now, back to that all-new designed timetable. Someone put a great deal of thought and effort into this. Branch lines and trains leaving the main are setup in separate, adjacent, columns, not their own tables. One can very easily follow along. The actual schedule does not appear to have changed much, if at all. Mixed train 9 now clearly separates from the Northbound Potatoland Special at Derby, most likely as it has always done, but now the timetable clears that up. Previously one got the impression that #9 actually started in Bangor and one presumes that if one was headed to Greenville and showed up at Bangor Union Station looking for Train #9, that it would be at best confusing and at worst cause someone to miss their train. Passengers are still transferred at Northern Maine Junction for some trains, the arrangement and times do not seem to have changed. 

Bangor Historical Society collection