Have You Ever Wondered What This Random Exempt Sign in Portland is For?

As you drive around the state of Maine and many places in New England, you may see signs like this on the road. But what are they for?

Exempt From What?

We'll get to the answer to that question in just a bit.

The picture above was taken by Google Maps in December of 2024. Not a lot of snow in December in Portland 2024, it seems. That's the sign between Marignal Way and Elm Street in Portland that simply reads "EXEMPT"

This picture from Google Maps at the same spot below in 2015 may give you a hint at what's going on here. Or more acurately, what went on here.

Railroad Crossing

The pole at one time only had the round crossbuck sign letting drivers know that a railroad crossing was ahead. Through the early 1990s, this location was a railyard. At one time, freight trains crossed these two streets and meandered their way down to Forest Avenue, where they travelled behind Hadlock to get to Rigby Yard in Scarborough.

You can even see the rails right up against the back of Trader Joe's with a bumper at the end to prevent any cars from rolling out into the street.

Here you see a picture I took of the bumper and rail, half-buried in the ground over the years.

Exempt Crossings That Are Still Used

Check out this video of a former Pan Am train crossing Broadway in South Portland, with the signal clearly showing the exempt sign. Exempt only means that certain laws are exempt at the railroad crossing, like school buses having to stop before crossing. A train could still cross or be anywhere else on the line. You just don't know.

So now you know. Exempt doesn't necessarily mean that a railroad crossing is not used anymore, unless a Trader Joe's has popped up where the tracks are.

READ MORE: 5 Reasons You Shouldn't Take Senior Pictures on Railroad Tracks

Here's one last photo of an exempt crossing you can find on Sebago Lake Road in Gorham.

This one is definitely not active because it is now part of the Mountain Division Trail, named after the route trains took from Portland to St. Johnsbury, Vermont.