Something new, something old. Maine Eastern Railroad is providing excursions between Brunswick and Rockland, with stops at Bath and Wiscasset along the way. It’s not a fast trip but the scenery is varied and appealing, at least on a sunny summer day. You ride in refurbished Pullman cars built in the 1940s and 1950s, before Maine’s network of passenger trains were phased out in favor of highways and automobiles. What’s not on track, at least not yet, is regular passenger rail service connecting Brunswick with Portland, where Amtrak’s Downeaster train stops at the end of its run from Boston. If that link were built, mid coast residents — and visitors — could take the train to Boston, New York and beyond. Rockland has a ferry terminal for Penobscot Bay islands, and state planners have in the past suggested that high-speed ferries could take people who arrive by train to other points down east.
As the train passes through their communities, coastal residents wave and shout encouragement: a kid on a skateboard cheers; an old woman puttering in her garden smiles, perhaps remembering when train travel was commonplace. Everyone seems to enjoy the train, its throbbing engine, its gleaming cars and lonesome whistle blast, fading into the distance. The train runs past tidy backyards, Bath Iron Works, woods, fields, lakes and rivers, and the top brass at Maine Eastern Railroad hope it will attract lots of sightseeing riders.
Maine Eastern invited the press, rail buffs and state officials to take a special round trip earlier this summer to promote its operation. One hundred and thirty people showed up, from Congressional staffers and a state representative to stringers for The New York Times, Boston Globe, Yankee and Down East. Maine Eastern offered riders free drinks, lobster salad and blueberry shortcake.
Among those thrilled with the train ride was former Maine Gov. Angus King and wife, Mary Herman, with their daughter Molly. King and Herman, Brunswick residents, said they were planning a rail trip this summer across Canada. King described himself as a confirmed rail buff.
Also on board the Main Eastern train was Transportation Commissioner Dave Cole, who was asked why the state has so far been unable to make a rail link between the Downeaster train at Portland and Brunswick, with a stop at Freeport. “The problem’s going to be money, and it’s going to take time,” said Cole.
Wayne Davis, who led a 17-year fight to get Amtrak service from Boston to Portland, said he is frustrated with state officials, who are spending tens of millions of dollars on highway and bridge projects. He said the Department of Transportation is not fully committed to passenger rail service in Maine, and he fears it may take another 17 years to get Amtrak to Brunswick. John Melrose, Cole’s predecessor, had a plan for rail service to Rockland with connections to ferry boats.
A wire service report and a railway press release both said Maine Eastern was the first passenger service in decades on the Rockland branch. In fact, Maine Coast Railroad operated excursions for several years in the 1990s. The current operator, a division of Morristown & Erie Railway of New Jersey, is offering seasonal trips only, not regular passenger service. Its motto is “the journey is the destination.” Morristown & Erie is currently operating freight service on the Rockland line, mostly for the Dragon cement plant in Thomaston.
One advantage for Maine Eastern is continuously welded rail and a rebuilt track bed, thanks to $30 million spent on the state-owned branch. The line was purchased with support generated by a statewide referendum in the 1980s championed by then-Rep. Rita Melendy of Rockland.
Maine Eastern is offering round-trip tickets from Brunswick, Thursdays through Saturdays, for $30 with discounts for seniors, children and families. Simply riding one way from Brunswick to Bath costs $5; to Wiscasset, $7. The train takes about two and one-quarter hours to make the 55-mile trip from Brunswick to Rockland. The train takes longer than it would to drive a car that distance, unless you encounter heavy tourist traffic. But the train is stress-free, smooth and comfortable. It pollutes a whole lot less than cars.
Brunswick is discussing building a new downtown station to replace a historic building torn down many years ago. Bath still has its brick, slate-roofed station; Wiscasset has a stop on Water Street but lost its original station. Newcastle and Warren have boarded-up train stations while Waldoboro’s station building was lost long ago. There are no immediate plans for rail stops in those communities. Crews have laid new track to Rockland’s imposing brick railway station, which awaits restoration once a social service agency moves out. Tracks at the station had been taken up to enlarge a parking lot. That station is owned by the state.
King said he won’t run again for governor, but has joked with Melrose about serving as transportation commissioner if Melrose is elected governor. He said he wants to ride the train through Wiscasset when traffic is backed up for miles, and then he can wave and smile at people stuck in their cars as the train rumbles across the Sheepscot River trestle.