The Maine Eastern Railroad will cease all operations on December 31, 2015

According to the Maine Eastern RR website: 

The Maine Eastern Railroad will cease all operations on December 31, 2015. The Central Maine & Quebec Railway will assume operations of the Rockland Branch on January 1, 2016.
 
The Maine Eastern Railroad (reporting mark MERR) is a short line freight railroad that operates in coastal Maine between Brunswick and Rockland on the state-owned Rockland Branch rail line. The Maine Eastern is a business name of the Morristown & Erie Railway of New Jersey, which acquired operating rights for the Rockland Branch in November of 2003.

The Maine Eastern provides year-round freight service, serving customers such as Dragon Cement and Bath Iron Works and interchanging with Pan Am Railways in Brunswick.

The Maine Eastern also offers seasonal excursion service, sharing a platform with the Amtrak Downeaster in Brunswick.

Maine Eastern Railroad to Host MEC 470 Fundraiser 4/12/14

The Maine Eastern Railroad has partnered with the non-profit New England Steam
Corporation to offer a public Touch-a-Train open house event on Saturday, April 12,
2014, as a fundraiser for the restoration of Maine Central steam locomotive #470.

Held at the Maine Eastern’s roundhouse in Rockland, ME, the Touch-a-Train event will
be a rare opportunity for the public to visit a working railroad maintenance facility. The
event is family-oriented, and children are encouraged to come and enjoy the sights and
sounds of American railroading. Visitors may climb aboard and explore the cab and
engine room of a -vintage FL9 diesel locomotive (built in 1957), recline in the comfortable
seats of a 1940s Maine Eastern passenger coach, and learn about railroad snow removal
operations while standing inside the Maine Eastern’s 1946-vintage snowplow.

Visitors will also be able to explore the Maine Eastern’s operating turntable, built in 1921,
and the 1922-vintage wooden roundhouse. The railroad’s dining car will also be on site,
selling beverages and snacks as visitors walk through.

The event coincides with the Maine Rail Group’s first annual Maine Rail Fair, being held
on the same date at the nearby Owls Head Transportation Museum. Visitors are
encouraged to visit both events and experience all aspects of Maine railroading.

Admission to the Touch-a-Train event will be free. However, the non-profit New England
Steam Corporation will be collecting donations towards the restoration of Maine Central
steam locomotive #470. The locomotive, currently on display in Waterville, ME, will be
operated on the Downeast Scenic Railroad after restoration is completed and will have
the opportunity to operate on the Maine Eastern, as well. Any and all donations, no
matter how small, can make a difference in the speed and success of #470’s restoration.

For more information about the New England Steam Corporation and its mission to
revitalize #470 and steam railroading in Maine, please visit www.newenglandsteam.org
or contact the organization at newenglandsteamcorp@gmail.com.

Eastern Maine Railway Acquires ex-Bangor & Aroostook Track

(via the Trains.com Newswire)

ST. JOHN, New Brunswick – Eastern Maine Railway, a subsidiary of Canada’s J.D. Irving Ltd., has purchased 28 miles of ex-Bangor & Aroostook track from the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway. The track runs from Madawaska and Van Buren, Maine, and includes the international bridge that crosses the international border from Van Buren into St. Leonard. The deal closed June 17.

Eastern Maine Railway presently operates 200 miles of state-owned track, which Maine purchased in 2011 after MMA announced plans to abandon the lines. The latest acquisition will link Eastern Maine Railway’s operations and a Canadian National line on the Canadian side of the border. The 28 miles was not included in the original deal with the state. At the time of the original deal it was considered viable operation since it served the Twin Rivers paper mill in Madawaska, but since that time the mill has cut back on rail shipments. Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway announced a tentative deal to sell the line in late 2011.

“It has never stopped being in discussion,” Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway President Robert Grindrod tells the Bangor Daily News. “Any time a railroad changes hands it requires government approval. It’s taken us this long to get us through that process.”