ROCKLAND — The train tracks to Rockland will be activated for passenger rail service for two days in November when specially-chartered train excursions come to the area. The train rides will traverse the entire length of the “Rockland Branch” rail line from Brunswick to Rockland, making this "the first time in over a decade that passengers will be able to ride the full length of this scenic railroad line," said Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts Inc., in a news release.

 

On Saturday, Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 8, the Rockland Rocket will depart from the Bath Information Center at 10 a.m. and travel west to Brunswick, where it will reverse direction and travel east through Wiscasset and Newcastle to Rockland along the route of the Penobscot Shore Line Railroad. At Rockland, the train will traverse the rarely-traveled waterfront branch, offering views of Rockland’s harbor front. The trains are scheduled to return to Bath at 5:30 p.m.

 

Mass Bay RRE provides the following local rail history:

 

The Rockland Branch traces its history to 1849, when the Kennebec & Portland Railroad completed a line from Yarmouth, Maine, through Brunswick to Bath. Through multiple changes in name and ownership over the years, the final link in the all-rail route between Brunswick and Rockland was completed in 1927 with the opening of the Carlton Bridge between Bath and Woolwich.

 

In 1901 the line to Rockland was merged into the Maine Central Railroad, which operated it until its sale in 1980; the following year it and the rest of the Maine Central became part of Guilford Transportation Industries. The State of Maine purchased the Rockland Branch in 1986, leading to a succession of private operators leasing the line. For 10 years until 2013 the Rockland Branch was operated as the Maine Eastern Railroad.

 

There hasn’t been regularly scheduled passenger service on the Rockland Branch since April of 1959. Maine Eastern was the last operator to offer excursion trains over the line.

 

Maine Switching Service, which runs the freight service on the former Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad, became the new operator of the Rockland Branch in 2025. Maine Switching officially leased the line in May 2025, with service to be run as the Cumberland and Knox Railroad. Passenger excursions will be run by C&K affiliate Penobscot Shore Line Railroad. The Mass Bay RRE excursions on Nov. 7 & 8 are the first public excursions to be operated by the Penobscot Shore Line.

 

Click here for excursion details.