The Sail, Power, and Steam Museum (SPSM) in Rockland is the new home of a rare Triple-Stage Expansion Engine, donated to us by the Maine Maritime Museum (MMM) in Bath, Maine. When our museum reopens for the season on May 1, 2026, visitors can view first-hand this humongous engine exhibit and watch it run almost as it did in the 19th and 20th century.

This winter, a team comprised of staff and volunteers from both organizations first disassembled the four-ton steam engine – a long, complicated process – and then loaded each piece, some weighing as little as five-pounds, all way up to 1000-pounds, on multiple pallets readying the huge engine for transport from MMM in Bath to SPSM in Rockland 

Once arriving in Rockland, our staff and our loyal volunteers have spent hours up to their elbows in parts, bolts and grease, carefully, ever so carefully putting the engine back together.

The word was, ‘it was a total team effort.’ We reversed the disassembly plan used at MMM: Taking apart, categorizing, inspecting, and cleaning each part. Our staff communicated with Maine Maritime Museum staff Phil Blauvelt and Larry Gates, for helpful advice among a mixture of technical tasks.

Now assembled at the Sail Power Steam Museum, it will greet visitors entering the museum and will be running (electrically) for all to see and learn about the operation of this kind of engine. Maine Maritime Museum sent along historical informational materials to accompany and enhance public enjoyment of the exhibit.

The Sail, Power, and Steam Museum and its Midcoast Sailing Center are located at the Old Snow Shipyard, 75 Mechanic Street, Rockland, Maine and is open to the public from May to October. Its mission is to: Celebrate, honor, experience, and share the story of Maine’s maritime heritage.

For more information, visit www.sailpowersteammuseum.org and www.midcoastsailingcenter.org, or email sailpowersteammuseum@gmail.com, or call 207-701-7627.