Re: (rshsdepot) Rockland, Maine

[Don Mills <dmills_@_marshall.edu>]

Thanks for the great news. Lets hope that this trend makes its way to other
parts of our country.    Don Mills
- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "seth bramson" <sbramson_@_bellsouth.net>
To: <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2006 12:27 PM
Subject: Re: (rshsdepot) Rockland, Maine


>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <jdent1_@_optonline.net>
> To: <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
> Sent: Friday, July 21, 2006 10:19 AM
> Subject: (rshsdepot) Rockland, Maine
>
>
> > From Trains.com
> >
> > Former Maine Central station reopens to passengers after 47 years
> > July 14, 2006
> > ROCKLAND, Maine - The former Maine Central station in Rockland, reopened
> > to serve passengers on June 30 after 47 years, according to a report by
> > WLBZ Television in Bangor. The trains are operated by the Maine Eastern
> > Railroad, which began passenger operations on the 57-mile former MEC
> > Rockland Branch between Brunswick and Rockland in 2004. MEC ended
> > passenger service on the branch on April 4, 1959.
> >
> > The state of Maine purchased the railroad in 1989 and owns the station,
> > constructed in 1917. In 2005 the original main line to the station was
> > re-laid, and passengers boarded from a platform west of the depot until
> > this June. The railroad did the renovations to the structure, which
> > include a ticket office; plans call for a restaurant to be built in the
> > waiting room. The city hopes that re-opening the depot will bring more
> > people into downtown Rockland.
> >
> > Maine Gov. John E. Baldacci helped cut the ribbon for the renovated
> > station and says he'd like to see more rail passenger service around the
> > state as a way to save energy and reduce highway traffic, WLBZ reported.
> > With daily Amtrak Downeaster rail service from Boston to Portland, and
> > tourist service from Brunswick to Rockland, the Governor hopes to
connect
> > the two for continuous service between Boston and Rockland.
> >
> > In November 2003, Maine contracted with New Jersey-based Morristown &
Erie
> > Railway to operate the Rockland Branch and also the 33-mile former Maine
> > Central "Lower Road" main line between Brunswick and Augusta, the state
> > capital. M&E formed the Maine Eastern to operate the lines. The
> > Brunswick-Rockland passenger trains operate from June into October.
Motive
> > power is a pair of former Amtrak FL9 cab units built for the New Haven
> > Railroad.
>
> >>>FANTASTIC news, Jim, and thanks so much for sharing it with us.
>
> Just a sidelight, all:
>
> After my first year at Cornell I worked the summer of 1967 as Ass't Mgr of
> the Samoset in Rockland.  Spent no few days at the closed station, very
> unhappy that there was no longer any MeC passenger train service.
>
> After that summer, I THINK the station eventually became the Rockland
Police
> Station and I am SO very glad to hear that the state that allowed the
> destruction of most of it's ferries AND it's two foot gauge railroads
> is--like California with passenger trains and light rail--doing the right
> thing.
>
>
> =================================
> The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
> railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
>
>
>
> -- 
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>

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1400
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=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org