To Rockland by Rail

All Aboard!

Have you have ever had a reunion with friends or relatives that involved staying in their home? It can be a awkward can't it? Have you tried meeting somewhere half way?

We used to meet our family from Bristol and Bath at Blenheim Palace, which is near Oxford. But have you thought of actually meeting on a train without the objective of actually going anywhere?

The Maine Eastern Railroad runs in summer between the college town of Brunswick and smart-arty  Rockland, roughly following Highway 1 and stopping at Bath and Wiscasset. The route is all pines, rocks, rivers, lakes and glimpses of the sea. At every opening you stand a chance of seeing turkeys, deer or even moose. At every inlet you see ospreys and bald eagles; and you see Mainers at work outdoors. You can take the whole trip by road in an hour, but that's not the point. The train takes twice as long, giving you lots of time to chat and take in the views. You have room to get up and walk about and you also get three hours to explore Rockland.

Hanna, Susy and Nick.

Rounding the curve.

On our visit Dan, Hanna and I were joined by Hanna's parents, Nick and Nancy, and her sister Susy. A day out for such a family requires preparation because 18 year old Dan is physically able but has special needs and can be a bit tricky to handle in public, especially if he's not happy. Nick has Parkinson's Disease so mobility is a real problem. When I phoned the booking office, they told me that seats were not allocated, but that the staff would make sure we had access via a ramp and could be seated near a rest-room, but warned that they are pretty small.

Ernie and Arnie

The old station at Brunswick is long gone but there is a new platform behind a chic shopping centre on Station Avenue. True to their promise, the staff greeted us and allowed us to make the entire journey in the buffet car, so that we had all that we needed, plus tables and big, clean, plain glass windows to take in the view. The toilet is actually tiny, only slightly larger than those on aeroplanes, but you can get two people in there if you need to, but not a wheelchair. In contrast, the 1950s carriages are spacious and clean with enough period detail to evoke a bit of nostalgia. You can even take the trip on a leather sofa in first class.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the train rolled out of Brunswick and it looked like we might be quicker to walk! However, this was just a safety measure because of pedestrians and vehicles crossing the line in the town. Once we reached Cooks Corner we gathered speed but slowed down again as we went through the Bath Ironworks workshops in West Bath and then entered Bath itself.

Bath Station

The old station is Bath was never demolished but was sold to the nearby shipyard. When the railway was revived, it reverted to its proper use. We didn't stop long, but from the station we could see the shipyard and the town centre, topped out by the white cupola of the town hall and the steeple of the "chocolate church" which bears a resemblance to a miniature wooden version of Bath Abbey in the UK. That has to be deliberate!

Passengers depart at Rockland

We crossed the broad Kennebec River on the metal bridge but the helpful volunteer in the refreshment car told us that the carriages used to cross on a ferry, two or three at a time. That got us talking about other things and about how he came to be a volunteer on a railroad when he is really a aeroplane enthusiast, having spent over 30 years flying for the Navy. He also volunteers in the aviation museum at Owl Point. His favourite plane was the Corsair which he few from aircraft carriers in the 1950s. I mentioned that I visited the Forestal and sat in the cockpit of a Corsair in Southampton docks and he remembered the trip, telling me that it was 1957, which seems about right. I'm sorry I didn't get his name.

The rest of the run is beautifully smooth as the track is one continuous piece. You don't have to hold on to your drinks and the scenery just gets better and better. Wouldn't it be great if the train ran all the way to Canada?

Nick Kist boarding at Rockland.

All too soon we arrived in Rockland where Susy had arranged lunch for us, and taxis to get us there. Then we split up and walked back to town to visit the galleries. There wasn't much for Dan to do there and the famous Farnsworth Gallery is absolutely a no-go area for young people. They really need to go to some other galleries and museums to see how it's done. The Botanical Gardens at Boothbay do it splendidly. A young education person armed with things to do or just a kids area would have made all the difference; in the event our visit there was upsetting for us and the volunteers sand staff there.  I'd still like to see the exhibits myself one day, but I won't be taking Dan back. Fortunately, this was the only place on our entire trip to the USA (including Customs and Immigration) where we didn't feel welcome and we soon made friends with the people across the road in the Puffin Centre and in the toyshop.

Conductor
Wayne Anderson

The station at Rockland has an elegant, high-ceilinged bar and restaurant where we could get cold drinks and gather up before re-boarding the train. Gordon Page, the Vice President of the company wheeled Nick onto the train and we were greeted by our conductor, Ernie Vannah and volunteer Arnie who showed me the elegant Parlour Car and allowed me to take pictures from the open areas between the carriages. We were treated like royalty by everyone on the train and at the stations and we had loads of quality family time that we wouldn't have had otherwise.

In "The Great Railway Bazaar" Paul Theroux wrote, "If the train is large and comfortable, you don't need a destination". As the railway brochure says "The Journey is the destination".

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