ROCKLAND, Maine—Two former Adirondack Railroad coaches equipped with heating and air conditioning have arrived at Cumberland & Knox Railroad’s Rockland facility for excursion operations on the state-owned Rockland branch.
Finn Kelly, the line’s government affairs manager, tells Trains.com., “We’re still evaluating different options for excursions” on the 56-mile former Maine Central branch from Brunswick, Maine, to Rockland. “At this point we’re looking into a limited Christmas schedule and mapping out our 2026 excursions. We will likely utilize portions of the branch for regular excursions, but also offer rides over the whole railroad for special events.”
The service will run under “Pen Bay Scenic Railroad” auspices, the operating title of the Midcoast Rail Heritage Trust. This is the non-for-profit entity that also operates Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad passenger trips. “The excursions will run separately from Cumberland & Knox freight operations, but will utilize CKRR locomotives,” Kelly says.
Maine’s Department of Transportation awarded operating rights to Cumberland & Knox, a newly formed subsidiary of Maine Switching Services, after previous Rockland Branch operator Finger Lakes Railway relinquished its lease in 2024 following a precipitous drop in traffic by the line’s principal freight customer, Dragon Cement.
Part of Finger Lakes’ original pitch to Maine’s DOT was that it would develop regularly scheduled passenger service between Rockland and Brunswick, where the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority-sponsored Downeasters now terminate. The plan was to utilize leased Budd rail diesel cars, which the company had modified to include an enlarged accessible restroom [see “‘Coastliner’ RDCs to debut …,” Trains.com, June 28, 2023]. The NNEPRA explored working out a connecting arrangement with the operator, as well as extending some Amtrak-operated round trips from Boston to Rockland. Then the RDCs developed mechanical problems and Finger Lakes’ freight business collapsed.
Since Cumberland & Knox began revenue operations at the end of May,. Kelly says the railroad’s freights have gone from operating approximately twice monthly to weekly departures [see “Cumberland & Knox runs first revenue train …,” Trains.com. June 3, 2025]. “Dragon Cement has increased their volumes and former customer Dicaperl Minerals of Thomaston, Me., has come back on line,” he says, :Additionally, we expect Bath Iron Works to resume shipments of steel for new naval vessels being built.” The company has also leased less than a mile of Maine Central’s former “Lower Road” at Brunswick to facilitate interchange with CSX as it increases carload volume.
The excursion operating model Cumberland & Knox has chosen precludes any immediate implementation of scheduled passenger service that would regularly connect with Downeasters. Liability insurance and Federal Railroad Administration reporting requirements would require substantial initial and ongoing investments. Maine’s legislature had originally designated $3 million for such a pilot program, but those DOT funds have since been reallocated.
At a recent NNEPRA board of directors meeting in which the topic of 2026 priorities came up, executive director Patricia Quinn said the organization would “explore opportunities to revisit the Rockland expansion and to monitor the ongoing rail activities on the line.” In an email to Trains.com, she writes, “I have had no discussions with Cumberland & Knox, but am interested in learning what the plans are when they become available.”
