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The Maine Coast Railroad was a railroad company that operated on tracks owned by the Maine Department of Transportation between 1990 and 2000.
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Wiscasset, ME |
| Reporting mark | MC |
| Locale | Maine |
| Dates of operation | 1990–2000 |
| Predecessor | Maine Central Railroad |
| Successor | Safe Handling |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The company started operations in 1990 after a contract was awarded to the Massachusetts Central Railroad (MCER) to operate the Rockland Branch between Brunswick and Rockland, Maine.[1] The MCER chose to create a new railroad to operate the line, named the Maine Coast.[1] During its first year, the railroad handled little traffic, but in 1991 a large cement producer on the line began shipping its product via rail.[1] As a result of this increase in traffic, the Maine Coast acquired additional locomotives.[1] In 1994, using funding from the Maine Department of Transportation, trackage in Rockland was rebuilt to allow freight to be transferred from the railroad to barges.[1] The railroad closed on December 4, 2000, after losing their lease to the tracks.[2] The lines formerly operated by Maine Coast Railroad was later operated by Maine Eastern Railroad between 2004 & 2015.[1]
It offered both freight service and passenger service.[3] The passenger trains operated between Wiscasset and Warren, Maine.
Freight traffic largely consisted of cement products outbound from and coal inbound to Dragon Cement and Concrete in Thomaston.[1] There was also limited perlite and plastic products that moved along the line.[1]
The Maine Coast operated with a small roster of Alco and Montreal Locomotive Works locomotives, including a former Maine Central S-1 (No. 958); a former Norfolk & Western and Central Vermont RS-11 (No. 367); and two Providence and Worcester M420s (Nos. 2002 and 2004).
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