Maine Central Eastport Branch
Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 2:34 amHello all! It's taken me a while to settle on a new idea for my next route, and after a few false starts I think I've settled on something special. Now that I'm seriously involved, I'd like to announce my project. This one will be a prototypical route, not fictional like my previous endeavor, the Central Vermont Champlain Division. Without further ado, here's my pitch!
The Maine Central's Eastport was a small branchline stretching 15 or so miles from its connection with the Calais Branch at Ayers Junction to the port town of Eastport, ME. The line traveled through woods, past hills and over rivers before emerging on the Atlantic coast, providing scenic vistas and unforgettable branchline action. Abandoned in 1978, the line itself was small and unassuming, with major traffic being grain, fuel and seafood products from Eastport's canneries. However, the Eastport Branch found charm and fame in a few ways. First of all, the Eastport Branch was home to the easternmost railroad milepost in the United States. Secondly, Eastport was the destination for presidential trains carrying Franklin D. Roosevelt, who vacationed just a ferry ride away on Campobello Island. It was on Campobello that FDR was stricken with polio. Finally, the light rail of the Eastport Branch meant that in later years locals were handled by 44 Tonners and the occasional Alco switcher.
The entire Eastport Branch will be accurately modeled as it appeared in the 1970s, as well as a segment of the Maine Central's Calais Branch that connected to the branch. All track has been laid, and scenery work is progressing as time permits. It looks a little rough around the edges at the moment, but I'm finally falling back into the scenery work mood again. I hope you will enjoy returning to Maine, which is a state of mind in of itself! Updates will be posted in this thread.
The Maine Central's Eastport was a small branchline stretching 15 or so miles from its connection with the Calais Branch at Ayers Junction to the port town of Eastport, ME. The line traveled through woods, past hills and over rivers before emerging on the Atlantic coast, providing scenic vistas and unforgettable branchline action. Abandoned in 1978, the line itself was small and unassuming, with major traffic being grain, fuel and seafood products from Eastport's canneries. However, the Eastport Branch found charm and fame in a few ways. First of all, the Eastport Branch was home to the easternmost railroad milepost in the United States. Secondly, Eastport was the destination for presidential trains carrying Franklin D. Roosevelt, who vacationed just a ferry ride away on Campobello Island. It was on Campobello that FDR was stricken with polio. Finally, the light rail of the Eastport Branch meant that in later years locals were handled by 44 Tonners and the occasional Alco switcher.
The entire Eastport Branch will be accurately modeled as it appeared in the 1970s, as well as a segment of the Maine Central's Calais Branch that connected to the branch. All track has been laid, and scenery work is progressing as time permits. It looks a little rough around the edges at the moment, but I'm finally falling back into the scenery work mood again. I hope you will enjoy returning to Maine, which is a state of mind in of itself! Updates will be posted in this thread.
