The company, which is owned by the Morristown & Erie Railway in New Jersey, is a full time, year-round freight rail operation that runs on the state-owned tracks known as the Rockland branch of the former Maine Central Railroad.
Operating on a 57-mile line between Brunswick and Rockland, the train traverses four counties and a dozen towns and cities along the Maine coast.
Round-trip service begins Saturday with the “Alewives Special,” which will make a special stop in both directions at Damariscotta Mills to deliver passengers to the annual Fish Ladder Restoration Festival during the Memorial Day weekend.
Like last year, the railroad will make special stops in Newcastle for three annual events: the Damariscotta Pirate Rendezvous on June 23; the Pemaquid Oyster Festival on Sept. 30; and the Great Pumpkin Festival and Regatta on Oct. 6 and 7.
Regular service for the rest of the season will be the usual destination and starting points of Rockland, Wiscasset, Bath and Brunswick.
The railroad also offers a number of excursion packages in Rockland, including Rail & Sail, and Rail & Air programs; a Rail & Spa package; overnight packages; and museum packages.
Excursion trains will run on Saturdays starting this week. Service will expand to Wednesday through Saturday, beginning June 20, all with two round trips per day.
Beginning Sept. 12, the railroad will run its fall foliage trips five days per week, with two round trips Wednesday through Saturday, and one round trip on Sunday. There will be no train service on July 4.
In addition to the uniformed crew, the passenger excursion service is staffed with volunteer ambassadors who provide local information and support during the daily trips. For more information, visit www.maineeasternrailroad.com or follow the railroad on Facebook or Twitter. For reservations, call 596- 6725.
Boothbay Railway Village steams ahead
BOOTHBAY — The Boothbay Railway Village opens Saturday, allowing visitors to experience steam narrow gauge railroading, rural life, village exhibits and an antique automobile display.
The museum has on exhibit vehicles from the early 1900s to the late 1950s. New for this year is the addition of the 1928 Maxim fire truck placed on loan by the Newcastle Fire Department.
The nonprofit historical museum, consisting of more than 30 historic structures and more than 55 antique vehicles, will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends only until June 17, when the museum commences daily operation.
The museum is located on Route 27 in Boothbay. For more information, call 633- 4727 or visit www.railwayvillage.org.
Ann Beattie to share insights at Telling Room
PORTLAND — New Yorker contributor and novelist Ann Beattie will host a roundtable discussion for aspiring young writers at from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday at The Telling Room, 225 Commercial St.
Open to all middle and high school students, the afternoon talk will allow students to engage a writer who has published numerous short story collections and novels over a 35-year career, including The New Yorker Stories in 2011.
Beattie’s works have been included in four O. Henry Award Collections and in John Updike’s “The Best American Short Stories of the Century.” In 2000, she received the PEN/Malamud Award for achievement in the short story form.
She and her husband, Lincoln Perry, live in Key West, Fla., and Charlottesville, Va., where she is Edgar Allan Poe Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Virginia.
The Telling Room is a nonprofit writing center in Portland, dedicated to the idea that children and young adults are natural storytellers.
More information is available at www.tellingroom.org.
Weekend festival helps alewife ladder
NEWCASTLE — The fifth annual Damariscotta Mills Alewife Fish Ladder Restoration Festival takes place Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Activities include music, a pancake breakfast, a pig roast, chicken barbecue, puppet show, fish goods and gear sale, ladder demonstrations, children’s activities and an antique car show from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Proceeds benefit a cooperative effort by volunteers, the Nobleboro Historical Society and the towns of Newcastle and Nobleboro to restore an alewife run on the Damariscotta River.
Questions about the antique car show can be directed to Marty Welt, 563- 2739.
For more information about the festival, visit damariscottamills.org.
Gaslight’s Hitchcock thriller winds down
HALLOWELL — Gaslight Theater’s production of “The 39 Steps” concludes Saturday at Hallowell City Hall.
Based on the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name, the fast-paced stage whodunit features four actors playing all of the roles.
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday.
Tickets cost $12 for adults or $10 for students and people age 60 and older. For reservations, call 626-3698.
Six actors sought for roles in Ludwig farce
HALLOWELL — Gaslight Theater will hold auditions for its production of Ken Ludwig’s “Fox on the Fairway,” at 2 p.m. June 3 and 6:30 p.m. June 5 at Hallowell City Hall.
Linda Duarte will direct the play. The company seeks three male actors and three female actors. The farcical play involves a couple in their mid-20s and two couples a generation older.
For information, call 626- 3698 or visit www.gaslighttheater.org.
Photography exhibit focuses on ‘Old West’
SOUTH PORTLAND — An ongoing photography exhibit by members of the Portland Camera Club at the South Portland Library now features images by Douglas Coleman of Kennebunk.
The exhibit, titled “The Old West,” will run through June 18.
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