Become a Member

The Downeast Rail Heritage Preservation Trust is working hard to ensure that Maine’s railroad history is celebrated, preserved, and most of all, utilized! While plans have already been set in motion to tear up a significant portion of the Calais Branch Line for use as a multi-purpose recreational trail, your continued support will assist us in preserving 30 miles of this beautiful and historic rail corridor!

We are closer than ever to restoring self-sustaining excursion rail service on the Ellsworth Falls to Washington Junction section of the line—with the eventual goal of continuing on to Green Lake—as the Downeast Scenic Railroad and establishing an historic museum/depot in downtown Ellsworth.

In 2007, membership support helped us to:

• Complete repairs on the Wyman Road and Washington Junction crossings—we can now move from Washington Junction into downtown Ellsworth;
• Collaborate with the Sunrise Trail Coalition, the Ellsworth Chamber of Commerce, the City of Ellsworth and Friends of Acadia to meet the 80/20 required matching funds for a total grant award of $80,000 from the Maine Department of Transportation; and
• Initiate a preliminary search for our first locomotive with a goal of having it on the line by 2008.

Your membership makes a difference—both for the financial support you give and the moral support it represents.

We need your continued support for this important preservation project and the significant benefits it will bring to Downeast Maine.

Please, come take a ride with us!

You may donate online,or use our mail-in form.*

Our membership levels are:

Please allow 6 weeks for delivery of membership premiums.

You may donate online,

or use our mail-in form.*

The Downeast Scenic Railroad is a 501(c)3 charitable organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

*If you are donating online at justgive.org , please note your intended giving level in the "designate my donation" box. Feel free to call us toll-free at 1-866-449-7245 if you have any questions.

*These files are in Adobe PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader to open. If you need the Adobe Reader, visit the Adobe Download site for the free software.