The proposed Sunrise Trail, using a section of the abandoned Brewer-to-Calais Ma

The proposed Sunrise Trail, using a section of the abandoned Brewer-to-Calais Maine Central Railroad bed, would link Ellsworth and Calais with a multi-use recreational trail. The trail, if approved, will join several other rail-to-trail projects around Maine, including a Westbrook-to-Fryeburg trail proposed by the Mountain Division Alliance; an almost three-mile-long rail-with-trail project in Portland that will connect with the Back Cove trail; the Rockland Harbor Walk; and a 30-mile trail planned between Newport and Dover-Foxcroft. The state purchased the 126-mile Brewer-to-Calais corridor 11 years ago, and in that time not a single proposal has been offered to revive rail service along the route. Details, history of the Sunrise Route from Ellsworth to Calais, opened by the Washington County Railroad in 1898.