Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts, Inc. President David Brown (left) poses for a picture with the excursion train conductor and Jay Sawyer, sculptor of "Ridin' the Rails to Rockland" (far right). (Photo by Sarah Thompson)
ROCKLAND — Twenty-one years had passed since a train pulled up to the waterfront terminus of the Rockland rail line, according to Jay Sawyer, creator of the sculpture "Ridin' the Rails to Rockland." Yet, for a brief few minutes, Sunday afternoon, Nov. 8, 2026, that terminus transformed into a train stop reminiscent of yore, with passengers off-boarding and milling before boarding again.
The Sandy Beach, aka South End Beach, stop marked a momentous occasion that Sawyer was excited to be a part of, tying together the past, his nearby sculpture made of rail spikes, and the future.