When the first passenger train in 55 years rolls into Newcastle, it will most likely have a trolley to ferry customers around parts of Lincoln County.

When that trolley comes, Damariscotta will pitch in.

The Damariscotta Board of Selectmen approved, 4-1, to give $2,000 to the trolley that would serve Damariscotta, Boothbay, Newcastle and Boothbay Harbor.

Originally, a sum of $3,000 was proposed for the $27,000 pilot project, but Selectmen’s Chairman Josh Pinkham said the town should pay the same amount as Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor and Newcastle, which has pledged to pick up costs, liability and insurance for the project.

“This is a great thing,” Pinkham said. “I think we need to be consistent. I see this as a trial run, so I think we should match what everyone has put in.”

Mary Ellen Barnes of the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission said the project has had to tamp the shuttle project because some funding sources weren't available.

“Since November we've worked with the Maine Eastern Railroad, and we want to leverage (its return to Newcastle) into a service that benefits the whole region,” Barnes said.

Another $10,000 of the $22,000-plus has been raised by private funds from businesses in the area.

Those business could benefit quite a bit if everything goes to plan, Selectman Robin Mayer said.

“It's a good thing if it brings folks to the downtown area and we can keep the parking lot clear,” she said. “If that happens, it seems to me Damariscotta is the town that benefits the most from this.”

One of the larger selling points for the shuttle service will be removing employee cars from the municipal parking lot and freeing up room for tourists’ cars.

The money was taken from Damariscotta's contingency fund. Selectman Ronn Orenstein was the lone dissenting vote.