Finn’s 1932 Jerry O’Mahony Dining Car

“This dining car is considered one of the few surviving original O’Mahony diners in existence.”

Atlas Obscura

Black and white photo down the length of the diner car, under a sign reading 1932 Jerry O’Mahoney Monarch Diner, Pineland Diner

For diner enthusiasts, the remarkable thing is that the “Pineland” dining car never disappeared. It simply accumulated layers of history around it, from Augusta to Northport to Ellsworth, and today serves as the historic centerpiece of Finn’s Irish Pub.

The “Pineland Dining Car” has a surprisingly rich history that spans nearly a century and multiple Maine communities.

1932
The beginning: a 1932 Jerry O’Mahony dining car

The structure at the heart of Finn’s is an authentic 1932 Jerry O’Mahony dining car, one of the classic prefabricated diners manufactured in Elizabeth, New Jersey. O’Mahony diners were designed to look like railroad dining cars and were shipped throughout the country to serve as permanent restaurants. Today only a dozen or so of these original cars still survive.
1930s
Augusta and Northport years

Research into the diner’s history indicates it originally operated in Augusta, Maine during the 1930s. By the 1950s it had been moved to Northport, where it became known as the Pineland Diner. This is the origin of the “Pineland” name that many longtime Mainers remember.
Augusta, 1930s
Northport, 1950s
1982
Move to Ellsworth

In 1982, Michael and Kate Welch purchased the old diner car and moved it to downtown Ellsworth. They opened it as Michael’s Pineland Diner, preserving the historic diner while giving it a new home. At that time, the dining car stood largely on its own on Main Street.
1990s

Maidee’s era

During the 1990s, ownership changed and the diner evolved into Maidee’s. A larger wood-frame building was constructed around the original dining car, greatly expanding the restaurant while keeping the vintage diner as its centerpiece. This transformation is why visitors today can sit inside what appears to be a pub while actually being inside a historic diner car.
2000s

Calypso and Finn’s Irish Pub

The property changed hands several more times, including a brief period as Calypso. Then in 2009, new owners rebranded the restaurant as Finn’s Irish Public House, creating the Irish-pub concept that became a downtown Ellsworth landmark. Through all those changes, the 1932 diner remained intact and became the pub’s distinctive bar area.