Success has come slower the second time around for the members of Southern Pacific.

The country-rock band is enjoying the reception of its fourth album, “County Line,” which has yielded the hit “Time’s Up,” a duet with Carlene Carter, plus the single “Any Way the Wind Blows” (from the soundtrack to the motion picture “Pink Cadillac.”) The album also contains a version of “Little G.T.O.” with a guest performance by the Beach Boys.

Southern Pacific, which plays Saturday, July 28, at the Bangor State Fair, is composed of veteran performers. Drummer Keith Knudsen and guitarist John McFee were members of the Doobie Brothers, bassist Stu Cook was with Creedence Clearwater Revival and keyboardist Kurt Howell was part of Crystal Gayle’s band.

“You’ve got to be prepared to do it again,” said Knudsen in a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles. “Being in a successful group doesn’t happen that often. Expecting it to happen again is asking a lot. We started at the bottom, which is a new place for us. We figured it would be a long road, and it has been.”

And it’s been a bumpy ride as well. People have been jumping on and off Southern Pacific since its beginning in 1984. That includes two former lead singers, Tim Goodman, and former Pablo Cruise lead singer David Jenkins.

Now it’s down to the quartet who have been there pretty much since the beginning. McFee and Howell sing lead, with all four contributing harmony vocals.

“We’re much happier this way,” Knudsen said. “We have the same goals, the same vision and the same direction we want to go in.”

It took Southern Pacific, named for their California-meets-Nashville sound, a while to convince the country-music establishment that they were for real.

“They thought, `Here are some rockers coming to make a killing in country music,’ ” Knudsen said. “But you don’t make money in country music until you prove yourself, and show that you’re sincere. Now people are starting to accept us, and we’re getting a lot of airplay.”

The performing aspects are similar between rock and country music, Knudsen said, but there’s more politics in country music.

“They like to have a little bit more personal contact in country music, and more interaction with the fans,” Knudsen said. “We live in California, not Nashville, and that may have led to some resistance at first.”

It’s not unusual for a country group to come out with an album a year. Concert commitments through September, then an independent project in Japan for Knudsen and McFee, will keep Southern Pacific out of the studio until next year.

Knudsen explained that all four band members write songs, with McFee and Howell having the best track record. They also accept tapes from outside songwriters. The group will go through 200 to 300 songs, and actually record 20 or 30 demos for each album. The band, together with producer/Warner Brothers Nashville head Jim Ed Norman, have produced all their albums.

“If you’re producing a record yourself, it’s hard to be objective,” said Knudsen. “That extra set of ears is always helpful. We’re our own worst critics. We’ll nitpick ourselves to death. So it takes more time for us.”

The Southern Pacific concert is free with fair admission.