Belfast and Moosehead Lake Dead?

Hello All,
There have been some developments in the Waldo county railroad scene
lately.
The Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad's assets are owned by the Unity
Foundation. The Unity Foundation is not announcing its plans for the
railroads assets. As a concerned railfan, I am calling upon my fellow
railfans to ask the Unity Foundation what they intend to do with the
railroad's assets. The Assets in question include all railroad buildings,
all railroad equipment and the first three miles of track from the Belfast/
Waldo town line, all the way to the waterfront in Belfast.
What I'd like to know, and I'm sure others would too, is if the railroad
will run this year, or not.
If not, what is to become of the railroad's equipment?
Lets join together and show how much interest there is in the history of
the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad, and hopefully, save it from the
scrappers torch.
To voice your concerns to the Unity Foundation, a special
e-mail address has been setup that will forward to the appopriate people. Send your comments and questions to:

[email protected]

Lets save the railroad!
Thank you all for your support!
--Joey Kelley

Hello All,
I have some sad and disappointing news regarding the Waldo County railroading scene. Railstar Corp who had been leasing the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad track from the State of Maine has given up their lease. This means that the State of Maine now has control of the 30 miles of track from Burnham Jct to the Waldo/Belfast town line. The Unity foundation still has ownership of the assets of the railroad, all equipment and buildings, along with the first three (or so) miles of track.
Last I heard all equipment is going to be moved to Unity, and I assume, the equipment will be auctioned off.
This is dark news for fans of the Belfast and Moosehead Lake.
I'll try to keep everyone updated, but at the moment, things look rather grim.
--Joey Kelley

Maybe Maine eastearn can get some engines than work at the auctoin. I read the Amtrack ones were too big.

Main Easter is getting two FL-9's from M&E.
These are ex Amtrak units , they should use a lot less fuel with their Cummins HEP unit. they are being painted as we speak.

I still can't get over the fact that the City of Belfast passed up on the opportunity to use the railroad as a major tourist attraction, and is basically shutting in down in the process.

Any other town in Belfast's postion would've bent over backwards to cooperate with the railroad for the mutual benefit of the railroad, local economy, tourist industry, etc.

The railroad could have brought people to the area, could have benefitted from those who already came there, etc. if the City would have let them have some kind of respectable terminal area and let them run the STEAM enginer into Belfast. No other major tourist RR's in the area so little competition, TONS of tourists drive through Belfast on RT. 1 EVERY DAY in the summer. They also have a collection of equipment taht with a little work could easily have been the foudnation of a "Maine Railroad Musuem", could they not get any funding to help such an endeavor get off the ground? I also can't help but wonder if there is any overlooked legal recourse... for example, is it really legal for the City to tell them tehy can't run the steam engine within the City Limits anymore when at the time they got the steam engine it was "OK", and not have to provide any form of negotiated compnesation for the losses? Is the B&ML still a common carrier and/or was it at the time they banned the steam engine from operating in the City? If a common carrier, is it LEGAL for a municiplaity to dictate the type of motive power a common carrier railroad can utilize? Methinks they probably CANNOT under Federal Law, IF the railroad in question is a common carrier.

What a waste... shame on the City of Belfast for turning it's back on local toursit attractions that are not of the "artsy-tartsy hippies" or "torusit traps for the yuppies" variety, and for turning it's back on the history of the City, it's economy, and it's people. Oddly enough the artsy and tourist-trap attractions could have probably benefitted from having the railroad in town as well... but the CIty is blind to that, apparently.

While toursit railroads and mueseums elswhere get tax money to "make it happen" in the interests of historica preservation and economic benefit to the region, Belfast has intentionally pushed the limits of reason in order to force the B&ML out of town and out of business. Disgraceful...