New investor for Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad?

I have been reading on the NERAIL list that some investor is offering to buy the B&ML. He also has some abusurd plan on investing 300 million in railroad projects in Maine. Is this some sort of hoax, or is this guy nuts? Not that i'm against spending money like that to improve railroad infastructure in Maine, I just think that 300 million will be a poor investment. Come on, the Downeaster doesn't even turn a profit, it relies on subsidies, and the Maine Eastern may make a modest profit but it has all the infastructure paid for by the state.

I was surprised that the turntable was yanked and the pit was filled in so quickly. The town is really against the reactivation of this railroad at all costs! Any investor would have an uphill battle with the town government, no doubt.

Does Belfast have a huge tourist trade? What is the draw to Belfast that the town thinks is worth yanking out the railroad?

-otto-

http://waldo.villagesoup.com/Government ... yID=57814

This article talks about the B&ML purchase and the other "plans" of this investor.

Otto, my family is from Belfast and a few live in the area. Although I have never really stopped there, i have heard and think, that they want to preserve a seaside fishing and sailing port appearance. They feel that the railroad is just another eyesore on the waterfront. But railroads went right along with the port industry, so i think it does a disservice to the whole "historical preservation" the city is trying to do.

They want a "revisionist history" district that romanticizes the boats/harbor/seafaring and provides all sorts of torusit traps to that effect but ignores the historical realities of trains, steam locomotives, poultry processing, sardine canning, etc.

I almost think the most laughable part is that the City of Belfast's sewage treatment plant is in the middle of the area formerly occuppied by the railroad. Apparently steam locomotives and trains are an eyesore and are too noisy and dirty for the toursists, but poop and sludge is okay!!???

And in contrast, take a look at Rockland, which is similar to Belfast in a lot of ways, but Rockland has chosen to embrace their history, including the railroad, and it has been quite successful in the process.

Well by the time this guy buy's the railroad it's going to be gone!

Truth be told I can't see the railroad being a success with out Belfast, If they can't run out of there, they're dead. Unity is just not a tourist destination, its in the middle of no where. Belfast it self is not really the place I think when I want to go on vacation (Of course I live in Maine, but) Belfast is almost full of itself if it thinks that it can be another Bar Harbor with out the railroad.

But I hate to say I think this is the final nail in the coffin of the B&ML, which started to die off in the late 1980's after the loss of fright (My dad saw the writing on the walls when he left the railroad back in 87' - 88').

Hope I don't sound pessimistic about the whole thing but it's the truth.

-Justin

Does Belfast have a huge tourist trade? What is the draw to Belfast that the town thinks is worth yanking out the railroad?

Belfast hoped to rely on MBNA to keep it from becoming a tourist town like Camden to the south, or Bar Harbor to the north. Unfortunately MBNA is scaling back operations in Maine, so they probably ought to reconsider their stand against the train.

For the record, I rode the train there once, just the shorter tourist ride, not all the way to Moosehead, and I can't say it was all that impressive. Just an old excursion train that was a bit musty, and some pretty, but not out of the ordinary scenerey.

All the way to Moosehead???? What??? Bud

All the way to Moosehead???? What??? Bud

I misspoke, I confused the name with the destination, in fact I rode the train, but not all the way to Unity. I appologize for the confusion.

I agree with the assessment that the B&ML needs Belfast and that Belfast needs the railroad. I live in Maine, and have ridden the line several times, both out of Unity and out of Belfast. In my opinion, the only really scenic sections of the B&ML are east of Unity (out through the hilly farm country toward Thorndike and Brooks) and the first mile or two out of Belfast. The rest of the line meanders through pleasant woods and ponds,
but there isn't anything especially notable to see. It seems to me that if the B&ML is to continue as a viable excursion operation, the trains are going to have to run over the entire railroad in order to interest tourists and railfans --- and Belfast, with its harbor and potential for all sorts of attendant tourist activities, is the logical destination.

The question is what is there to see in Belfast, Ok a pretty waterfront (Under an overpass) that can be seen at many other towns along the coast of Maine, Is Belfast THE destination on the coast of Maine, In fact can anyone name a tourist attraction in Belfast? The only thing they have is Route One, and even that goes over them and practically avoids the town.

The City of Belfast dose not realize what they have (or had) with the railroad. With out Belfast the railroad doesn't survive, and with out the railroad what dose Belfast have? The city of Belfast need to open their eye's before it's to late.

-Justin

You can't seriously believe that Belfast's future depends on the railroad. First of all, the property lease railroad couldn't afford wasn't much more than my monthly car payment. You think a business that can't afford such a piddly amount is ever going to be a viable and safe operation? Secondly, what did BML have for ridership in its peak year? Maybe 5,000 people? A very small minority went to Belfast specifically to ride the train and fewer still would have changed their travel plans had the railroad not been running. Heck, as is admitted in this string, even the scenery on the line is few and far between. That's one of the primary reasons the Wolfboro died and Conway SCENIC flourished.

Remember most people have the same interest in trains as they do with tractor trailers - slim to none. Towns like Belfast focus on the more 'romantic" side of their history and charm because there is generally more interest in it. In short- it SELLS! Don't believe me? Go ask your wives what she'd rather do: take a harbor cruise on a restored Maine schooner or visit Belfast's Chicken Processing Museum... this week they have an exciting exhibit on unusual gizzards!

I have seen people who could seemingly care less about railroad history GET interested when the subject is presented properly. You have to make the past connect to the present.

Cowford - "You can't seriously believe that Belfast's future depends on the railroad. First of all, the property lease railroad couldn't afford wasn't much more than my monthly car payment. You think a business that can't afford such a piddly amount is ever going to be a viable and safe operation?"

That is a great point, I'm not saying that the railroad was holding Belfast up, but It seems that the city feels that the railroad is dragging down the waterfront area and is trying to get rid of the railroad ASAP. What can they put there that is going to be so great? The railroad and the city could have worked together and create a great attaction. It seems it is to late for this. It should be noted that the railroad and city have had many problems with each other in the past.

-Justin

I heard that MBNA was bought/is being bought by Bank of America, and their track record is to shut down their newly acquired banks' headquarters. If they shut down the Maine office, it could help make the B&ML erasure a real joke. People will be out of jobs, and not able to move into what the town wants to be a high end area.

But that is just what I heard...