(rshsdepot) Brooks, ME

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From the Bangor Daily News.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
 
Belfast: Museum seeks help to save train station 
By _Walter Griffin_ (mailto:bdnbfst_@_earthlink.net) 
Friday, February 08, 2008 - Bangor Daily  News


BELFAST - With the Belfast  and Moosehead Lake Railroad up for sale, a 
nonprofit group is trying to raise  funds to purchase the line’s historic train 
station in Brooks. 
The  City Point Central Railroad Museum at City Point is seeking to raise 
$60,000 to  buy and restore the station, beginning with a new roof. 
"Help us preserve  history," urged museum member Joey Kelley. 
The  railroad has listed most of its rolling stock on the Fairfield, 
Iowa-based Rail  Merchants International Web site railmerchants.net. More than $1.1 
million in  equipment is listed on the site including diesel locomotives, 
Pullman cars,  cabooses, dining cars and repair equipment. 
The  1913 steam locomotive the railroad’s late owner Bert Clifford purchased 
from  Sweden carries an asking price of $175,000. The Swedish diner cars have 
an  asking price of $55,000 each, and the passenger cars are being offered for 
 $45,000 each. 
The  railroad, which for the past two years has operated as the nonprofit 
Belfast  & Moosehead Lake Railroad Preservation Society, notified the Department 
of  Transportation of its decision earlier this week. The railroad runs on 29 
miles  of track it leased from the state. 
The  state obtained ownership of the 66-foot-wide rail corridor between 
Belfast and  Burnham in the mid-1990s from one of the railroad’s earlier ownership 
groups.  DOT track manager Nathan Moulton said the state would continue to cut 
brush and  maintain the miles of track relinquished by the railroad. 
"They notified us verbally  that they have canceled the lease and that they 
are closing down operations,"  Moulton said Thursday. "They said they planned 
to sell the railroad whole or  parcel it up and sell the land. They plan to 
move on it very  quickly." 
Attempts to reach railroad  preservation society president Robert Lamontagne 
were unsuccessful. However,  Lamontagne stated in a press release that the 
society was unable to attract the  riders and financial support to break even. 
The railroad carries extension  financial overhead due to the cost of equipment 
and rail operations. 
"We  are very grateful to our corporate sponsors and other members who have 
supported  the preservation society as we provided special excursions, holiday 
and foliage  tours, and special events," Lamontagne stated. "We regret that 
the society  cannot continue running at a loss. We want to carefully review and 
examine our  status with the state and other contractors in order to ensure an 
orderly  transition and hope to find interested buyers for the equipment and 
station  house facilities." 
Gov. Joshua Chamberlain  signed the railroad’s original charter when it was 
formed in 1867 by a group of  investors. Originally planned to operate from 
Belfast to Greenville, the line  never met its goal and instead ended in Burnham 
where it established a junction  with the Maine Central Railroad. 
For  many years the railroad was operated by the city of Belfast, which 
controlled  the majority of the stock. It carried freight, passengers and mail. It 
also  carried grain to support Belfast’s poultry industry, but when that 
closed due to  competition down South, the railroad soon became a financial burden 
for the  taxpayers. 
The  city sold the railroad to a private group in 1991. It was operated as a 
seasonal  tourist attraction. Clifford, a Unity businessman, assumed control a 
few years  later and moved the bulk of the railroad’s operations to the Unity 
Station. The  railroad controlled a major portion of the Belfast waterfront 
but lost its  rights to that property a few years ago when it failed to meet 
the terms of its  lease with the city. 
Belfast Mayor Walter Ash,  who served as president of the railroad during the 
period of the city’s  ownership, said it was unfortunate that the railroad 
ever left Belfast. He said  the City Council tried to work with railroad 
management, but the two sides were  never able to resolve their differences. 
"They should never have  taken it out of Belfast; it was all out of spite," 
Ash said Thursday. "They  didn’t get their way so they picked up and ran." 
Those wishing to help  preserve the Brooks Station can contact City Point 
Central Railroad and Museum  at 13 Oak Hill Road, Belfast 04915 or visit 
cpcrr.com. 



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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1674
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org