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Vintage Excursion Railroad Line Forced to Close

February 20, 2008 - UNITY - After more than 140 years of service, the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad Company has likely reached the end of the line. The railroad's preservation society, which has operated seasonal excursions for the past two years, will fold and all of its equipment will be sold due to mounting financial pressure.

"We regret that the society cannot continue running operations at a loss," said Robert Lamontagne, president of the Belfast Railroad Preservation Society.

All of the society's equipment, including a vintage 1913 steam locomotive, buildings and land on Depot Street, will be sold, said Larry Sterrs, chairman and chief executive officer of the Unity Foundation, who has assisted the preservation society with the transition. Unless a buyer decides to purchase the entire operation and continue to offer service, the line has likely made its last run, Sterrs said.

"It will not run under the current management next summer," he said. "Our primary hope is we'll find another operator."

There has always been great sentimental interest in the train, but there has never been enough financial suppon for the society to break even, Lamontagne said. The nonprofit carried tremendous overhead due to costly equipment and rail operations, and its dependence on grants and memberships could not support operations over tlie long haul. The preservation society board began to entertain the idea of closing in the fall after crunching the summer numbers, when the train carried just 10,000 passengers, Sterrs said. It was the second disappointing year in a row.

"Based on what I understand from my review of the 2008 budget, they needed a minimum of 15,000 riders in addition to membership and various corporate sponsorship," Sterrs said. "It just didn't meet the revenue requirement."

The society board listed the equipment with a national seller three weeks ago. The preservation society has had two meetings with the state's Department of Transportation to develop a plan for the state to take over maintenance of the state-owned tracks, a process Sterrs expects to be completed within the next month.

"Following this agreement, the nonprofit organization will plan a responsible and speedy approach to closing down," Sterrs said.

Civil War hero Joshua Chamberlain originally chartered the line during his term as governor in 1867. The railroad has had several different owners over the 141 years since, but it continued to carry freight until the 1980s, when it began serving as a tourist attraction. The train was originally intended to run all the way from Moosehead Lake to Quebec, but with money running short, the rail stopped in Burnham, where it could exchange with other trains and head virtually anywhere in the nation.

Lamontagne said last year prior to the 140th anniversary celebration. Maine Central Railroad sold the business in the 1920s to Belfast, Brooks, Thorndike, Unity and a group of private investors. It was one of three municipally-owned railroads in the nation. Belfast continued to operate the train until 1991 when, still bleeding money, the line was sold to private investors and then ultimately to Unity businessman and philanthropist Bert Clifford. The railroad would change hands one more time before the Unity Foundation, which Clifford started, donated the equipment and property to the preservation society in 2005.

The society celebrated the railroad's 140th anniversary last summer by opening the museum. At the time, Lamontagne said there were plans to restore the 1900s depot and turn a portion of the engine house into a display area.

"This is only the beginning," he said at the time. "We have lots of plans."

The railroad was one of Clifford's favorite causes, Sterrs said. Tliere have been several attempts to generate support for the railroad, but those efforts were never enough.

"This wasn't easy," he said, "We've worked very hard since (Clifford's) death to keep it going. It's a very labor-intensive operation with tremendous overhead."


SOURCE: MORNING SENTINEL

DATE: 02-07-2008


Lakes:
Regions: Mid Coast


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