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|} The Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad (operated as the "Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railway" from 2009 to 2012) is a subsidiary of the Brooks Preservation Society (BPS), a not-for-profit organization established in 2008 to protect and preserve historic rail transportation structures and assets in Waldo County, Maine, USA.〔(Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad Excursions ) BrooksPreservation.org〕 Following the announcement in February 2008 of the formal demise of the original Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad (1871-2007) by its then private operator, the non-profit Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad & Preservation Society of Unity, Maine,〔Staples, Beth ("End of the line for the B&MLRR" ) ''The Republican Journal'' February 5, 2008〕 the BPS was incorporated as an all-volunteer non-profit 501(c)(3) organization to purchase the 1892 B&MLRR stationhouse in Brooks (MP 12.27) to save and preserve it as an historic railroad structure.〔Davis, Jay ("Brooks group buys railroad station" ) ''The Republican Journal'' August 7, 2008〕 In the months that followed the BPS was also able to negotiate the purchase of several pieces of B&MLRR rolling stock including two of the road's three operating 1940s 70-ton GE diesel-electric locomotives: B&ML#53 which had been acquired used by the B&ML from Vermont's Montpelier and Barre Railroad in 1970 followed in the Fall by B&ML#50 that had been bought new by the road in 1946 and had provided the first non-steam power to ever operate over the corridor.〔Fuller, Steve ("Brooks Preservation Society continuing to make tracks" ) ''The Republican Journal'' October 5, 2008〕〔Fuller, Steve ("Rail revival continues in Brooks" ) ''The Republican Journal'' December 1, 2008〕 A track inspection car, an open-air observation car, a 1926 former DL&WRR Pullman-built chair car, a MEC stainless steel coach, and a caboose were later added to the equipment roster. In February 2009, the BPS entered into an agreement with the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) to operate over the State-owned 30 miles of B&ML grade running inland from the Belfast/Waldo town line (MP 3.14) to Burnham Junction (MP 33.07) and early that July began operating weekend excursion trains between Brooks (MP 12.27) and Waldo (MP 7.15).〔Stickney, Ben ("Preservationists reviving Waldo County rail one tie at a time" ) ''The Republican Journal'' August 19, 2009〕 The following November the BPS leased another three miles of grade within the Belfast city limits between the Belfast/Waldo town line and the Penobscot McCrum property line under the US Rt. 1 bridge from its still then owner, Unity Property Management (UPM).〔Andrews, Ethan ("Brooks rail group picks up a little more track" ) ''The Republican Journal" November 3, 2009〕 This permitted the BPS to establish regular seasonal excursion service from the Upper Bridge (MP 1.0) to Waldo. In July 2010, the City of Belfast purchased the UPM-owned portion of the grade within the city limits in order to preserve the corridor and with the intention of eventually developing it as a public multi-use rail trail.〔Andrews, Ethan ("Council approves rail corridor purchase" ) ''The Republican Journal'' June 30, 2010〕 While exploring how to design and finance such a rail trail, in the interim the City also agreed to continue to lease its portion of the grade on a year-to-year basis to the BPS to operate seasonal trains from its Upper Bridge station.〔Andrews, Ethan ("Belfast Moosehead Lake Railway back in Belfast pretty much" ) ''The Republican Journal'' May 28, 2011〕〔Holbrook, Ben ("Council continues to explore rail banking former rail corridor" ) ''The Republican Journal'' June 27, 2012〕 After two seasons of operations from the Upper Bridge, however, the City cancelled the lease with the BPS in October 2012, and four months later formally applied to the Surface Transportation Board of the US Department of Transportation and the US Department of the Interior for permission under the (National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1247(d)(e)) ) to "railbank" their portion of the grade from the Belfast waterfront at Pierce Street up to the turnout to the privately owned City Point Central Railroad Museum at MP 2.5 next to the Oak Hill Road grade crossing.〔Holbrook, Ben ("City to terminate lease with Brooks Preservation Society" ) ''The Republican Journal'' October 9, 2012〕〔Holbrook, Ben ("City approves banking portion of rail corridor" ) ''The Republican Journal'' February 9, 2013〕 In late September, 2014 the City began the process of pulling up and scrapping the grade's sleepers and over 300 tons of well-over-century-old 75-pound steel rail, spikes, tie plates, and other materials.〔(Example of 1896 steel 75 lb rail in place on the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad grade )〕〔Bailey, Jordan ("Rail removal set to begin for future Passy Rail Trail" ) ''The Republican Journal'' August 14, 2014〕 It is estimated that it will cost over $600,000 to convert the corridor to a pedestrian rail trail.〔Holbrook, Ben ("Council whittles down rail trail design options" ) ''The Republican Journal'' January 23, 2013〕〔Holbrook, Ben ("Rail trail construction to cost about $600,000" ) ''The Republican Journal'' June 1, 2013〕 The loss of the lease with the City forced the BPS to relocate the railroad's excursion train service in 2013 to the stationhouse at the City Point Museum site, a property which the BPS subsequently also agreed to purchase from its long-time private owner.〔Holbrook, Ben ("Brooks Preservation Society to buy City Point Station" ) ''The Republican Journal'', July 9, 2013〕〔Cooper, Bruce C. (2013 Images of City Point and Upper Bridge stations ) ''Digitalimageservices.com''〕 The remaining 0.64 miles of City-owned grade from the City Point turnout to the Belfast/Waldo town line as well as the 30 miles of State-owned grade beyond continues to be available to the B&MLRR over which it now operates its scheduled seasonal weekend excursion service from the City Point station to the bogs beyond Waldo, as well as other special event runs and group charters over that and other parts of the line.〔(B&ML Services & Rates ) BrooksPreservation.org〕 == Locomotive roster == 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad (2009)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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