Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad

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Belfast Railway Station around 1900
Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad Company share from 1878

The Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad (B & ML) is a former railway company in Maine ( United States ). It existed as an independent company from 1867 to 2005.

The company was founded on February 28, 1867 with the aim of connecting the coastal city of Belfast to the existing railway network. The 53.2 kilometer standard gauge railway Burnham Junction – Belfast was completed on December 23, 1870 and officially opened the following year.

On May 10, 1871, the Maine Central Railroad leased Belfast & Moosehead Lake for an initial 50 years. The contract was then renewed annually, but expired at the end of 1925. Belfast & Moosehead Lake was then taken over by the City of Belfast on January 2, 1926. From 1946 to 1951 the railway company acquired a total of five GE 70-ton switcher diesel locomotives, which led to the cessation of steam operations in 1948.

After the need for transport had declined, tourist trains began operating in 1987. On June 9, 2005, freight traffic was discontinued and the railway company dissolved. The route was sold to the State of Maine, the vehicles to the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad Preservation Society , which continued to operate tourism until the beginning of 2008.

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