Well I guess things are happening,,on the B&ML RR,,,according to the lastest Flimsies,,the railroad has been asked too remove all equipment within 30 days....
Now just too add,,,to this,,,,correct me if i am wrong,,,,isn't Railstar,,also the main operater of the Georgetown Loop,RR??
Well if Railstar,,isn't paying Belfast,Me the money which is owed too,,them for running the RR,,,What will happen out in Georgetown????

The city are the bad guys here. There have been past articles that indicate with little doubt, that the 'mis payment' had to due with a debt the CITY owed the Railstar Corp. (something about a bridge work). The city is looking for any excuse to get rid of the railroad, and they got lucky.

IMO it seems like the city wants the valuble devolpment space, and the railroad has to go. Railstar has little to do with the politics that blind that city's leadership.

The Waldo newspaper archives are now 'pay per view' so I can't post the old articles - but the eviction was triggered by the City receiving the lease checks late and refusing to cash them - because they have been wanting to redevelop this waterfront property for many years. That's all it took.

Bluntly, the railroad yard is supposed to become a parking lot.

Here's the development plan and the problem - and remember that they appear to have given the go-ahead for it before they controlled the railroad property. This is a BIG development, and in its own way, the little BML yard has become the same issue as Potomac Yard to Washington DC - prime development.

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/lofiv ... t1444.html

Note that the article is dated November 2003. This has been in the works for a LONG time.

Because the BML 'real' facilities are in Unity - it could still be operated into Belfast, not just as far in as the old yard. That remains to be seen how that will shake out though.

If the City is serious about evicting them (and I think they are) then there is a short Armstrong turntable there that is instantly on the Endangered Species List - and if I understand things properly is the responsibility of Unity Property Management Inc. to dispose of. I'm REALLY hoping that a quick plan can save the little turntable, if nothing else, before it gets bulldozed or torched.

[redacted]

Is B&ML still a common carrier? If so, and I think it is, then this bit of active trackage should require STB permission for abandonment. In all I have read about the matter neither the city nor the operator seems to have considered this fact. That doesn't seem to smart on the part of either party to me.

John Bohon

The BML is not a common carrier at this time. I work there part time, so I really can't comment on details, but I can tell you that there are many of us here, close to the BML that are doing everything we can to see that it does survive. I'll post news here when I can, but it may be a while before we know whats going to happen.

If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion,

There is a very recent (less than two months old) Decision from the Railroad Retirement Board that the B&ML is not a rail carrier for their purposes, but, unless we missed it, there does not seem to have ever been an Abandonment or a Discontinuance of Service filing or decision by the Surface Transportation Board. The RRB seems also to have been unable to find it .


Unless the records are misfiled at the STB it would seem to me that the BML is still a common carrier, though Railstar is not, and an abandonment proceeding will be needed before the town can remove any rail facilities.

I have no idea what Railstar's position would be on doing the very belated filings, which according to the RRB decision they were required to do, however should they proceed with the filings or the town proceed with an adverse abandonment then there is a tailor-made opportunity for the fan/preservationist community to file serious protests on both environmental and historic preservation grounds.

GME


http://www.rrb.gov/blaw/bcd/bcd05-8.html