Belfast and Moosehead Lake Rail Road Co. - 1885 dated Railway Stock Certificate

Stock printed by New Eng. Lith Co., Boston. The Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad, designated with the reporting mark BML, was a standard-gauge shortline railroad that functioned from 1871 until 2007, traversing a single-track route from Belfast to Burnham Junction in Maine. Originally chartered in 1867, the construction of the line was completed between August 1868 and December 1870 by the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad Company (B&MLRR), which was predominantly owned by the city of Belfast until 1991. For the initial 55 years of its operation, the railroad was leased to the Maine Central, functioning as its Belfast Branch, and provided daily passenger and freight services to eight stations throughout Waldo County, Maine. Following the termination of the lease by the MEC in 1925, the B&MLRR commenced operating trains independently. Although passenger services were discontinued in March 1960, the railroad initiated summer tourist train operations in 1988 to counteract a decrease in freight traffic. In 1991, the city divested its stake in the financially struggling railroad to private owners. The B&MLRR ceased operations in 2007. Currently, the line is managed by the non-profit Brooks Preservation Society under the name Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railway, offering weekend excursion trains during the spring, summer, and early fall seasons between City Point, Waldo, and Brooks.