Entertrainment

Mired in financial problems, the EnterTRAINment Line has been forced to halt its excursion trains because of a contract dispute with the railroad company that owns the tracks and pulls the line's passenger cars.Maryland Midland Railway stopped providing use of its tracks and locomotives about two weeks ago because of EnterTRAINment's failure to make payments for the service."They have been very delinquent, and we've tried to work things out with them," said Paul D. Denton, Maryland Midland president.

Nearly two years after the EnterTRAINment line folded, there's talk of starting a new excursion train operation in Union Bridge.But while the owners of the short-track Maryland Midland Railway Co. of Union Bridge eye the prospects of a new sideline to their successful freight business, customers and creditors of the failed EnterTRAINment have been left holding the bag.In the court-ordered final division of assets, few got paid and many got stuck.Even the Internal Revenue Service did not collect all it was owed from the Carroll excursion line, which closed in June 1995 after six years of operation.

Another claim by Maryland Midland Railway Co. against the EnterTRAINment Line for back rent must be filed with claims from more than 500 other creditors of the troubled excursion train company in Carroll County Circuit Court, a judge ruled yesterday.District Judge Louis Becker of Howard County, who was temporarily hearing cases in Carroll County, agreed to hold the rent claim until a court-appointed trustee sells off EnterTRAINment's assets and distributes the money to creditors."The court said that if [Maryland Midland]

A New Jersey businessman, whose bid to resurrect the EnterTRAINment Line railroad in Union Bridge was rejected last year, will open an excursion train in Pennsylvania tomorrow.The new Northern Central Railway Inc. will operate from offices in New Freedom, Pa., and will run a dinner and entertainment train -- called the Liberty Limited -- on 20 miles of track between New Freedom and York, Pa.Meanwhile, Paul C. Denton, president of Maryland Midland Railway Co., said he is negotiating to bring in an excursion train to replace the EnterTRAINment Line, which went out of business in May 1995, owing creditors more than $500,000.

A Maryland Tax Court judge ruled yesterday that The EnterTRAINment Line must pay at least $300,000 in overdue taxes, interest and penalties to Union Bridge and Westminster because it did not pay admissions and amusement taxes for a four-year period.The decision could close the business, the company president said after the all-day hearing in Tax Court in Baltimore."It could cause our demise, but not immediately," President Donald S. Golec said. "We're going to be here a while."He said he did not know if the company, Gus Novotny Associates Inc. of Union Bridge, will appeal yesterday's decision to Carroll County Circuit Court.

The EnterTRAINment Line president said yesterday he will continue to fight for an exemption from a tax bill totaling more than $300,000 despite rejection from a Senate committee."

Yesterday marked the end of the line for The EnterTRAINment Line, when a Carroll County judge ordered the appointment of a trustee to sell the company's assets to make partial payments to the dozens of vendors and customers owed money by the excursion railroad."

WESTMINSTER -- In the tradition of Clue and Shear Madness, Carroll's EnterTRAINment line is offering a murder mystery train ride tomorrow night, complete with violence, villains and victims.The tours, which began as a joint venture between Carol Fearns of the Geyer's Theatre Shop Players and EnterTRAINment, were this year's addition to the Union Bridge train company's line-up."We thought we'd try it, and it's been going pretty good," said Linda Harman, EnterTRAINment's group sales director.

The owners of the EnterTRAINment line said they will close the business if a bill exempting them from paying more than $300,000 in back amusement and admissions taxes fails."

An investors group from Michigan has joined the EnterTRAINment Line, complete with some new ideas to brighten the already vigorous weekend and holiday excursion rail line.The New Windsor-based company's five new investors -- Don Golec, Steve Hamilton, Kirk and Pam Lorenz, and Jerry Pilcher -- joined longtime owner Gus Novotny on Feb. 1.The group, which invests in unusual entertainment ideas, runs two hotels and a dinner train in Michigan, Mr. Hamilton said."Gus is still a real big part of running this," Mr. Hamilton said of the EnterTRAINment Line, which attracts about 30,000 people from the Baltimore-Washington area each year.

An excursion train operator who was rejected by Maryland Midland Railway Co. may soon be running a competing train in York County, Pa., before the Union Bridge railroad finds a replacement for the defunct EnterTRAINment Line.PAul D. Denton, Maryland Midland's presidentm, said he is not worried about competition between the dinner excursion service planned in York County by Ken Bitten, president of New Jersey-based Classic Rail Cars Inc., and an excursion line that has begun negotiations to run a similar service using Maryland Midland's tracks and facilities.

The ghost of a long-deceased brakeman has presumably left the railroad siding in Union Bridge to go with his car -- once part of the EnterTRAINment Line -- to a permanent home at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore.The museum is also scheduled to receive another dining car with a less colorful history. It is being donated by two business partners who bought it when the EnterTRAINment Line's assets were sold at public auction Nov. 29.The line, which ran dinner and excursion trains in Carroll and Frederick counties and south-central Pennsylvania, closed in May. It owed creditors more than $500,000.

Maryland Midland Railway officials say they are negotiating with operators of a dinner train that could replace the EnterTRAINment Line, which went out of business in May owing more than $500,000 to creditors.Maryland Midland President Paul D. Denton said he did not want to discuss details because no deal has been struck with the owners of the excursion line."The negotiations are pretty far down the track," said Mr. Denton. He said he has no timetable for a possible agreement, but that "it looks very promising at this point."

Buyers carted away the EnterTRAINment Line piece by piece yesterday, as everything from furniture to dinnerware and crock pots to rail cars became the bargain-rate spoils of a court-ordered auction of the bankrupt company's assets.The Union Bridge excursion line closed in May, leaving more than 100 creditors and owing more than $300,000 in amusement taxes and interest dating to 1989.Despite yesterday's auction, some feel a new passenger entertainment train service could rise from the EnterTRAINment Line's ashes in Carroll County.

Buyers carted away the EnterTRAINment Line piece by piece yesterday, as everything from furniture to dinnerware and crock pots to rail cars became the bargain-rate spoils of a court-ordered auction of the bankrupt company's assets.The Union Bridge excursion line closed in May, leaving more than 100 creditors and owing more than $300,000 in amusement taxes and interest dating to 1989.Despite yesterday's auction, some feel a new passenger entertainment train service could rise from the EnterTRAINment Line's ashes in Carroll County.

An auction planned to bail out a defunct excursion train company in Union Bridge could be blocked this morning, the attorney assigned to liquidate the estate said yesterday."

An auction planned to bail out a defunct excursion train company in Union Bridge could be blocked this morning, the attorney assigned to liquidate the estate said yesterday."

Nearly two years after the EnterTRAINment line folded, there's talk of starting a new excursion train operation in Union Bridge.But while the owners of the short-track Maryland Midland Railway Co. of Union Bridge eye the prospects of a new sideline to their successful freight business, customers and creditors of the failed EnterTRAINment have been left holding the bag.In the court-ordered final division of assets, few got paid and many got stuck.Even the Internal Revenue Service did not collect all it was owed from the Carroll excursion line, which closed in June 1995 after six years of operation.

One prospective bidder for the bankrupt EnterTRAINment Line hopes to reopen the railway service, which operated weekly dinner trains and holiday excursions from Westminster and Union Bridge until it was derailed by financial problems.The line closed in May. It owes about $300,000 in back amusement taxes, interest and penalties, plus payments to Maryland Midland Railway for use of its locomotives and tracks and a $130,000 loan from New Windsor Bank. Creditors include groups and individuals whose deposit checks were cashed, but whose scheduled rides were canceled by the closing.

A state prosecutor confirmed yesterday that an investigation into the EnterTRAINment Line's handling of deposits and payment of vendors is continuing and that he expects to take information to a Carroll County grand jury Sept. 8."I felt that, at this point in the investigation, it would be good idea to have some people come before the grand jury and testify under oath," said Jerome E. Joyce, the Carroll County assistant state's attorney who is looking into complaints about the Union Bridge excursion train's financial dealings.