What happens to the Right of way when a railroad is abandoned in Oregon?

Question

I am researching a railroad which was abandoned through the ICC. My question what happens to the right of way or who owns the right off way when the railroad is abandoned if not specifically deeded over.

Answer 1

Sometimes defunct railroad rights of way are turned into walking, biking and hiking trails.

Answer 2

In the past the railroad Right Of Way (ROW) used to be returned to the land owners next to it. But now the ROW could be put into reserve which means it can leggally be turned into Rails to Trails. The landowners actually own the ROW just like when a road passes through. Just like the saying the land owner pays taxes to the middle of the street.

Answer 3

In Florida, when any right-of-way is abandoned or "vacated" as we refer to it here, it reverts to the original owner.  If there are different owners on both sides, the ownership is split at the centerline.

Answer 4

Both previous answers are right. The question is if the railway is abandoned or vacated. Then it depends on how the ownership of the land was handled in the first place.

In my area, a railway line sat vacant for about 25 years. Rails were pulled up and bridges were removed. A rails-2-trails project tried to get a project going to use the land, but the project never panned out. The railway company still held the ownership of the line and easements adjacent to it. They later decided to vacate the line completely and then, because the original owners had been paid for their land, the ownership reverted to the organizations that had paid for the land in the first place. In this case, it went to the city of Coquille. It held up development for about 10 years on a commercial property there.

In another example, the O&C railroad was given ever-other section of land in my area that hadn't been claimed by homesteaders. When the railway went bancrupt, the land then went to the federal government and is now part of the Bureau of Land Management who manages the O&C (Oregon & California Railway) lands. However, I had land that bordered the O&C lands, and my title showed that if they ever decided to put in the railroad (it was never completed), I would have to provide an easement through the property and supply water to the railroad, if it was needed. And the condition couldn't be removed from the deed.

If you want to know more about how this all worked, you could try talking to Patti Strain at the Coquille Historical Museum. She was city manager for Coquille through a lot of the issues and would be able to answer your questions. [e-mail]