[OSM-talk] Abandoned Rails

[Bryce Nesbitt]

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:45 AM, moltonel 3x Combo <moltonel at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Lots of former railway land is now privately owned, sometimes even
> before the rails get removed. So the fact that there was an abandoned
> (dismantled ?) railroad in his backyard didn't, on its own, mean that
> he didn't own the place.
>

In some case the ROW is an easement, meaning the railroad gained the right
to cross
private land.  Many roads and a huge fraction of utility lines are
easements, not fee ownership.

The easement may or may not expire when the railroad stops running.

In the USA the process of "railbanking" keeps the easement active, on the
notion that the contiguous land may needed in the future or far future for
restoration of rail or other transport services.  Thus the active railroad,
or active trail, may in fact be on private land.
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