I think in the case of NWP it would probably be too expensive to remove the track than to just leave it. I think they are just about ready to return service from Shellville to Willits but I don't think there will ever be service again from Willits to any points north.
Are those 4 GPs still stranded in Eureka? The last time I was up there was 2007.
cbq9911a Boyd I think its happened in the past but not sure where a RR was abandoned tracks and all and nothing sold, scrapped or liquidated. That happened to the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin on July 3, 1957. The railroad suspended passenger service, and suspended freight service in June, 1959. It remained intact until officially abandoned in 1961. Scrapping started in November 1961.
Boyd I think its happened in the past but not sure where a RR was abandoned tracks and all and nothing sold, scrapped or liquidated.
I think its happened in the past but not sure where a RR was abandoned tracks and all and nothing sold, scrapped or liquidated.
That happened to the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin on July 3, 1957. The railroad suspended passenger service, and suspended freight service in June, 1959. It remained intact until officially abandoned in 1961. Scrapping started in November 1961.
"Abandonment" of a rail line is something that requires regulatory authority, and has since 1920. A railroad that takes up an unused rail line without getting that authority takes a big risk. If someone later comes along and demands rail service the railroad could liable to the shipper for failure to provide service, and could conceivably be forced to put the line back. There are several instances where railroads have had to pay damages to shippers for unlawful abandonments and track removal. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any cases where a railroad has actually been forced to put a line back. But both the ICC and the STB have repeatedly recognized that this could happen.
On the other hand, there have been a number of cases where railroads have been shut down and not removed. Often, to avoid regulatory service requirements, the railroad will obtain regulatory "discontinuance of service" authority for these lines. A good current example of this is the Tennessee Pass line in Colorado. I believe the CA&E also had discontinuance authority for both its passenger and freight service, and then later secured abandonment authority to liquidate the property. They did it right - they didn't remove the track until they had the abanonment authority .
Northwestern Pacific is a more interesting case. I don't think they ever received either abandonment or discontinuance authority. Instead, FRA shut them down in 1998 with an emergency order. In theory, that would no excuse them from failing to provide service (or seeking abanonment authority) after a reasonable time for repairs. I think someone brought an STB case against them for this a few years back, but it was unsuccessful, probably due to failure to prove any damages. But NWP would still be taking a big risk were it to start removing portions of its line without getting abandonment authority.
WW&F (along with the SR&RL and Kennebunkport Trolley Museum, Boothbay Harbor, and any narrow guage, any depot, or any railroad whatever in New England in general and Maine in particular) is a must stop, see and ride thing for any age, level, or interest in railroads!
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
dmoore74narig01 In the 1930's The Monson RR, a Maine 2 footer. The RR had a derailment in the middle of the railroad and they had no way to rerail their last engine. Rgds IGN It was actually the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington that ceased to operate after a derailment in 1933. The line was dismantled in 1934. A portion of the track has been relaid by the new WW&F and operates during the summer. www.wwfry.org The Monson Railroad continued to operate until1942 and was officially abandoned in 1944, the last Maine 2-footer to be abandoned.
narig01 In the 1930's The Monson RR, a Maine 2 footer. The RR had a derailment in the middle of the railroad and they had no way to rerail their last engine. Rgds IGN
In the 1930's The Monson RR, a Maine 2 footer. The RR had a derailment in the middle of the railroad and they had no way to rerail their last engine.
Rgds IGN
It was actually the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington that ceased to operate after a derailment in 1933. The line was dismantled in 1934. A portion of the track has been relaid by the new WW&F and operates during the summer. www.wwfry.org The Monson Railroad continued to operate until1942 and was officially abandoned in 1944, the last Maine 2-footer to be abandoned.
One other example that comes to mind is the Eagle Mountain in California, built by Kaiser after WWII (1948) to haul iron ore for its Fontana steel plant. It has not turned a wheel since 1986 but remains intact. If you travel I-10 between the Coachella Valley and Blythe you will cross the line near the Red Cloud exit. It was famous for its big GE U-boats and steep grades and joined the Sunset Route near the Salton Sea at Ferrum (Latin for "iron").
John Timm
In the 1930's The Monson RR Waterville Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington RR, a Maine 2 footer. The RR had a derailment in the middle of the railroad and they had no way to rerail their last engine.
Long Island Rail Road, Rockaway Branch. You can find washed-out rails, fallen position-light signals (PRR style), third rail, bridges, and entire stations. Yards of rail suspended over 40-year-old washouts, old platforms, stairways, and endless encroachment on the right-of-way by the locals. It's all there, in the middle of Queens. I've seen it myself. Search the internet for pictorials on LIRR Rockaway Branch. Getting closer to the Rockaways it's been replaced with subway (which rather closely matches LIRR physical plant in these areas, too).
I think the gist of your thread was to identify railroads where they just turned off the lamps/lights and walked away, not bothering to lock the door. I have seen many pictures of abandoned locomotives with trees growing up thru them, all over the country. I guess they just abandoned everything. Very interesting. Might be worth a 'field trip' to see some of these relics. Someone (hint!!!) should post a map that can be expanded on/added to by those interested! Dere is sum rare stuff in de woods, methinks!
Hays
Murphy Siding Cool! That means I own 1/800,000th of the line! What should I do with my 7 13/16" share of the Milwaukee Road?
Cool! That means I own 1/800,000th of the line! What should I do with my 7 13/16" share of the Milwaukee Road?
Electrify it?
There are many RRs in Wva abandoned in place. Southbound from Charleston, Wv you can see an abandoned in place CSX (C&O) from Cabin creek southbound on I-77 (West Va turnpike). The ROW is anywhere from 50 - 150 ft west of the road. Stop at the rest area at MP 72 and you can walk over to the abandoned ROW and tracks. The rest area actually used a little part of the ROW.
Yes, I'm sure there are many places around the country where rails have been left in place and decades have passed.
One comes to mind over in Pennsylvania at Hooversville, A spur that extended several miles off the S&C....{former B&O}, now CSX, up to a mining town and former coal producing mine....is still in place and time has passed to the point it has thick brush and sizeable trees on the ROW and between the rails, etc....Wouldn't be easy to retrieve the rails now.
Quentin
The rail has been removed between Kadoka, SD to Near the Rapid City Airport. This portion was salvaged in the late 90's but the ROW was maintained for a possible bike trail and running utilites.
Dave in Pierre. SD
This was left in place to pass the Rapid City Regional Airport as a link to the then proposed Costner rail line to Deadwood, SD that never happened.
The little part of L&N from Mcleansboro il to Shawneetown IL is still there just grown up in weeds and all towns passenger stations are still there very poor shape. i would like to take a handcar down the line.
nanaimo73 Murphy Siding If the Milwaukee Road disappeared around 1980, who owns this particular rail line? According to the note along the bottom of this map, the state of South Dakota owns the 98.5 miles between Kadota and Raid City, and it is rail banked. http://www.sddot.com/fpa/railroad/images/railmap.pdf That's a lot of scrap metal lying around, isn't it?
Murphy Siding If the Milwaukee Road disappeared around 1980, who owns this particular rail line?
According to the note along the bottom of this map, the state of South Dakota owns the 98.5 miles between Kadota and Raid City, and it is rail banked.
http://www.sddot.com/fpa/railroad/images/railmap.pdf
That's a lot of scrap metal lying around, isn't it?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Speaking of....... East of Rapid City, S.D. (incidentally, near Murphy Siding ) There is a section of intact Milwaukee Road track, that runs for at least a dozen miles+. The county highways have since paved over the line at the crossings, but the ties and rails are still in place. If the Milwaukee Road disappeared around 1980, who owns this particular rail line?
desertdogMuch of the ex-Rock Island across Missouri remains intact, although overgrown with weeds and trees. It is technically embargoed. John Timm
Owned by Amaren/UE who uses it as a hedge against UP and BNSF rail rates. The ill-fated Missouri Central was trying to re-open it in stages until Amaren/UE stepped in as majority owner. Currently, Indiana RR operates it under contract for the few miles in-service on the St. Louis end.
Cerrillos Coal Co (town & railroad)....Madrid, NM
Anyone know if the Grasse River Railroad, in upstate New York, was dismantled, or everything left in situ?
Hey! I read that the Grafton & Upton, in MA, opened 16 (?) miles of the line! G&U - 1, NIMBYs - 0. Neat!
I've known equipment to be abandoned in place. But usually if the track in left intact, it will be listed with the STB as "out of service" or "embargoed". Such in place track may languish for years for some reason or another. Structures along the route may be sold off or someway demolished. Only the Surface Transportation Board knows for sure unless you follow listings in Progrssive Railroading or are a shipper trying to consign something in or out. You can find track structure in place in some out of the way places, even bridges and other structures in some places. There are some lines that were "rail banked" after Conrail's formation. That meant they were to be left in place until such time it was determined that they would not be returned to service. How many such lines? I don't know. How many still exists since that conception? Don't know. I do know the Williamsport, PA to Elmira, NY former PC, nee PRR, nee Northern Central, was railbanked but rails were pulled. In some places such railbanked properties were turned into rail-trails. I know there is rail in front of the L&HR Great Meadows, NJ station and runs to the west end of the town; but who owns them isn't clear. Along many abandoned lines there are still bridges and trestles, too. And isn't the Saluda grade intact in spite of being out of service?
Here are some links to photos of abandoned trains in the former Soviet Union.
A Siberian RR abandoned in the steam era:
http://englishrussia.com/?p=1305#more-1305
Railroad facilities and equipment abandoned after the fall of the USSR
http://englishrussia.com/?p=1240
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
BoydI think its happened in the past but not sure where a RR was abandoned tracks and all and nothing sold, scrapped or liquidated.
Thank You.
I recall RWM posted photos a while back of one like that which was way north of Juneau, Alaska, if I remember right.
The Sandy River & Rangely Lakes 2-ft. gauge in Maine was abandoned that way after a major derailment during the Great Depression. See -
Both the East Broad Top 3-ft. gauge and Mower Lumber Co. - what is now Cass Scenic - were abandoned that way, until they were resurrected into museum/ tourist operations. The last operating crew just dumped the fire, turned the key in the door, went home, and left everything just the way it was.
I believe some of the copper mining railroads in the Keewenaw Peninsula area of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan were also abandoned that way. Likely some out west, too, as in Nevada and Utah.
Logging, mining, and short lines away from civilization were especially prone to this. During the 1960's and 70's, it wasn't uncommon to see a photo in Trains or Railroad magazines of a steam loco with a tree growing between the engine and the tender, between the wheels, or out of the smokebox, etc. Often they were down south and in the swamps, it seemed - not all were Shays, either - a good number were ancient and small rod-type locomotives, like 4-4-0's, etc.
- Paul North.
I always wondered why someone didnt pick up some day laborers at Home Depot and pull up abandoned rail around Los Angeles when the steel prices were so high....or maybe stealing the fire hydrants, catalytic converters, and the insides of empty office buildings was less obvious?
The UP Coast Line had hundreds of yards of code line ripped out above Santa Barbara a couple years ago....not sure if they ever caught the people.
My train videos - http://www.youtube.com/user/karldotcom
Some logging lines were abandoned this way. The area was logged out and all the machinery was left behind, there were any number of Shays left to rust in peace.
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