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Michael, <br /> <br />While I remember to ask, did you have any experiences with the disposal of Milwaukee's ROW after retrenchment? I seem to remember that the ROW complete with the rails intact between Haugen and Avery was bought by a guy named Edwards who also owned a mill near Princeton ID. The line from Avery to St Maries was bought by Potlatch Corporation for running long trains. The story goes that Edwards wanted to preserve the line either for moving logs or even possibly reopening the line as a shortline between the BN line at St Regis and the Potlatch line on to St Maries and eventually Spokane. However, the Forest Service sued to get control of both the Avery-Haugen segment and the Avery St Maries segments, and eventually both Edwards and Potlatch Corp had to give up their claim to the rails. <br /> <br />If this story is accurate, it shows that there were some folks who still had a vision of the line's future value, but they too were shut down by government interference. I know that the Forest Service "needed" the Avery to Calder segment for their new paved road to Avery (which replaced a narrow gravel road on the opposite side of the river). They had less of a percieved need for the Avery to Haugen segment, because even though they utilized part of it as a replacement for a narrow road, it too is still narrow (but admittedly a blast to drive through the tunnels!). One has to wonder why the Forest Service was so adamant to take over the line and have the rails removed, which eliminated a possible revival of that line.
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