Iron Horse Paths:Iron Horse Paths:Their Properties and FranchisesTheir Properties and Franchises

Scott SaylorScott SaylorNorth Carolina Railroad CompanyNorth Carolina Railroad Company

Jeff BandiniJeff BandiniParker Poe Adams & BernsteinParker Poe Adams & Bernstein

Sec. 16. Be it further enacted, That the company shall have power and may proceed to construct as speedily as possible a railroad with one or more tracks of the same width of the North Carolina railroad…

Sec. 26. Be it further enacted, That the right of said company to condemn lands in the manner described in the 25th section of this act shall extend to the condemning one hundred feet on each side of the main track of the road, measuring from the centre of the same…

Laws of North Carolina, of the Session of 1852,Chapter CXXXVI, pp. 491 & 496

“An Act to Incorporate ‘The Atlantic and the North Carolina Railroad Company’”

Sec. 16. Be it further enacted, That the company shall have power and may proceed to construct as speedily as possible a railroad with one or more tracks of the same width of the North Carolina railroad…

Sec. 26. Be it further enacted, That the right of said company to condemn lands in the manner described in the 25th section of this act shall extend to the condemning one hundred feet on each side of the main track of the road, measuring from the centre of the same…

Laws of North Carolina, of the Session of 1852,Chapter CXXXVI, pp. 491 & 496

“An Act to Incorporate ‘The Atlantic and the North Carolina Railroad Company’”

Railroad v. RailwayRailroad v. Railway

Excerpt from Cecil K. Brown’s A State of Movement in Railroad Development, 1928:

“In this country in the early period the word railway seems generally to have been used to

designate a road where horsepower was used. The term railroad is more properly connected with

the use of steam locomotive.”

North Carolina Railroads, 1856North Carolina Railroads, 1856

North Carolina Railroads, North Carolina Railroads, ca. 1860ca. 1860

North Carolina Railroads, 1896North Carolina Railroads, 1896

Location of Cotton Mills and Railroads, 1899Location of Cotton Mills and Railroads, 1899

Urban Population, 1995Urban Population, 1995

National Geographic ImageNational Geographic Image

Component Systems in the Associated Railways of Virginia and the CarolinasComponent Systems in the Associated Railways of Virginia and the CarolinasSource: Figures taken from Poor, Manual for 1886. Cited in Maury Klein, The Great Richmond Terminal: A

Study in Businessmen and Business Strategy. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1970, p. 103. Road

Piedmont Air-Line (now Norfolk Southern Railway Company) Richmond & Danville Virginia Midland Columbia & Greenville Charlotte, Columbia & Augusta Western North Carolina Total Atlantic Coast Line (now CSX) Richmond & Petersburg Petersburg Wilmington & Weldon Wilmington, Columbia & Augusta Cheraw & Darlington Northeastern of South Carolina Total Seaboard Air-Line (now CSX) Seaboard & Roanoke Raleigh & Gaston Raleigh & Augusta Columbia Central Total Grand Total

Miles

755 362 296 373 274

2,060

23 61

199 189 40

102

614

80 97

108 242

527

3,201

Selected Charter WidthsSelected Charter Widths Cities Railroad Right-of-Way

Width Citation

Morehead City to Goldsboro

Atlantic & North Carolina Railroad Company

200’

Laws of North Carolina of the Session of 1852, c. CXXXVI, sec. 26, 491.

Raleigh to Sanford

Chatham Railroad Company

200’

Laws of North Carolina of the Session of 1854-1855, c. 230, sec. 28, 287. Name change to Raleigh & Augusta Air Line Railroad in 1871

Charlotte to Rock Rill, SC

Charlotte & South Carolina Railroad

130’

Laws of North Carolina of the Session of 1848-49, c. LXXXVII, sec. 21, 179.

North Durham to Henderson

Durham & Northern

200’

Laws of North Carolina of the Session of 1887, c. 140, sec. 6, 338.

Durham to Dunn

Durham & Southern Railroad Company

200’

Laws of North Carolina of the Session of 1887, c. 334, sec. 14, 590.

Charlotte to Morehead City

North Carolina Railroad Company

200’

Laws of North Carolina of the Session of 1848-49, c. LXXXII, sec. 28, 150.

Raleigh to Gaston

Raleigh & Gaston Railroad Company

80’

Laws of North Carolina of the Session of 1850-51, c. XXV, sec. 12, 19.

Weldon to Va. State Line

Roanoke Railroad Company

80’

Laws of North Carolina of the Session of 1846-47, c. LXXXVII, sec. 11, 204.

Salisbury to Asheville, Murphy & Paint Rock

Western North Carolina Railroad

200’

Laws of North Carolina of the Session of 1854-55, c. 228, sec. 29

Wilmington to Weldon

Wilmington & Raleigh Railroad Company

130’

Acts Passed by the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina at the Session of 1833-34. c. LXXVIII, sec. XV, 126.

How is a 200 ft. railroad right of way put to use?How is a 200 ft. railroad right of way put to use?

- Maintenance- Maintenance- Straightening Curves- Straightening Curves- Replacing Bridges- Replacing Bridges- Adding Tracks- Adding Tracks

Amtrak Passenger Train RoutesAmtrak Passenger Train Routes

Property InterestsProperty Interests

AcquisitionAcquisition

ResearchResearch

Railroad PropertyRailroad Property

Property InterestsProperty Interests

• Fee simpleFee simple

• EasementEasement

• Fee simple determinableFee simple determinable

• Fee simple subject to a condition Fee simple subject to a condition subsequentsubsequent

• LeaseLease

• LicenseLicense

Most common restriction on use of Most common restriction on use of easement is railroad purposes onlyeasement is railroad purposes only

Most common interestsMost common interests

Methods of AcquisitionMethods of Acquisition

• PurchasePurchase

• Voluntary GrantVoluntary Grant

• LeaseLease

• Eminent Domain (Eminent Domain (easement onlyeasement only))

• Charter (possession)Charter (possession)

Charter Right of WayCharter Right of Way

• ““Charter” is method of acquisition, Charter” is method of acquisition, notnot a property interesta property interest

• Charter right of way is held in fee Charter right of way is held in fee simple, fee simple determinable, simple, fee simple determinable, easement, etc. — easement, etc. — see chartersee charter

• If tracks in place on charter right of way If tracks in place on charter right of way acquired, it’s at least an easement for acquired, it’s at least an easement for railroad purposesrailroad purposes

Adverse Possession & Adverse Possession & AbandonmentAbandonment

• No acquisition of railroad property by No acquisition of railroad property by adverse possession -- N.C.G.S. 1-44adverse possession -- N.C.G.S. 1-44

• Only a Only a presumptionpresumption of abandonment 7 of abandonment 7 years after railroad tracks have been years after railroad tracks have been removed from railroad removed from railroad easementeasement -- -- N.C.G.S. 1-44.1N.C.G.S. 1-44.1

Researching Railroad Title IssuesResearching Railroad Title Issues

ExampleExample

Encroachment:Encroachment:

Adjacent landowner claims Adjacent landowner claims portion of what appears to be portion of what appears to be

railroad right of wayrailroad right of way

Subject PropertiesSubject Properties

Identify RailroadIdentify Railroad

Tip 1: Check road mapsTip 1: Check road mapsTip 2: Check deeds and platsTip 2: Check deeds and platsTip 3: Watch for trains (Beware shared use)Tip 3: Watch for trains (Beware shared use)

Norfolk Southern CSX

CSX Transportation, Inc.

Determine Railroad’s HistoryDetermine Railroad’s History

Seaboard System Railroad, Inc.

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Co.

Seaboard Air Line Railroad Co.

Seaboard Air Line Railway Co.

Seaboard Air Line Railway Raleigh and GastonRailroad Company

Raleigh & AugustaAir-Line Railway

Chatham Railroad1835

Railroad Valuation MapsRailroad Valuation Maps

Find Deeds into Raleigh & GastonFind Deeds into Raleigh & Gaston

• Register of DeedsRegister of Deeds

• Clerk of CourtClerk of Court

• State ArchivesState Archives

• Search “Railroad,” “Railway,” Search “Railroad,” “Railway,” “RR,” and “Ry.”“RR,” and “Ry.”

Deed from DW Courts toDeed from DW Courts toRaleigh & GastonRaleigh & Gaston

“. . .Daniel W. Courts . . . doth grant, bargain, sell, and deliver to the said Raleigh and Gaston Rail Road Company and assigns forever, a certain lot of land . . . being seventy four (74) feet at Hillsboro Road, and fifty four feet in the back line.”

DW Courts PropertyDW Courts Property

Return to Track MapReturn to Track Map

Raleigh & Gaston’s 1835 CharterRaleigh & Gaston’s 1835 Charter

Section 12:

“the land so laid out on the line of the Rail Road shall not

exceed . . . eighty feet in width . . .”

Charter does not state what property interest can be

obtained by possessing land without condemnation

CSX owns at least an easement for railroad

purposes no wider than 80 feet

Charter Right of WayCharter Right of Way

Update Title from Raleigh & GastonUpdate Title from Raleigh & Gaston

Fee simple v. Easement IssuesFee simple v. Easement Issues

• Excluding othersExcluding others

• Railroad uses/purposesRailroad uses/purposes

• Railroad’s assigneesRailroad’s assignees

• AbandonmentAbandonment